Strasburg council panels discuss archery program
Below is an article that appeared in the Northern Virginia Daily on March 3rd, 2021.
STRASBURG – Bringing an urban archery program to Strasburg as well as incentives for businesses and a Tree City USA designation were discussed during a recent meeting of two Town Council committees.
During the Public Safety and Ordinance and the Finance and Personnel committees meeting last week, state Department of Wildlife Resources Conservation police officer Owen Heine and biologist Fred Frenzel presented the benefits of and recommendations for the archery program. The program was started in 2002 as a way to control deer populations. It extends the deer hunting season with bows to include September and January through March, when it normally is from October to the start of January.
It can be enforced at a local level and would be permitted in Strasburg because it has no ordinance preventing hunting, and ordinance 54-317 on pneumatics addressing bow use is vague enough to allow it. Revisiting that bow use ordinance has been discussed among Town Manager Wyatt Pearson and Police Chief Wayne Sager, particularly as it relates to pneumatic air guns, which have increased in strength capabilities to the point of being able to take a deer.
Other area localities that are enrolled in the program include Winchester, for the past 10 to 12 years, and Front Royal, for the past four years, Heine and Frenzel discussed.
While Winchester’s restrictions, such as requiring 5 acres of land for hunting may be too restrictive, Front Royal’s requirements of less than an acre have been beneficial, Heine and Frenzel presented. Front Royal also requires bow firing to be from an elevated stance, Heine said, which helps keep bows on properties. Front Royal has reduced the aggressive deer population in town with the program, Frenzel noted.
Zero hunting accidents have occurred in Strasburg and overall they are rare, Heine said.
Sager said that the council could allow Strasburg to apply for the program – which only requires a letter being sent to the state requesting it, allow only the regular deer hunting season in town, or not allow hunting at all.
The committees also heard Community Development Director Michelle Bixler discuss business incentives. She explained the town has an arts and tourism district incentive that can be pretty inclusive.
Qualifying businesses can have the town’s business, professional and occupational license taxes and fees exempt for up to five consecutive years, Bixler explained. If businesses can demonstrate a capital investment of at least $25,000 in the past 18 months, they can have their water and sewer fees waived.
The town used to have a facade program, through Community Development Block Grants, which would match up to $15,000 for facade work. Over 20 businesses had benefited from over $500,000 in funds through that program, Bixler said, with less than $300,000 coming from the town.
Members of the committees gave Bixler direction to explore incentive programs, as she suggested for commercial properties near the Interstate 81 and Route 11 entrance corridor.
“This is important,” Councilwoman Doreen Ricard said.
For the tree city designation, town Zoning and Planning Administrator Lee Pambid said improvements to the town’s tree ordinance and establishing an Arbor Day observation or proclamation need to be done.
Updates to the ordinance include stating trees in the right of ways will be town responsibility, establishing a list identifying trees and printing landmark, or trees of significance, and violations or penalties for not following the ordinance, Pambid said.
A public hearing with the Town Council on the ordinance change will be required.
The joint committee meeting was held as part of Mayor Brandy Boies’ original committee proposal that included joint committee meetings on similar topics and when light agendas occurred to save on the overall number of evening meetings for council and staff, Pearson said.
“This was the first opportunity to test that out and it went very well,” Pearson said.
Public Safety and Ordinance Committee members attending the meeting were Chairwoman Emily Reynolds and council members John Massoud, Christie Monahan and Ricard. Finance and Personnel Committee members attending were Chairwoman Taralyn Nicholson and council members Dane Hooser, Massoud and Paul Weaver.
Contact Charles Paullin at cpaullin@nvdaily.com
