Note the lawyer's comment. This is another stupid law that will cost money in court actions. I guess it is OK to say, motels can only rent to State Officials, or those who are white, etc. etc.. Right?4-27-2010 New York:
Statute on motels that house sex offenders copied by other towns
COLONIE -- Other communities are beginning to copy a Colonie law that regulates how many sex offenders a motel owner can house.
This month, the towns of Lake George and Queensbury passed similar laws to Colonie's. Lake Luzerne passed one in February. The regulations also require motel owners to get licenses they must prominently display by the check-in desk.
Colonie Town Attorney Michael Magguilli devised the law after residents complained for years that motels in the town were housing a large number of sex offenders. An Albany County law -- later overturned in court -- banned offenders from living within 1,000 feet of schools, day care centers, playgrounds and other places that attract children. The law effectively made most of the city of Albany off-limits, shifting offenders to Colonie motels.
Colonie passed a law last August requiring owners of motels with 50 rooms or less to pay $1,500 for a license to house sex offenders. Those with more than 50 rooms must pay $3,000. The town has a point system to determine how many offenders can be housed.
Magguilli said he's glad to see other communities pick up on the law. "I hope it resolves their problems like it did in Colonie."
Two Colonie motels obtained the licenses. The owner of one, the Sycamore Motel on Route 9, said in January he wanted to return his license but has not done so.
"We've got three towns here in Warren County that have adopted really identical laws," Queensbury Supervisor Dan Stec said.
The issue arose after one local motel was found to be housing 14 sex offenders, he said.
"A lot of them end up on some public assistance with temporary housing, which is how they ended up here," he said. "Fourteen in one hotel is an incident waiting to happen."
His town has 22 hotels and motels, he said. They will be sent letters giving them 30 days to get a license, which they must display.
"That was one of the things about the local law I think was very important for the traveling public," he said. "A single young man traveling by himself may decide 'That doesn't bother me,' but a young man with a family may decide 'Let's go to the next motel down the road.'"
Lake George Supervisor Frank McCoy said his town's law also helps protect the tourist trade. "We wanted to do everything we could to protect our residents and our out-of-town guests," he said.
Stec said some people wanted an outright ban. "A lot of people are like, 'Why let them live in the town at all?' '' he said. But a ban is unconstitutional, he said.
Terence L. Kindlon, a defense attorney who has successfully challenged laws limiting where sex offenders live, said he doesn't think this law is constitutional, either.
"It's the same principle at issue. You can't do by indirection what you're forbidden to do directly," he said. "If it's challenged, I expect it's going to go down the same sewer."
He said motel owners will be in a better position to sue than an offender denied housing.
"Some motel owner is going to have to come out and challenge this," he said. "I'd feel a lot more comfortable representing a property owner rather than a potential resident."
Magguilli said he is not concerned about legal challenges.
"I'm firmly convinced the towns have the authority to pass these laws, to regulate these hotels and motels," he said. "It's a misnomer to call it a sex offender law. What it does is regulate hotels and motels."
Kindlon disagreed. "The obvious, real objective here is to say to the motel owners 'We're going to destroy your business if you house citizens who happen to be sex offenders,' " he said.
But Kindlon said he expects more communities to adopt it: "Politicians being politicians, this will probably spread like wildfire." ..Source.. TIM O'BRIEN, Staff writer
No comments:
Post a Comment