By a 3-2 vote, the Board of Selectmen approved use of six new parcels for this fall's deer hunt, the town's fifth, at its meeting on Wednesday night.

First Selectman Rudy Marconi, Andy Bodner and Joan Plock voted for the hunt and Di Masters and Barbara Manners were opposed.

The vote followed a two-hour public information hearing on the six new hunt areas (there were seven, but Sturges Park was removed due to deed restrictions).

Multiple people living near the 35 acres at Washington Highway/Scodon Drive/Pheasant Lane voiced concerns that their neighborhood was too densely populated, had too many kids and that the parcel was too narrow to hunt.

"I'm going to vote against all the sites because I don't support hunting," Manners said, "but I would urge the board to consider carefully the comments of the people who live in areas that are more intensely developed."

In response to the concerns, the approved motion specified that hunters will stay 300-400 feet from roads and coordinate deer removal with school bus schedules. And the Washington Highway parcel hunting season will begin on November 1 instead of the previously-planned October 15.

The selectmen also agreed that they need to find a way to hold a more prominent public hearing earlier in the parcel selection process in future years—residents attending the previous meeting which led to the hearing being scheduled said they did not feel the Deer Committee's three hearings were publicized adequately.

For those who attended Wednesday's hearing, the Deer Committee walked through all the ways they ensure the controlled hunt safely culls the herd. Hunters pass a multilayered screening process, only hunt one or two to a parcel, shoot downward from a platform, and they only hunt during weekdays so Ridgefielders have unrestricted use of open space on holidays and weekends. Areas are marked with large orange signs and parcel abutters get letters informing them of the hunt schedule.

Still, commenters said they opposed the hunt for reasons including feeling it inhibited enjoyment of the town's open space, it's inhumane and hunters cannot guarantee children won't wander into hunt areas in spite of posted warnings.

"I won't try to tell you that everybody loves the hunt," Deer Management Committee Chairman Tom Belote said. "But there is no alternative ... we have to at least engage in a process that brings the balance down in our open spaces."