Durham's City Council reviewed a proposal that would allow bowhunting within city limits Thursday night. They sent the proposal back to city lawyers for changes.
There were a few specifics the City Council asked for at the meeting, like a ban on mechanical feeders, and a sunset clause to review hunting in Durham down the road. Beverly Thompson is the Director of Public Affairs for the City of Durham. She says the council also wanted to determine just how far hunting would be from residents.
"Regarding the buffer zone, they want to be more specific about how far a hunter has to be from an occupied dwelling," said Thompson. "Such as a house, a school or daycare. In essence, they want the hunter to be more than 250 feet."
Supporters of the proposal are confident it will pass soon after the changes are made.
Mebane dentist Eric Steinbicker started the petition that led to the hunting proposal. He said he's still confident it will pass. "None of the recommendations they made were out of the ordinary, and I completely agree with all of them," he said. "I think there's ways to change the ordinance to make sure everybody's happy."
Even if those changes happen quickly, it seems deer hunting in Durham won't be legalized in time for the start of the state's deer hunting season on September 7th.