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HomeMy WebLinkAboutO-4193-12-25ORDINANCE NO. 4193-12-25 AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF ALLEN, COLLIN COUNTY, TEXAS, AMENDING THE CODE OF ORDINANCES BY AMENDING CHAPTER 10, “OFFENSES—MISCELLANEOUS,” “ARTICLE VI, “REGULATION OF SEX OFFENDER RESIDENCY”; BY AMENDING SECTION 10-55 “DEFINITIONS” BY ADDING AND/OR AMENDING VARIOUS TERMS AND DEFINITIONS;; BY AMENDING SECTION 10-56 “OFFENSES” TO MODIFY EXISTING LANGUAGE AND TO ADD A NEW SUBSECTION (b) ESTABLISHING A SEPARATE OFFENSE; BY AMENDING SECTION 10-59(1) “AFFIRMATIVE DEFENSES”; BY AMENDING SECTION 10-60 TO REVISE THE PENALTY PROVISION; PROVIDING FOR A REPEALING CLAUSE; PROVIDING FOR A SAVINGS CLAUSE; PROVIDING FOR A SEVERABILITY CLAUSE; PROVIDING FOR A PENALTY OF FINE NOT TO EXCEED THE SUM OF FIVE HUNDRED DOLLARS ($500.00) FOR EACH OFFENSE; AND PROVIDING FOR AN EFFECTIVE DATE. WHEREAS, the City Council of the City of Allen, Texas, finds and has determined that convicted sex offenders who are required to register on the Texas Department of Public Safety’s sex offender database pose a legitimate, significant, and serious threat to the health, safety, and welfare of the public generally, and to the safety of children who gather in areas where such offenders reside; and, WHEREAS, the City Council of the City of Allen, Texas, desires to establish residency restrictions for sex offenders and to create areas around locations where children regularly congregate in concentrated numbers and where certain registered sex offenders and sexual predators are prohibited from loitering or establishing temporary or permanent residency; and, WHEREAS, the City Council of the City of Allen, Texas, finds it to be in the public interest to amend the Code of Ordinances and adopt such rules for the safeguarding of public health, safety, and welfare. NOW THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF ALLEN, COLLIN COUNTY, TEXAS, THAT: SECTION 1. The Code of Ordinances of the City of Allen be amended by amending Chapter 10 “Offenses— Miscellaneous,” Article VI “Regulation of Sex Offender Residency” to read in its entirety as follows: “ARTICLE VI. – REGULATION OF SEX OFFENDER RESIDENCY Sec. 10-55. - Definitions. For purposes of this section, the following words, terms, and phrases shall have the meanings ascribed to them in this section, except where the context clearly indicates a different meaning: Database shall mean the Texas Department of Public Safety's sexual offender maintained by the Texas Department of Public Safety pursuant to V.T.C.A. Code of Criminal Procedure sections 62.001 et seq., as amended. Halloween means the holiday typically observed on or about the last week of October, when children go door to door to collect candy or other times. Ordinance No. 4193-12-25, Page 2 Linear park shall mean any public land and associated improvements to be used primarily for passive recreation and connecting residential neighborhoods to one another and to public facilities and services. Minor shall mean a person younger than seventeen (17) years of age. Permanent residence shall mean a place where a person abides, lodges, or resides for fourteen (14) or more consecutive days. Premises where children commonly gather shall mean any lot or track of land that is used as or contains a: (1) Child-care facility, as the term is or may be defined in V.T.A.C. Human Resources Code section 42.002, as amended; or, (2) School, playground, video arcade facility, or youth center, as those terms are or may be defined in V.T.C.A., Health and Safety Code § 481.134, as amended; or, (3) Public Park; (4) Linear Park; or, (5) Private recreational facility. Private Recreational Facility shall mean any recreational facility open to minors including parks, pools, playgrounds, skate parks, or youth athletic fields: (1) Owned by a residential property owners association; or, (2) For which an entrance, admission, or rental fee is charged. Public Park shall mean any land designated for public recreation or any athletic field that is owned, leased, or maintained by the city. For purposes of this article, landscaped street medians are not public parks. School shall mean private or public elementary or secondary school, as those terms are or may be defined in V.T.C.A., Health and Safety Code § 481.134, as amended; and shall also include a public school that is closed by the district but is still being used by children for recreational purposes. Temporary residence shall mean a place where a person abides, lodges, or resides for a period of fourteen (14) or more days in the aggregate during any calendar year and which is not the person's permanent address, or a place where a person routinely abides, resides, or lodges for a period of four (4) or more consecutive or nonconsecutive days in any month and which is not the person's permanent residence. Sec. 10-56. - Offenses. (a) It is unlawful for any person who is required by law to register on the database because of a violation involving a victim who was a minor, to establish a permanent residence or temporary residence within two thousand (2,000) feet of any premises where children commonly gather. (b) It is unlawful for any person who is required by law to register on the database because of a violation involving a victim who was a minor to invite trick-or-treaters to solicit the premises, or to hand out candy or other items on Halloween. Ordinance No. 4193-12-25, Page 3 (c) It shall be unlawful for any person who is required by law to register on the database because of a violation involving a victim who was a minor, if such person fails to display a visible sign at their residence on Halloween that states they are not distributing candy or other items. Sec. 10-57. - Evidentiary matters; measurements. (a) It shall be prima facie evidence that this section applies to such a person if that person's record appears on the database and the database indicates that the victim was a minor as defined herein. (b) For the purposes of determining the minimum distance separation, the requirement shall be measured by following a straight line from the outer property line of the permanent or temporary residence to the nearest property line of the premises where children commonly gather, as defined herein, or, in the case of multiple residences, on one (1) property, measuring from the nearest property line of the premises to the nearest property line of the premises where children commonly gather. (c) A map depicting the prohibited areas shall be maintained and annually updated by the police department which shall be available to the public for inspection at the police department. Sec. 10-58. - Culpable mental state not required. Neither the allegation of nor evidence of a culpable mental state is required for the proof of an offense defined by this article. Sec. 10-59. - Affirmative defenses. (a) It is an affirmative defense to prosecution that any of the following conditions apply: (1) The person required to register on the database established the permanent or temporary residence and has complied with all of the sex offender registration laws of the state prior to the date of the adoption of this article and has not been convicted of an offense after the date of adoption of this article that requires the person to register on the department of public safety's sexual offender database. This shall only apply to: (a) Areas necessary for the registered sex offender to have access to and live in the residence. (b) The period the registered sex offender maintains residency in the residence. (2) The person required to register on the database was a minor when such person committed the offense requiring such registration and was not convicted as an adult. (3) The person required to register on the database is a minor. (4) The premises where children commonly gather, within two thousand (2,000) feet of the permanent or temporary residence of the person required to register on the database, was opened after the person established the permanent or temporary residence and complied with all sex offender registration laws of the state. (5) The person was at the time of the violation subject to community services supervision pursuant to V.T.C.A., Code of Criminal Procedure art. 42A.453, as amended, and the court reduced or waived the one thousand (1,000) foot restriction for a child-free zone under V.T.C.A., Code of Criminal Procedure art. 42A.453(c)(1)(B), as amended, as it applies to the person's residence.