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Neighborhood Report

Sex offenders not wanted in River Hills

This deed-restricted community voted in 2004 to ban sex offenders. Some wonder if such restrictions are too broad.

By S.I. ROSENBAUM
Published May 19, 2006

A sex offender lives less than half a mile from the gates of River Hills.

But that's as close to the community as he's ever going to get.

The deed-restricted community has banned sex offenders from living within its borders.

In doing so, River Hills became one of the first communities to join a growing trend in Florida and the nation.

Since 1997, when Florida became the first state in the nation to offer residents a searchable database of sex offenders' addresses, many communities have found ways to keep offenders out.

Some gated neighborhoods, like the Longleaf townhouse community in Meadow Pointe, have considered going as far as requiring new residents to undergo criminal background checks before moving in.

River Hills' restrictions forbid sexual offenders or predators from occupying a unit inside the gated community - even temporarily.

Privacy and security are the main draws for people moving to River Hills, a 1,162-home subdivision built around a golf course, said resident Rick Massimei. Anyone coming in and out has to check in with a security guard.

The ban on sex offenders passed quietly by referendum in 2004. The vote was 825 to 89.

Massimei, who was president of the community's board of directors at the time, said he wasn't sure who first raised the issue. "I think someone learned a predator had moved into the neighborhood," he said.

The news spread, and a group of residents brought the matter to the board, he said. The board asked the community's lawyer to draft a charter amendment that would keep sex offenders beyond their gates.

Lawyer Michael Brudny, who represents the homeowners association, said he wasn't surprised by the request.

"Most communities aren't happy with having sex offenders living there," he said.

Mostly, community leaders want to know how to publicize the presence of the sex offender, said Brudny.

He said he advises them to notify residents that a sex offender is living nearby. But he tells them not to name the individual.

Instead, he said, homeowners associations should direct residents to the national registry of sex offenders, available online at http://www.nsopr.gov/.

"Any time you try to list people or identify them, you're running the risk of giving wrong information," he explained. "If it's not the same person you thought it was, there's always the chance you're wrong, and then you're facing some liability."

Most communities don't go as far as drafting anti-sex-offender amendments to their charters, he said.

A few incorporated towns have passed ordinances broadening the state-imposed buffer zones around schools and day cares, where sex offenders cannot live by law.

Are residency restrictions like River Hills' legal?

"There's not a lot of case law or court decisions," Brudny said. "But I feel pretty confident that it would be enforceable though the courts."

Nonetheless, Brudny said he finds some part of the restriction disconcerting.

"I wish the Legislature would define things more clearly," Brudny said.

Under Florida law, a "sexual predator" is someone who has committed a violent sexual assault, or has committed more than one sexual crime within a 10-year period.

The term "sex offender," however, is defined much more broadly, and encompasses a range of crimes. A man who rapes a child, a man who exposes himself in public and a 19-year-old who sleeps with his 16-year-old girlfriend are all classified as sex offenders.

"The distinction should be clearer, since the tag stays with someone forever," Brudny said. "I'm disturbed by that a lot."

Howard Simon, state director of the American Civil Liberties Union, agreed.

"Any restriction that covers both sex offenders and predators is too broad," he said. "I think it's a mistake to have a rule that paints everybody with the same brush."

At River Hills, no one does a background check on prospective home buyers. And real estate agents don't mention the restriction.

"I never think about it when I'm talking to people," said Norman Guess, a real estate agent who shows homes for sale in River Hills. "I don't bring it up."

Massimei said that new residents are given a copy of the community charter. But they aren't notified that they cannot move in if they have been convicted of a sexual crime.

How would the community find out if a new resident was a sex offender?

"I'm sure we have people in the neighborhood, like any other neighborhood, who are constantly reviewing the sexual predator list," he said.

Times staff researcher Carolyn Edds contributed to this report. S.I. Rosenbaum can be reached at 661-2442 or srosenbaum@sptimes.com.

[Last modified May 18, 2006, 12:35:14]