Pit Bull Ban May End In Lakewood

LAKEWOOD, OH — Mayor Mike Summers has proposed an end to the city's breed-specific legislation, which bans pit bulls in the city. The legislation gained regional notoriety when a local woman was told she had to get her pet pit bull out of the city over the summer.

“When this ban was passed back in 2008, it was done with the idea of safety in mind,” Summers said in an emailed statement. “Since then, that’s what we’ve had in mind when enforcing this. However, the time has come for us to reevaluate.”

The legislation was introduced at Tuesday's Lakewood City Council meeting, where it had its first reading. Critics of both the existing pit bull ban and Summers' proposed legislation were out in force, calling for a more explicit end to breed-specific legislation.

New city councilperson Tristan Rader even went so far as to call the proposed ordinance "racist." He said he would not vote for the proposed legislation to even be moved to committee for work.

The new ordinance would remove the ban on any specific dog breed, but there would be requirements for how certain dog breeds are handled both at home and in public. The proposal is modeled off of similar legislation in Lima, Avon Lake and Rocky River, Summers said.

The new legislation would mandate that when certain dog breeds are at an owner's home they must be:

• Inside an enclosure with a secured top, including a house
• In a locked fenced yard in the rear of the property also tethered to the ground on a tether no longer than 10 feet or on a tether controlled by someone 18 and older
• In a locked pen, with a secure top, and supervised by someone 18 and older

When certain dog breeds are outside they must be:

• Muzzled and on a leash no longer than 6 feet in length and have a person controlling them who is 18 and older
• Inside an enclosure with a secured top, including a house
• In a locked fenced yard in the rear of the property also tethered to the ground on a tether no longer than 10 feet or on a tether controlled by someone 18 and older
• In a locked pen, with a secure top, and supervised by someone 18 and older

The specific breeds named in the legislation include: pit bulls, pit bull mixes, American Staffordshire terriers, Stafforshire bull terriers, American pit bull terriers, American bulldogs, canary mastiff dogs and Cane Corso dogs.

“The idea with this new ordinance is to focus on how the dogs are controlled by their owners and therefore hold the owners responsible,” he said.

Photo from City of Lakewood