Aurora council passes tweaked ballot measure about lifting pit-bull ban

Aurora councilmembers passed a resolution to put a re-worded question regarding the ownership of pit bulls on the November ballot.

After the original ballot measure was approved in a previous council meeting, a group of residents expressed concerns about the language of the proposed measure, saying it could be "misleading."

City officials updated the wording and the measure went back to a vote Monday and passed.

The original ballot measure read as follows.

"Shall the people of Aurora, Colorado agree that the restricted breed ban in the City of Aurora code be repealed thereby allowing Aurora citizens to own American pit bull terrier, American Staffordshire terrier, and Staffordshire bull terrier dogs within the city limits of Aurora, Colorado with the owners being subject to the requirements of the city code, including section 14-7 concerning keeping aggressive, potentially dangerous, or dangerous animals?"

The re-worded measure reads the same, but adds "that applies to all dogs" at the end.

Back in 2005, the City Council passed an ordinance that banned the dog breed except in instances where the city issued a license. Then in 2010, the city updated the ordinance to reduce the number of prohibited pit bull breeds and grant exceptions for service dogs.

Four years later, councilmembers considered an ordinance to repeal the ban but ultimately referred the decision to voters. In the November 2014 election, voters rejected the ordinance, with only 35.6% voting yes — meaning the ban stayed in place.

Then two years ago, the council repealed that ban. The city's current dog breed restriction policy reads that residents are allowed to own American pit bull terrier, American Staffordshire terrier and Staffordshire bull terrier dogs inside city limits.

In May 2021, Aurora resident Matthew Snider filed a complaint in court against the city, asserting that in passing an ordinance retracting the ban after voters said they wanted it, the council overrode their will.

Snider asked the court to declare the 2021 ordinance void.

In March, 18th Judicial District Court Judge Elizabeth Beebe Volz sided with Snider, ruling that the city's charter and code require "that once an ordinance has been submitted to the voters by way of resolution or referendum, the subject ordinance cannot be revived, repealed, amended or passed except by electoral vote."

Since the city didn't put its decision to repeal the ban up for another vote, Volz declared that the repeal is void.

Robbie DeJonge, an Aurora resident, has spoken up regarding pit bull ownership at previous meetings and has attended the meetings wearing a t-shirt that says "my pit bull is harmless, it's me you should worry about."

On Monday night, DeJonge said she has had her pit bull since the dog was five weeks old.

"He is fixed, he does have his chip, he gets checkups at the vet, he is a good dog and he thinks everybody is his friend," DeJonge said. "I really hope that because of the wording being adjusted on this ballot measure, it will be clearer to constituents as to what they are voting for."

She believes the wording on the 2014 ballot measure was confusing and "possibly intentionally made confusing." The wording now is "definitely better," she said.

Bryon Taylor, who organized End Aurora BSL (breed-specific legislation) said they still have issues with the words "aggressive" and "dangerous" in the same sentence as the breeds, but that he understands why that language needs to be in the measure.

"A lot of people think (we're fighting for this) because we like pit bulls," he said. "Most of the people in the organization would actually like to see less pit bulls overall only because we only want to see them in the hands of responsible owners. It goes the same for German shepherds, the same for labs, it goes for any large breed."

Breed legislation has the potential to cause more safety issues, Taylor said, since breed bans lead to animal abandonment and irresponsible ownership.

The resolution passed, and the measure with the updated wording will be on the city's ballot in November.