The following local ordinances apply in Chesapeake City:
- Sec. 50-14. - Hunting. (reference)
No person shall hunt, trap or pursue wildlife at any time. No person shall use in any way firearms of any description, or air rifles, spring-guns, bow and arrows, slings or any other form of weapons potentially inimical to wildlife and dangerous to human safety, or any instrument that can be loaded with and fire blank cartridges, or any kind of trapping device. Shooting into park areas from beyond park boundaries is forbidden.
(Code 1970, § 17B-13; Ord. of 10-12-76; Ord. No. 92-O-149, § 17B-13, 10-13-92; Ord. No. 04-O-090, 6-8-04)
Cross reference— Animals, ch. 10.
- Sec. 46-42. - Discharging firearms. (reference)
(a) It shall be unlawful to discharge any firearm, spring-propelled rifle or pistol, or air-propelled rifle or pistol from or across any land or water in the northern part of the city beginning at the Chesapeake/Virginia Beach city line at its intersection with Centerville Turnpike, continuing on Centerville Turnpike in a southerly direction to its intersection with Mount Pleasant Road, continuing on Mount Pleasant Road in a westerly direction to its intersection with the railroad tracks, continuing along the railroad tracks extending northward to its intersection with the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway, continuing along the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway extending westward to its intersection with the Southern Branch of the Elizabeth River, continuing westward to its intersection with Interstate Route 64 and continuing along such road to its intersection with Interstate Route 664, continuing to its intersection with the Suffolk city line; except, that this prohibition shall not apply to shotguns discharging pellets under the following conditions:
(1) On land that is 50 acres or more of contiguous area; and
(2) Under one ownership and/or lease; and
(3) Used primarily for agricultural or conservation purposes; and
(4) The landowner or lessee has applied for a permit from the chief of police to use the property for this purpose. The permit shall be granted by the chief of police if the application meets the requirements of this section; and(5)Any person discharging a shotgun as set forth above shall, at all times while engaged in such activity have in his or her possession written permission from the landowner or lessee to discharge such weapon on the premises.(b) It shall be permissible to discharge firearms, etc., outside the area described in subsection (a) of this section.
(c) Any discharge of firearms on any land or water enumerated in subsections (a) or (b) of this section shall be further subject to the provisions that it is unlawful to discharge any firearm, spring-propelled rifle or pistol, or air-propelled rifle or pistol from, on, across or within 150 yards of any building, dwelling, street, sidewalk, alley, roadway or public land or public place within the city limits.
(d) This section shall not apply to the operation of a shooting event that is sponsored by an organized group, provided the written approval of the chief of police as to the safety and location of the event is obtained prior to the event.
(e) Nothing in this section shall be construed to prohibit the firing of firearms, rifles and submachine guns and like weapons by law enforcement agencies and military forces in the city as part of authorized training or in the performance of their duties or to any other person whose willful act is otherwise justifiable or excusable at law in the protection of life or property or is otherwise specifically authorized by law including, but not limited to, permits issued by the state department of game and inland fisheries to kill certain animals as authorized by state law.
(f) This section shall not apply to the killing of deer pursuant to Code of Virginia, § 29.1-529 (1950, as amended) on land of at least five acres that is zoned for agricultural use.
(g) It shall be permissible to discharge a firearm pursuant to Code of Virginia, § 29.1-519 (1950, as amended) within the area described in subsection (a) of this section where shotguns discharging pellets may be discharged.
(h) Notwithstanding any other provision in this section, it shall be permissible to discharge pneumatic guns (air-propelled rifles and pistols) at facilities approved for shooting ranges, on other property where firearms may be lawfully discharged, or on or within private property with permission of the owner or legal possessor thereof when conducted with reasonable care to prevent a projectile from crossing the bounds of the property in accordance with Virginia Code § 15.2-915.4.B.
(Ord. of 11-12-63; Ord. of 6-9-64; Code 1970, § 17-59; Ord. of 11-11-75; Ord. of 10-14-80; Ord. No. 93-O-097, § 17-59, 7-20-93; Ord. No. 93-O-171, § 17-59, 10-19-93; Ord. No. 00-O-088, 7-11-00; Ord. No. 02-O-139, 11-26-02; Ord. No. 04-O-051, 4-13-04; Ord. No. 04-O-169, 12-14-04; Ord. No. 12-O-030, 3-27-12)
State Law reference— Discharge of firearms, Code of Virginia, §§ 15.2-1113, 18.2-280.
- Sec. 46-49. - Use of bows and arrows restricted. (reference)
(a) No person shall shoot an arrow from a bow in a manner that can be reasonably expected to result in the arrow impacting or crossing property of another without permission from the owner or tenant of such property. For the purposes of this section, "bow" includes all compound bows, crossbows, longbows and recurve bows having a peak draw weight of ten pounds or more. The term "bow" does not include bows which have a peak draw of less than ten pounds or which are designed or intended to be used principally as toys. The term "arrow" means a shaft-like projectile intended to be shot from a bow.
(b) A violation of this section shall constitute a class 2 misdemeanor.
(Ord. No. 04-O-170, 12-14-04)