Pit bull ban to be revisited by Yakima City Council

YAKIMA – The Yakima City Council is reconsidering a 29-year ban on pit bull breeds within the city.

Reversing the ban will be discussed at the council’s Tuesday meeting after Councilwoman Carmen Mendez made a motion to revisit the ordinance last week. The motion passed by a 5-1 vote.

The Yakima Herald-Republic said the council revisited the pit bull ban in 2013 and 2014. The ban remained in place in 2013 but was modified in 2014 to allow pit bull ownership only if the dog was certified as a service animal.

The city ordinance, passed in 1987, bans bull terriers, Staffordshire bull terriers and American Staffordshire terriers as well as dogs with any “identifiable” pit bull variety as an element of their breeding.

The city has a separate ordinance establishing requirements to keep individual dogs deemed “dangerous” contained on owners’ properties. Council members haven’t expressed interest in revisiting that policy.