Kent City Council authorized an ordinance Oct. 21 that makes it illegal to feed certain wild critters on public or private property.
Specified in the new law are deer, geese, ducks, raccoons, skunks, chipmunks, squirrels and other rodents, feral cats “or other wild animals or wildlife.”
The ordinance does not apply to animals owned by a person or to songbirds fed from a sanitary bird feeder “so long as doing so does not create a nuisance.”
Also exempted are people growing flower and food gardens, landscape plantings and people who have set out decorations such as gourds, pumpkins “and other edible items,” so long as they are obtained on the front porch or stoop of the residence.
Offenders face a minor misdemeanor charge, which carries a fine of up to $150.
The new law comes on the heels of Oct. 7 presentations from city Service Director Melanie Baker and Geoffrey Westerfield, the Ohio Division of Wildlife’s Akron-based assistant wildlife supervisor of human wildlife conflict intervention.
In the past decade, Baker said, deer have gone from “what we were considering ‘becoming domestic’ to ‘completely domestic’ in our back yards. They’ve learned to adapt to backyard living. They have little to no fear of humans.”
Deer have adapted to the easy-to-find food people put out for wildlife in their backyards, she said.
Westerfield outlined a five-tiered approach cities can take to control deer populations: nonlethal, inexpensive options that include educating residents about the inadvisability of feeding deer, and creating an enforceable ordinance against doing so.
Neither affect the size of the local deer population, which he said tends to increase 30% each year without human intervention.
He offered to work with city leaders to safely and effectively implement the three lethal options:
- Urban archery hunting, which he said can be safe (for the hunters and residents) and effective if correctly implemented
- Targeted deer removal, where trained personnel would be authorized to shoot deer on public and private property during winter months
- Surgical sterilization of female deer, who would be darted, tranquilized and sterilized in a “makeshift operating room” that crews would prepare
Targeted deer removal, he said, would cost the city $400-$600 per deer and would, over time, reduce the deer population to a “tolerable level.”
Because professional deer processors tend not to accept culled deer from such programs, Westerfield said the city could maintain a list of people who would be “on call” to immediately take possession of the carcasses. Those residents would shoulder the cost of the processing, either by a professional or doing it themselves, he said.
Should city leaders opt for sterilizing female deer, they would be looking at $1,500 to $2,500 per deer. Lethal control measures would still need to be implemented because sterile does live longer than than unaltered ones, even up to 14-16 years, Westerfield said.
When surgical sterilization is implemented correctly, i.e. in conjunction with lethal control measures, the annual deer population increase can be ratcheted down to 13%, he said.
When to turn down the volume
Also on Oct. 21, city council made permanent a 120-day trial period allowing outdoor music to be played in Kent’s Designated Outdoor Refreshment Area (DORA). The tweak actually reduced by one hour the time late-night music must be muffled.
City ordinance prohibits radios, stereos, television sets, amplified or non-amplified musical instruments, loudspeakers, tape recorders or other electronic sound producing devices in such a manner “so as to annoy or disturb the quiet comfort or repose” of other people in the vicinity.
In March 2024, council allowed music on private property in DORA to be played outdoors from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. Sundays through Thursdays and from 7 a.m. to midnight Fridays and Saturdays.
In July, council set a 120-day trial period to allow private property in DORA to play radios, stereos or musical instruments (as defined above) from 7 a.m.-10 p.m. Sundays through Thursdays and from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays.
Offenders face an unclassified misdemeanor charge punishable by a fine of up to $1,000 and up to 30 days in jail. A minimum $500 fine will be assessed if the offender persists in generating or permits unreasonable noise to be generated after reasonable warning or request to desist.
Ready, set, go
Council also approved a special event application for Run the Land Event Management Co. to hold the 2026 Squirrel City Half Marathon on Dec. 5. The 13.1-mile route will begin on Erie Street, proceed through the Kent State University campus and end at Pizzuti Park, located on the Lefton Esplanade between the campus and downtown Kent. The event will run (pun absolutely intended) from 8:30 a.m. to noon.
The event will include a 6.6-mile quarter marathon. Erie Street from Depeyster Street to Haymaker Parkway will be closed. No admission charge has been publicized.