A wide range of residents wanting to kill or push through Coquitlam's plan to ban bow and firearm hunting has triggeared city council to host a special townhall meeting.
Since January, city council has heard from four delegations upset about the draft bylaw that would stop bow and arrow, and firearm hunting within the city limits; the regulation has already received three readings by city council.
The latest speakers - Burke Mountain homeowner and bow hunter Thaddeus Seidler and Ted Kennedy, a former Westwood Plateau resident who is the vice-president of the BC Archery Association - appeared before Monday's council-in-committee in an effort to shoot down the policy.
Kennedy also had a letter from Richard Christiansen, vice-president of the United Bowhunters of BC, whose 8,000 members are also rejecting Coquitlam's proposed prohibition.
Seidler, who has a background in wildlife biology, told the committee that "lawful bowhunting is conducted safely and ethically in remote areas" of Coquitlam and a hunting ban would be mocked by poachers.
Seidler suggested city council change its draft policy to:
increase the no hunting or shooting restrictions, as provided under the Wildlife Act, from 100 metres of a dwelling to a quarter-mile buffer zone;
and implement an outdoor passport system for hunters, who would need to get permission from city hall before heading out.
"We need something flexible and creative for the city," Seidler urged.
Currently, hunting is limited to farmland near the eastern boundary of Coquitlam as well as Goose Island, the foreshore beside the Pitt-Addington Marsh Wildlife Area and the waters of the Pitt River.
Council is balancing hunters' rights and requests with the massive residential growth now happening on Burke Mountain.
Coun. Craig Hodge, a Burke resident, said while he appreciates hunting "and the integrity of the people involved in the sport, I have to weigh that with the safety of the residents who live in my neighbourhood."
Added Coun. Mae Reid, "I feel we are at a real crucial time in our city's growth, where we have to look at the activities that go on in and around our city."
As of yesterday, the city had not yet set a date for the town hall meeting.
