City says okay to day care center

Convicted sex offenders will have to move from the building next door.

By JANET ZINK
Published July 20, 2007

TAMPA - The City Council on Thursday unanimously approved a church's request to open a children's learning center in Sulphur Springs over the objections of an apartment owner next door who rents to men convicted of sex crimes.

"This is a safety issue to the children," said Chris Stover, who owns the apartments.

Other opponents of the learning center proposed by John Calvin Presbyterian Church said the neighborhood has plenty of day care centers, but people convicted of sex crimes against children have a hard time finding places to live.

State law says people who have victimized children can't live within 1,000 feet of day cares centers, schools, parks, playgrounds or other places where children regularly congregate.

Three people now live in the apartments at 6601 N Nebraska Ave. All have been convicted of sex crimes against children, according to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement Web site.

Once the day care center is built, the men can't legally live next door, according to the Department of Corrections.

Nobody likes sex offenders, said Michael Schulz, who spoke on behalf of Stover.

"But they need a place to live," he said.

Sulphur Springs, he said, is a neighborhood where drug use and prostitution are rampant.

"The kids are in danger," he said. "This is flippin' nuts."

But the argument didn't sway the City Council.

Said council member John Dingfelder, "If the next-door neighbor is so concerned about children, he'll find new tenants."

Janet Zink can be reached at jzink@sptimes.com or 813 226-3401.

[Last modified July 20, 2007, 00:13:13]