New Sycamore ordinance bans shooting arrows in the city after stray landed in a resident’s yard

SYCAMORE – Last fall, Bill Davey, the chair of the Sycamore Planning and Zoning Commission, found a hunting arrow in his yard – it turned out there wasn’t a law restricting the discharge of arrows in the city.

That changed this week when the Sycamore City Council approved an ordinance to change that.

Sycamore Police Chief Jim Winters said the owner of the arrow found in Davey’s yard was apologetic when approached by police last year, and agreed to no longer practice at home.

“Fortunately it didn’t strike anybody, but once we identified who that person was with the help of Mr. Davey – and they were very apologetic, and they realized the danger – they understood not to engage in that ... anymore.”

Davey attended Tuesday’s Sycamore City Council meeting to thank Winters and Alderwoman Nancy Copple for bringing forward an ordinance that now greatly restricts the discharge of arrows inside city limits.

“I just wanted to thank our Chief of Police and my alderperson, Mrs. Copple, for bringing up an ordinance that I thought needed to be taken care of,” Davey said. “I appreciate that. I wanted to tell them I appreciate what they did.”

Sycamore City Manager Michael Hall said there previously was nothing in the city’s code that prohibited an individual from discharging an arrow.

After Tuesday night’s approval of the ordinance Copple proposed, it is now illegal to shoot an arrow inside the city of Sycamore unless it is done while engaged in target practice within an enclosed structure, while engaged in an approved Sycamore Park District program on Sycamore Park District property or while participating in an instructional course or program approved by a school while on school property.

A fourth exemption was struck from the ordinance because the city does not license any archery ranges, Hall said.

When First Ward Alderperson Alicia Cosky asked if there had been any instances of arrows being shot in the city, Winters revealed the extent of Davey’s story.

“An arrow was found in [Davey’s] yard, and it was from someone who was engaged in target practice on the next street over. So it wasn’t a, by any means, something not to be concerned of. It was a broad head arrow, which is used for hunting, and it flew out of the one gentleman’s yard, over the next yard, over the street into Mr. Davey’s yard,” Winter said.