Hopatcong Holds Off Deer Hunting Law

Hopatcong temporarily shelved a law that would allow deer hunting in the borough Monday.

The deer-management ordinance, which would also allow deer fencing and establish a mayor-appointed deer management "task force," or committee, was to be introduced at a council meeting at the .

But Mayor Sylvia Petillo said the law, which was removed from Monday's agenda, needed tweaking before it was presented to the public.

. Several residents showed up to Monday's meeting to with critiques—both good and bad—of the plan and to commend the governing body for taking the first steps toward addressing the borough's growing deer dilemma.

"Just because it's introduced, everyone thinks it's going to be adopted," Petillo said during the meeting. "It can be changed. It can be tabled. It could be a lot of things before it gets to adoption. If you really want to read the bulk of an ordinance you wait until it's adopted. And then you can talk about the ordinance.

"Up to that point it's a living document and it can be changed. It's a living document afterwards but at least it will be adopted and that would be the initial document moving forward. This is not the initial document," Petillo said, referring to the ordinance's first draft.

Edgar Owen said he was "in general agreement" with the law but was concerned with aspects of its language in its deer-hunting section and whether it addressed all of the residents' safety concerns.

Karen Lee Weber said she hoped the ordinance's final form would address the definition of hunting from elevated land and better define areas acceptable for hunting.

Steve Serna said that while he backed much of the law, he worried about several things, such as whether the task force will properly handle personal information; whether the Hopatcong police department should perform a background check after an applicant receives state approval; and the application cost.

Jessie Ioffredo said much of Hopatcong's deer population exists in the areas of Elba Point, Wildwood Shores and around Hudson Avenue, where deer hunting would be impossible due to lack of borough-owned land.

Councilwoman Marie Galate said she appreciated the public input.

"It does help to hear all the different aspects of what people are thinking," she said.

Councilman Mike Francis agreed, saying the council doesn't "work in a vacuum." 

"Please understand we're going to get this right or we're not going to do it," he said.