Court Orders Mt. Lebanon to end hunting in Twin Hills Park UPDATED 3X

http://www.post-gazette.com/local/south/2015/10/05/Court-orders-Mt-Lebanon-to-end-controlled-archery-hunt-in-Twin-Hills-Park/stories/201510050166

Court orders Mt. Lebanon to end controlled archery hunt in Twin Hills Park

Mt. Lebanon has been ordered to end its controlled archery hunt in Twin Hills Park.

This morning an Allegheny County civil court granted a Scott Township request that the neighboring municipality stop its contractor, White Buffalo, from shooting deer in the 25-acre park at the northern tip of Mt. Lebanon.

The archery hunt, organized by the nonprofit wildlife management group, is part of Mt. Lebanon's ongoing effort to reduce deer-vehicle collisions by 50 percent in five years.

In 1994 the park was purchased from a private owner by Mt. Lebanon, but the park is located within the boundaries of Scott. Scott solicitor Robert McTiernan said the property was purchased with a conditional use agreement stipulating that Twin Hills Park must be used for “recreational uses.”

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Judge: Mt. Lebanon must immediately prevent hunting in Twin Hills Park

By The Tribune-Review
Monday, Oct. 5, 2015, 2:45 p.m.

Mt. Lebanon must immediately prevent hunting in Twin Hills Park in Scott, a judge said Monday.

Scott sued Mt. Lebanon in Allegheny Common Pleas Court, seeking an injunction that would halt deer hunting in the park until the municipality gets permission from Scott's commissioners. The hunt is part of a longtime effort to control Mt. Lebanon's deer population.

An Allegheny County judge granted a preliminary injunction, ordering Mt. Lebanon immediately to put up posters or markers making it clear that hunting is prohibited in the park.

When Scott granted Mt. Lebanon a conditional-use permit for the 25-acre park in 1994, it was limited to recreational uses, said township solicitor Robert McTiernan.

“This is, in our view, not a recreational use,” McTiernan said.

Mt. Lebanon manager Steve Feller wrote in an email last month that Mt. Lebanon does not need Scott's permission to hunt.

“We believe that Mt. Lebanon, like all property owners, has a right under state law to conduct archery hunting according to the rules of the Pennsylvania Game Commission,” he said. “Scott Township officials have been briefed on the program. Twin Hills Park is one of the designated public sites for archery hunting under the program.”

Mt. Lebanon only “briefed” Scott after township officials found out about the hunting and contacted the municipality, McTiernan said.


Update October 5, 2015 3:54 PM

Scott Township Affidavit
Scott Township Complaint
Scott Township Motion and Court Order

Update October 5, 2015 6:15 PM New sign posted at Twin Hills:

Update October 5, 2015 10:04 PM The PG article has been updated. http://www.post-gazette.com/local/south/2015/10/05/Court-orders-Mt-Lebanon-to-end-controlled-archery-hunt-in-Twin-Hills-Park/stories/201510050166 What jerks.

Update October 6, 2015 4:59 AM See, Commissioners? There will be no need for "sharpshooting."

Judge: Mt. Lebanon must immediately prevent hunting in Twin Hills Park in Scott

Despite the injunction, “We have enough properties available that we can go through with a successful cull, and it won't severely affect the outcome,” said Cori Vipperman, a member of Lebo Residents for Effective Deer Management, a group that favors the deer cull.