(A) No person shall discharge any firecracker, rocket, torpedo, or other firework within the corporate limits of the City, nor permit the projectile of same to enter the corporate limits of the City, except said prohibition shall not apply to a public display of fireworks licensed as provided within Chapter 91 of the Revised Code of Ordinances of the City of Mt. Vernon.
(B) Except as hereinafter permitted, no person shall discharge a firearm within the corporate limits of the City, nor permit any projectile from any firearm discharged outside the corporate limits to enter the corporate limits of the City. FIREARM is hereby defined to include, but is not limited to, shotguns, rifles, black powder guns, pistols, all long, recurve, or compound bows, cross bows, sling shots, wrist rockets, air guns, pellet guns, b.b. guns, and hand guns, regardless of method of propulsion. The prohibition against discharge of a firearm as provided herein shall not apply to any:
(1) law enforcement officer acting in the line of duty,
(2) use of a firearm as permitted by Illinois law to resist or prevent an offense which reasonably exposes a person to great bodily harm or death, or
(3) hunting of deer with a bow in accordance with Subsection (C).
(C) A person may discharge a long, re-curve, or compound bow within the corporate limits of the City during the course of harvesting deer if the following requirements are met:
(1) The person must possess a valid deer archery permit issued by the State of Illinois and must comply with all of the conditions of the permit and all applicable laws and regulations of the Illinois Department of Natural Resources relating to archery deer hunting.
(2) The person must have the signed written landowner’s permission from the owner and party in possession or control of the real estate upon which the hunting shall occur and the bow discharged.
(3) The person must submit an application to the City Clerk to obtain a bow hunting license; the submission must include a valid Illinois archery permit and the landowner’s written permission. Upon receipt of the application, the City Clerk shall forward the application to the City Manager for approval, including specifically, approval by the City Manager of the specific designated area for which the City license shall be applicable. Factors which the City Manager may consider include, but are not limited to, the location, size, and use of the designated area and of property adjacent thereto, the frequency and size of the deer population within the designated area, the proximity of the designated area to pedestrian or vehicle traffic, the proximity of the designated area to residential properties, schools, parks, and other similar properties, the typography of the designated area and adjoining areas, and any objections of persons who own, possess, or occupy property adjacent to the designated area. No designated hunting area shall be approved by the City Manager if discharge of a bow within the area presents a great likelihood that an arrow will leave the designated area or if any discharge presents an obvious threat or a danger to any person or property upon the designated area or adjacent thereto. A license shall be issued by the City Clerk only after approval of the City Manager and only for the designated area approved by the City Manager. Each license shall be for one calendar day only and not more than ten licenses shall be issued for use on each calendar day.
(4) The person while in possession of any bow must carry the City license on his or her person and must place a copy of the license in a visible location on the dashboard of any vehicle being used.
(5) The person shall hunt only from an elevated stand having a minimum platform height of six feet. No person shall knowingly direct an arrow across the boundary of or off of the designated area.
(6) The person shall harvest only a deer with no antlers, unless said person shall have received a special license from the City that specifically, on its face, states that a deer with antlers may be harvested. Licenses for the harvest of not more than ten deer with antlers per calendar year may be approved by the City Manager and issued by the City Clerk, provided that no such special license shall be issued to any person unless that person shall have first harvested three female deer within the corporate limits of the City during said calendar year, and in no event shall any person receive more than one special license per calendar year to harvest a deer with antlers.
(7) The person upon a successful harvest shall be solely responsible for removal of the entire deer from the designated area and from any real estate adjacent thereto. No person shall enter upon any real estate, including real estate adjacent to the designated area, without first receiving permission from the owner or person in possession or control of the real estate.
(8) Within ten days of expiration of the license, the holder thereof shall report to the City Clerk whether a deer was harvested and if so, the sex of the deer.
(D) Any person who violates or omits or refuses to comply with this Ordinance shall upon conviction thereof be fined the sum of $500.00; a separate offense shall be deemed to have been committed on each day that a violation occurs except that with regard to discharge of a firearm a violation shall be deemed to have been committed upon each separate discharge of a firearm. In addition, any person who violates or omits, or refuses to comply with the provisions of this Ordinance may be enjoined as provided by law upon the filing of a petition therefor in the Circuit Court of Jefferson County, Illinois from engaging in any activity or conduct in violation of this Ordinance.
(Prior Code, Art. 12, § 12.8)