8-24-2009 Maine:
Two area towns are considering changing their ordinances that determine how close a sex offender can live to a school or other designated area where children might be.
A bill recently passed in the state Legislature requires cities and towns with such ordinances to reduce those restrictions. The legislation, sponsored by State Rep. Anne Haskell, D-Portland, becomes law on Sept. 12.
Oakland and Madison have their own laws, but will need to change them to comply with the new state law.
Accordingly, the Oakland Town Council could change its law as early as Aug. 26. Madison also has an ordinance stipulating how close sex offenders can live to schools and other designated areas.
Madison is yet to consider the issue.
The new law reduces from 1,500 feet to 750 feet the radius a sex offender can live from a school, day-care center, playground or any other designated area. Also, the new state law only restricts people who have been convicted of sex offenses against victims 14 years old and younger.
The new state law, said Michael Starn, spokesman for the Maine Municipal Association, will provide uniformity from one municipality to another.
"And there was the potential for communities stepping beyond what a court might say was reasonable," Starn said.
Starn emphasized that only communities with binding ordinances will be impacted by the legislation. Those without sex-offender laws will continue to have no say as to where sex offenders live, he added.
Peter Nielsen, town manager in Oakland, has no qualms about his town adapting to the new legislation.
"We're sworn to uphold the law," Nielsen said. "We don't want to be outside the state law."
The Madison ordinance is more strict than Oakland's -- convicted sex offenders cannot live within 2,500 feet of designated locations. Town Manager Norman Dean, who said he has not yet received any notification of the change from the state, said the town might have gone a little further than necessary.
By a 59-8 vote at a special town meeting, residents enacted the rule in March 2007.
"I think we can relax it a little without worry from parents," Dean said.
Dean added that he expects state notification soon.
Madison police have responded to at least one violation of the town's ordinance, Dean said.
"Someone was renting property close to a playground," he said. "Police gave them a 30-day notice to leave."
Convicted sex offenders living in Madison prior to the ordinance are "grandfathered in," and are not affected by it, Dean said.
Oakland's law subjects offenders to court action, if they have not responded to a 30-day written notice. The town has the option of imposing fines for each day that violations continue, following the notice. ..Source.. by LARRY GRARD, Staff Writer
August 24, 2009
ME- Change to limits affects
June 3, 2009
FL- Miami Tries To Shutdown Sex Offender Camp
There is something NEW in this report, the State takes a position, while it may not yet be official it is the first time the state has spoken on such issues. If the state makes its position known OFFICIALLY, then it has basically overridden local residency laws -as to distance-. Further, since the ONLY registrants under state control are those on parole or probation, then that -distance- applies to them.
And, FLASH, it would mean anywhere in the state, all local residency laws would be overridden -as to distance- and only for folks on P or P; which would make it easier for P&P Officers to place such offenders. However, registrants NOT under state jurisdiction would have to move or likely be arrested.
6-3-2009 Florida:
A homeless camp filled with sex offenders living under the Julia Tuttle Causeway is once again creating controversy.
City officials in Miami are trying to relocate the sex offenders who have been living under the busy bridge over Biscayne Bay that connects Miami to Miami Beach.
In a letter sent to Gov. Charlie Crist this week, Miami City Manager Pete Hernandez said the state should move the 70 offenders who have been living under the Julia Tuttle Causeway because the city considers a nearby island to be a public park.
The state does not agree.
Picnic Island #4, as it's known, is located 1,200 feet from the Julia Tuttle and is only reachable by boat.
Department of Corrections spokeswoman Gretl Plessinger told CBS4 News partner The Miami Herald that the state doesn't consider the island to be a children's park and it doesn't have a playground. The island is also far enough away from the bridge to meet the state's requirements, even if it doesn't meet the city's. The state's required distance is 1,000 feet, while the county's is 2,500 feet.
The camp started in 2007 after Miami-Dade County passed an ordinance which made it illegal for convicted sex offenders to live within 2,500 feet of where children might congregate. Residents of the makeshift camp say they're unable to find affordable housing that does not violate the ordinance.
City Manager Hernandez claims the offenders are violating the law for living too close to the park. But Miami police won't arrest the offenders and remove them because the land under the causeway belongs to the Florida Department of Transportation which makes it state jurisdiction.
The state has said it would urge the offenders to leave, but the community has continued to grow. Many offenders work during the day and return at night, as required by the state. They wear GPS devices so probation officers can follow their movements. Wives and girlfriends visit and often stay over. ..Source.. by Lisa Cilli
