PORTSMOUTH, Ohio (WSAZ) -- Despite their natural grace and beauty, deer have become a problem in some urban communities throughout our region.

More and more fed-up homeowners are pleading with city councils to let hunters come in and clear out the deer. That issue is under debate in Portsmouth, and residents are divided about it.

"They're everywhere, but not a nuisance," resident Dan Ross said. "I like to feed them and watch them."

Fielding numerous residents' complaints about deer damaging gardens and personal property, Portsmouth city officials are considering a controlled archery only urban deer hunt in wooded areas within city limits.

Matt Clark, the local Ohio Department of Natural Resources wildlife officer, thinks a city deer hunt is a good idea.

"If regulated, it can work," he said. "Deer populations grow rapidly in city neighborhoods. They can cause car accidents and eat up gardens."

Portsmouth City Councilman Richard Noel said he has plenty of deer patrolling his wooded Portsmouth neighborhood, but he's hesitant about the city hunt proposal. Noel said he likes the deer -- considering them neighbors not nuisances.

"I don't think it's a problem,' he said. "I don't want to see hunters come in to kill deer."

There are alternatives to hunting, but wildlife experts say using contraceptives is too costly and too hard to administer. Trapping the deer and taking them to a deer farm is illegal in Ohio. An urban sharpshooter, meanwhile, can cost hundreds of dollars per deer.

In West Virginia, some state studies of urban deer hunts showed the minimal number of deer killed proved ineffective in managing the overall deer population.

All Portsmouth urban deer hunters would have to take a hunting test. Ross expressed concern about the safety issue of neighborhood deer hunters.

A spokesperson in the Portsmouth mayor's office said it's too late to do anything this year. Any proposal passed would target deer season in 2010.