After months of meeting via video conference, Aurora City Council will meet in person again at the first meeting following the municipal election, councilmembers decided in Monday night’s meeting.

The decision got two “no” votes from Councilmembers Alison Coombs and Crystal Murillo, who said the council should come back in-person at the next council meeting rather than waiting until Nov. 17.

Aurora City Council has been meeting via video conference since June, when councilmembers voted to meet that way until an official ruling came in from the court in the Kilyn Lewis shooting case. They also turned public comment into a separate session.

Protesters for Lewis have attended every council meeting for more than a year, often speaking over time limits and interrupting meetings.

Lewis, 37, was unarmed while shot by Aurora Police Officer Michael Dieck on May 23, 2024, while officers were attempting to arrest Lewis on a warrant for attempting to commit first-degree murder.

The Lewis family sued the city, and a spokesperson for the city attorney’s office said the city has been successful in dismissing five of eight claims against them.

When the decision to go virtual was initially made, Coombs, Murillo and Ruben Medina all voted against it, calling it a way to silence the public instead of listening.

“We don’t actually get to decide when the people are done speaking,” Coombs said in June.

Since then, Coombs, Medina and Murillo have tried to bring back in-person meetings to no avail, eventually resorting to meeting virtually together in a public space with members of the public.

Mayor Mike Coffman has also tried to bring back in-person meetings, but the decision has been voted down by the majority of council.

On Monday, Coffman tried again, saying he acknowledges that people interrupted council meetings and “made it impossible to do our jobs.”

“I’m hoping that this has passed and that we can move forward with in-person meetings,” Coffman said, suggesting the council meet in-person at the next meeting on Nov. 3, the day before the city’s municipal election.

Councilmember Francoise Bergan suggested instead waiting until Nov. 17, after the election, and the majority of council hesitantly agreed.

Councilmember Steve Sundberg voted “yes” for going back in-person, but said he has no problem going video conference again if people continue to interrupt meetings.

“I haven’t had a problem with going back but certain people know that there are guidelines and structures in place for the benefit of everyone speaking publicly and they just blow those off happily,” Sundberg said.

Councilmember Danielle Jurinsky expressed a similar sentiment, saying the meetings initially went virtual due to “violent threats” against her. She voted “yes” and confirmed with the City Attorney that members can attend virtually even if meetings are held in-person.

“We originally went virtual not because we didn’t want to face our constituency … the first time we went virtual was because of violent threats made to me,” Jurinsky said. “I’m on the fence.”

Murillo and Coombs argued that the meetings should be in-person starting sooner rather than later, with Murillo saying the public has “every right to voice their opinions and be upset.”

“There are many concerns I have with the process of being virtual,” she said. “

Coombs had more to say, but was silenced by a call for the question by Jurinsky, which automatically ends debate.

The council will meet via video conference on Nov. 3 and in-person on Nov. 17.

Also Monday, councilmembers talked about a possible new business permit, called the “socioeconomic impact permit.”

The permit, which was proposed by Jurinsky in Monday’s study session, will come back to the council in the next study session after councilmembers ran out of time to finish the conversation Monday.

If eventually approved by councilmembers in a future regular meeting, the permit would address the clustering of high-risk businesses, such as liquor stores, pawn shops and vape stores, which the permit information calls “predatory retail.”

The council will discuss the permit further on Nov. 3.