CA- Long Beach Suspends New Residency Ordinance for Sex Offenders

5-2-2008 California:

LONG BEACH - The city has temporarily suspended enforcement of its new sex offender residency ordinance, according to attorneys representing about 25 sex offenders and property owners who had filed a claim opposing the ordinance.

Sarah Stockwell, a Fountain Valley defense attorney, said that City Attorney Robert Shannon informed her this morning of the policy change, which suggests "there may be some changes to (the ordinance) before they enforce it."

"It's a minor victory," Stockwell said. "It at least gives our clients and sex offenders as a whole a temporary sigh of relief."

As of 1 p.m., Shannon had not returned a phone call seeking comment.

Stockwell and two other defense attorneys filed the claim with the city last week asking that the law be amended.

The new ordinance builds on the statewide Jessica's Law, which prevents sex offenders from living within 2,000 feet of schools or parks. However, courts have ruled that Jessica's Law can only apply to sex offenders released from prison or jail since voters passed the law Nov. 7, 2006.

The Long Beach ordinance, which the City Council unanimously approved March 18, is broader and more limiting than Jessica's Law.

It creates 2,000-foot buffers around not only schools and parks, but also child-care centers and beaches. Furthermore, it limits the number of sex offenders who can live on a parcel of land, regardless of how many residential units there may be, to just one.

Under the law, most residentially zoned areas in Long Beach are now off-limits to sex offenders, and the ordinance affects all sex offenders, giving it the retroactive status that Jessica's Law doesn't have.

In their claim, the three defense attorneys say the ordinance is unconstitutional because of the retroactive penalties and because it may force sex offenders to sell their homes.

Also, the claim says that by prohibiting property owners and managers from renting to sex offenders, the city is asking them to violate state law.

Landlords would need to use the state Megan's Law Web site, which identifies many of California's sex offenders, in order to keep them out, but state law prohibits the site from being used to deny housing, the claim says.

The city has until June 7 to respond to the claim. If it doesn't, or it doesn't amend the law to the attorneys' satisfaction, then the attorneys plan to file a lawsuit and ask for a temporary restraining order to prevent the law from being enforced, Stockwell said. ..more.. by Paul Eakins