Dublin City Council will vote Sept. 14 on a deer management ordinance that could put USDA sharpshooters in city parks this fall.
The 7 p.m. session at 5555 Perimeter Drive also carries bids for three park and infrastructure projects, a Darby Township boundary adjustment, a fee schedule revision and a third-quarter supplemental budget amendment. Six ordinances and five resolutions are on the agenda.
Deer management ordinance
Ordinance 51-26 would waive Section 91.08 of Dublin's codified ordinances to allow the city's deer management program to move forward. Council voted 7-0 on May 11 to direct staff to negotiate a contract with U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Wildlife Services for the program.
Under the plan, USDA sharpshooters would conduct overnight deer removal on mostly city-owned land from Nov. 1 through March 31, 2027. Dublin police would clear each area before operations begin.
Sharpshooters would not operate on private land. Venison would be donated to the Dublin Food Pantry.
A thermal imaging drone survey in April counted 112 deer across Dublin's roughly 25 square miles. A community survey in early 2026 drew 3,656 responses. Fifty-nine percent said the population should be managed, and 49 percent supported lethal methods.
Staff also reported 20 dog attacks by deer and 35 stalking or chasing incidents in 2025, up from three and four such reports in 2023 and 2024.
Geoff Westerfield, assistant wildlife management supervisor at the Ohio Division of Wildlife, addressed resident concerns at a public meeting on Aug. 25. "It's generally not just driving around and just flinging bullets all around," Westerfield told the audience, as the Columbus Dispatch reported.
A second public education session is scheduled for Oct. 8 from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at Dublin City Hall.
Darby Township boundary adjustment
Ordinance 47-26 reaches its second reading and public hearing. It asks the Madison County Board of County Commissioners to redraw Darby Township's boundary to exclude land the city has already annexed.
The measure is the final step in a multi-year process. Council authorized a petition in May to annex 201.7 acres from Darby Township as part of a larger 348.6-acre acquisition in the West Innovation District.
Dublin's longstanding policy brings newly annexed land into Washington Township. Washington Township trustees voted unanimously on Oct. 8, 2024, to support the annexation of 79 acres from Darby Township and to conform boundaries through the general annexation process.
Park and infrastructure bids
Council will vote on bids for three projects:
- Hyland Glen Park (Resolution 36-26): A new neighborhood park at Hyland Croy Road and S.R. 161 featuring a restored historic barn and granary, a community lawn, loop trail, shared-use path connections and educational signage. The city's project page targets completion by the end of 2026, though bid documents set an outside deadline of May 14, 2027.
- Riverside Crossing Park safety and streetscape improvements (Resolution 37-26) and a separate electrical infrastructure project (Resolution 38-26).
- Water Tank Improvements (Resolution 34-26).
Bid amounts were not listed in the published agenda.
Rings Road rezoning and other items
Ordinance 48-26 introduces the rezoning of roughly 10.8 acres at 6001 and 6041 Rings Road from residential to Planned Unit Development for St. John's Memorial Preserve. The Planning and Zoning Commission recommended approval 6-0 on June 11 with conditions, including a wider east landscape buffer.
The proposal would allow up to 2,850 ground burial plots and 120 columbariums across three phases for the congregation, which has occupied the site for more than 100 years. Neighbors raised concerns about property values and environmental contamination at the June 11 hearing.
Ordinance 50-26 proposes a third-quarter supplemental budget amendment. Ordinance 49-26 would revise the city's fee schedule. Dollar figures for both were not available in the published agenda.
The meeting also includes briefings on the Dublin Community Recreation Center Refresh Phase III, a quarterly IT update and a quarterly public safety update. The next regular Council meeting is Sept. 28.
