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Zephyrhills to query public on sex offender ordinance

The city may follow Lake Wales' example and forbid sex offenders from living within 2,500 feet of certain locations, up from 1,000.

By LAURA LEBEAU
Published May 23, 2006

ZEPHYRHILLS - City Council members agreed Monday to begin seeking advice from residents and looking at the possibility of an ordinance that would increase the distance within specified locations that convicted sexual predators or offenders may live.

Council member Kenneth Compton suggested following the example of Lake Wales, which increased the distance from 1,000 feet to 2,500 and added churches, libraries and bus stops to the locations.

Compton's push came after recent publicity about a group home for mentally disabled adults that opened near a church on Fort King Road. Among the residents there is a sex offender.

The proposed ordinance would prohibit sexual predators and offenders from living within 2,500 feet of schools, day care centers, libraries, parks, playgrounds, bus stops and churches. Under state law, it is 1,000 feet.

City Attorney Joseph Poblick and police Chief Russell Barnes emphasized that although the city can stop the offenders and predators from residing within the areas, it can't control where they go within the city. And probation conditions controlling where they go, work and shop, will eventually expire.

Barnes said that 29 registered offenders live in the city. He told council members that it's still crucial for parents to inform their children about such people. Often, he said, it's not the strange neighbor, but Uncle Fred.

Of the proposed changes and future discussions, Compton said, "Is it an end-all? No, but a step in the right direction."

Council member Luis Lopez agreed. "Let's be proactive and take the first step," Lopez said.

[Last modified May 23, 2006, 01:29:11]