Explanation
This legislation is necessary to address after-hour use of parks with ponds and situations where individuals are harvesting fish by nets and buckets for commercial purposes in park ponds. With reports of this happening at several ponds in the Recreation & Parks system, leading to depleted fish stock and an unbalanced ecosystem, many residents have become upset. Police had been contacted; however there is no specific code precluding net or bucket fishing and without this code change, even parks with ponds are never really closed to fishing. This legislation will ensure that fishing can still be done early in the morning and late at night in reservoirs, creeks and rivers, but that parks with smaller bodies of water, like ponds, will be closed except upon written approval by the director.
Fiscal Impact: NONE
Title
To amend Chapter 919 of the Columbus City Codes, 1959, to limit offshore and shorebound fishing and associated trailering activities between the hours of 11:00pm and 7:00am to reservoirs, creeks, and rivers, clarify that written permission by the director is necessary before engaging in sales activities associated with the parks, and to prohibit the use of nets, buckets, or methods other than pole fishing to harvest fish from ponds.
Body
WHEREAS, fishing is a relaxing recreational sport enjoyed by many Columbus park users, especially children and seniors; and
WHEREAS, the Recreation and Parks Department has constructed ponds in the parks for the aesthetics of the park landscape and the opportunity for recreational fishing close to home; and
WHEREAS, these ponds are located in parks throughout the City of Columbus; and
WHEREAS, fishing from these ponds before 7:00am and after 11:00pm, outside of normal park hours, creates a disturbance and safety concern; and
WHEREAS, harvesting fish by nets and buckets rapidly depletes the stock of fish in the ponds, robbing numbers of people from the enjoyment of fishing, as well r...
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