Elected officials in two south metro area cities met this week to decide on the fate of pit bulls in their cities, and when it was all over, the cities decided to go in different directions.
In Parker, dozens of residents upset by a proposed pit bull ban persuaded their Town Council on Tuesday night to scrap those plans and instead put more muscle into the town’s vicious-animal ordinance.
At the same time, City Council members 7 miles away in Lone Tree unanimously approved a ban on new pit bulls and imposed tough requirements on the owners of pit bulls already in the city. Only a handful of people spoke against the ordinance, said Lone Tree spokeswoman Michelle Kivela.
Lone Tree officials decided to pass the pit bull bill as an “emergency ordinance,” meaning it took effect immediately. The council “felt that, it being a safety issue, they should go head and pass it,” Kivela said.
Both cities proposed similar ordinances. New pit bulls would be prohibited from coming into the city. Dogs already registered in the city – in Lone Tree, there are about three, Kivela said – would be subject to tighter restrictions. In Parker, that would have meant mandatory registration, microchipping and spaying or neutering; owners would have had to keep their dogs in a secured enclosure and have liability insurance for them. Lone Tree’s new rules are similar.
The two cities are among a handful in the metro area that have considered restricting pit bulls. Already, Denver, Aurora, Commerce City, Castle Rock and Louisville have pit bull ordinances. Federal Heights officials are considering such an ordinance.
“We have several cities around us in the metro area that either have passed pit bull bans or were looking at it,” Kivela said. “(Council members) didn’t want to have an influx of pit bulls in our community.”
During Tuesday’s hearing in Parker, only one person spoke in favor of banning pit bulls, said Elise Penington, a Parker spokeswoman. Most, she said, argued for holding owners more responsible for the violent behavior of their dogs, regardless of the breed.
Council members decided unanimously to drop the ordinance and instead put together a task force to discuss how to improve the existing vicious-animal ordinance.
Parker council member Jack Hilbert, who originally supported a pit bull ordinance, said he was swayed by residents’ arguments.
“The council is really anxious to move forward with a really strong vicious dog, responsible ownership program,” he said. “It’s going to be a zero-tolerance program.”
Staff writer John Ingold can be reached at 720-929-0898 or jingold@denverpost.com.
