06-19-2006, 11:30 PM
Sex Offenders Face Ouster From City
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By NICOLA M. WHITE and DOUG STANLEY The Tampa Tribune
Published: Jun 4, 2006
ZEPHYRHILLS - A tough proposal to regulate where sex offenders can live would bar them from almost every street, mobile home park and subdivision here.
That's exactly what some elected officials have in mind.
"Well, frankly, they're a sex offender. They've committed a crime. I have no sympathy toward them and won't pretend to show any," City Councilman Danny Burgess said. "If we can make a law where they have to live as far out as they can, I'm all for it." :P
Following the example of more than 60 Florida municipalities, Zephyrhills is considering a law that would prevent certain types of registered sex offenders from living within 2,500 feet of a church, school, day care, library or park. That's 1,500 feet more than the restriction imposed by state law.
Imposing a 2,500-foot radius around the dozens of churches in Zephyrhills alone would significantly restrict where sex offenders could live; the city's proposal would push them to the edges of town or force them out of the city altogether, according to Tribune research and a map city officials released Friday.
Under the proposal, sex offenders would be able to live in a few lots in the edges of Silver Oaks, Grand Horizons, Alpha Village and the Oak Run subdivisions. Newly annexed pieces of land - former cow pasture and orange groves - also could accommodate sex offenders, though there's no housing there now.
The city's map did not include school bus stops, which number about 100 within city limits. Considering that the school district changes its bus stop locations at least once a year, factoring those in would prove too onerous, city officials said.
If the city's ordinance also extended a 2,500-foot radius around those bus stops, Zephyrhills would offer sex offenders almost nowhere to live.
The law wouldn't necessarily make sex offenders disappear, though. About 30 registered offenders live in the city now, according to the police department. Those people likely would not have to move, city officials said.
Though it might not be perfect, the benefits of such an ordinance seem obvious to supporters.
"I think it might discourage people [sex offenders] from moving into the city," City Council President Clyde Bracknell said. "That might be one of the best things to come out of this whole thing."
Skip directly to the full story.
By NICOLA M. WHITE and DOUG STANLEY The Tampa Tribune
Published: Jun 4, 2006
ZEPHYRHILLS - A tough proposal to regulate where sex offenders can live would bar them from almost every street, mobile home park and subdivision here.
That's exactly what some elected officials have in mind.
"Well, frankly, they're a sex offender. They've committed a crime. I have no sympathy toward them and won't pretend to show any," City Councilman Danny Burgess said. "If we can make a law where they have to live as far out as they can, I'm all for it." :P
Following the example of more than 60 Florida municipalities, Zephyrhills is considering a law that would prevent certain types of registered sex offenders from living within 2,500 feet of a church, school, day care, library or park. That's 1,500 feet more than the restriction imposed by state law.
Imposing a 2,500-foot radius around the dozens of churches in Zephyrhills alone would significantly restrict where sex offenders could live; the city's proposal would push them to the edges of town or force them out of the city altogether, according to Tribune research and a map city officials released Friday.
Under the proposal, sex offenders would be able to live in a few lots in the edges of Silver Oaks, Grand Horizons, Alpha Village and the Oak Run subdivisions. Newly annexed pieces of land - former cow pasture and orange groves - also could accommodate sex offenders, though there's no housing there now.
The city's map did not include school bus stops, which number about 100 within city limits. Considering that the school district changes its bus stop locations at least once a year, factoring those in would prove too onerous, city officials said.
If the city's ordinance also extended a 2,500-foot radius around those bus stops, Zephyrhills would offer sex offenders almost nowhere to live.
The law wouldn't necessarily make sex offenders disappear, though. About 30 registered offenders live in the city now, according to the police department. Those people likely would not have to move, city officials said.
Though it might not be perfect, the benefits of such an ordinance seem obvious to supporters.
"I think it might discourage people [sex offenders] from moving into the city," City Council President Clyde Bracknell said. "That might be one of the best things to come out of this whole thing."