Most of the respondents want to keep the pit bull ban

• Esther Campbell, project manager with Olathe-based marketing firm ETC which conducted the survey, told the city council Tuesday that a majority of respondents voiced a preference for keeping the ordinance as is.
• When asked if the city should revise the ordinance, 33% of respondents said yes and 59% of respondents said no.
• Plus, 72% of respondents still said “no” to a follow-up question about whether they would support revising the ordinance if the city put extra precautions in place, such as requiring microchipping or special permits for pit bull owners.

The survey was considered statistically valid

• Respondents received the survey, which contained four questions about the city’s pit bull ban, in November and had a month to complete it.
• The survey went to a randomized sample of 2,500 Leawood households, allowing one response per household.
• Campbell said the survey needed at least 400 responses to be considered statistically valid, and it yielded 1,002 responses.

Leawood is the last Johnson County city to have a pit bull ban

• The ordinance specifically names Staffordshire bull terriers, American Staffordshire terriers and American pit bull terriers — or any dog that has the appearance and characteristics of being predominantly of those breeds.
• Leawood’s dangerous animal ordinance went into effect in 2003.
• Since then, a number of other Johnson County municipalities have removed their own ordinances of this kind.

The city may still slightly revise the ordinance

• City staff said the ordinance will stay in place given the results of the survey, but the city will consider adjusting the wording.
• Later this spring, the council will review potential provisions to the ordinance from the city’s legal department.
• City staff said this would mean potentially adding some specifics to the definition of a “pit bull.”
• The council will consider revisions in March.