New ordinance in Golden will prohibit hunting within city limits
A new ordinance in Golden will prohibit hunting within the city limits. Despite the long history of the city, it's an outlier in that it didn't have such an ordinance until May 14 of this year.
It stems from emergency calls that were made to the Golden Police Department in September 2023. A man wearing camouflage and carrying a bow was spotted in the Stonebridge area near Somerset Drive. He had all the proper hunting documentation and was not booked on any charges.
In the Golden PD's bodycam video obtained by CBS News Colorado, the man shows valid hunting licenses and demonstrates that the area had no prohibitions attached to it.
"We didn't have anything to specifically address hunting specifically on any of these properties," Golden PD Commander Marcus Williams said in a city council meeting on May 14.
"The only way to access the area is through the neighborhood created a lot of concern," Golden Mayor Laura Weinberg followed up.
On various hunting apps, the area of Stonebridge shows private homes and properties where hunting is not allowed. Avid hunter Taylor Rahmann showed CBS News Colorado the app OnX, used heavily by hunters in the area, to demonstrate some of the nuances of Golden's hunting zones.
"First off, it's slightly confusing also because it's the color yellow which signifies to most hunters it's [Bureau of Land Management land]," Rahmann said. "If I saw animals on this that I wanted to hunt I would contact the city of Golden to see if I could hunt on that land."
Months after that incident and just ahead of the 2024 hunting season, the city passed an ordinance prohibiting hunting within the city limits.
"I know this might seem like a taking of the hunter's perspective but it also in some ways increases hunter safety because they don't have to explain away an errant shot in this tight area," said Golden City Councilman Don Cameron.
The ordinance passed unanimously on May 14 and went into effect on May 19. Draws for this season's hunting licenses occur in mid-May and additional draw deadlines are in late June.
