Grover Beach poised to restrict sex offenders

The Grover Beach City Council may adopt a fairly strict ordinance Monday limiting where registered sex offenders who molested children can reside in the city.

If the council passes the ordinance, it would prohibit sex offenders whose victims were children from living within 1,000 feet of schools, parks and licensed daycare centers.

The proposed ordinance - the first of its kind in the city - passed its first hurdle Jan. 22 when the council unanimously approved the first reading of the new law.

“It's very important that we provide staff with the tools to help keep this community safe,” Councilman and Mayor Pro Tem John Shoals said during the Jan. 22 meeting.

State law prevents registered sex offenders from living within 2,000 feet of schools or parks, and Grover's proposed ordinance goes even further, preventing them from living near daycare centers.

“Where it gets to be more restrictive is with the licensed daycare centers; the state law doesn't provide for that,” Grover City Manager Bob Perrault said. “That's the primary difference (between the state's law and Grover's ordinance).”

Perrault added that because of Grover's size, the ordinance could only restrict where sex offenders can live up to 1,000 feet from sensitive sites.

California voters passed Proposition 83, also known as Jessica's Law, in November 2006, which also requires paroled sex offenders to wear electronic tracking devices for life.

Additionally, Grover Beach's ordinance also restricts where sex offenders whose victims were children can live in the city even after they've completed all terms and conditions of their parole.

“We don't have an existing ordinance (regulating where sex offenders can live); most cities don't,” said Grover Police Chief Jim Copsey. “This will be a brand-new ordinance. It does give us more restrictions ... and lets us identify specific parks and other locations.”

Unless any substantial changes are made to the ordinance, Monday's second reading and final vote is mostly a formality, according to city staff.

The ordinance provides a mechanism for the City Council to annually review, by resolution, sites in the city that have been identified as sensitive areas where sex offenders cannot reside, Perrault said.

Sex offenders already living within city limits will be grandfathered in under the new ordinance until they move.

Grover Beach will be the second city in the county to expand on the state's restrictions for sex offenders and where they can reside in city limits.

Last February, Paso Robles passed an ordinance that only allows registered sex offenders to live in a few small areas of the city.

April Charlton can be reached at 489-4206, Ext. 5016, or acharlton@santamariatimes.com.

Feb. 3, 2007