Page 2 A reluctant Orange City Coun-


cil amended a portion of an or- dinance restricting registered sex offenders’ activities following a state court ruling that the local law was unconstitutional. The ordinance, adopted in


2008, prohibited a registered sex offender from loitering within 500 feet of child care centers, schools, parks or libraries, or ar- eas defined by the city as “child safety zones.” The ordinance further restricted stays in hotels or motels and forbade offenders from participating in Halloween trick-or-treating – no decora- tions, no lights, no candy, no opening doors to the knocks of young revelers. Earlier this year, the Fourth Ap-


pellate District of the California Court of Appeals held in People v. Nguyen that local laws that at- tempt to restrict the movements of sex offenders – entering parks for example -- are preempted by state law.


Lawsuit inevitable Threatened with potential law-


suits over the “no park access” provision of the city ordinance, the council approved an amend- ment removing that language from the Orange Municipal Code during its Aug. 12 meet- ing. “We’re holding our noses,” Councilman Mark Murphy said. “But spending no taxpayer dol- lars for legal representation is a tolerable solution.” When the court originally


ruled that local laws restricting the movements of registered sex offenders were unconstitutional,


the city thought it would have to repeal its entire ordinance, including the hotel/motel stay and Halloween provisions. City Attorney Wayne Winthers met with the organization behind the lawsuit and determined that, for now, deleting the “loitering in a child safety zone” section would be sufficient. “We’re saving two-thirds of


our ordinance,” Councilman Fred Whitaker noted. “We wouldn’t be


Foothills Sentry


able to save the rest anyway, and should thank our city attorney for pushing back.”


Legal fees saved “We’re doing this with great re- luctance,” Mayor Tita Smith said. “But it’s already been litigated and we don’t want to spend a half million dollars defending it.” “It’s prudent to step back,” Councilman Mike Alvarez noted. “Winthers did a great service by


negotiating this solution.” The council voted 4-1 to


amend the ordinance to com- ply with state law. Councilman Denis Bilodeau cast the dissent- ing vote. While the Halloween restric-


tions are likely to stay intact, a pending lawsuit before the Cali- fornia Supreme Court may alter the city’s hotel/motel stay restric- tion. The Orange code currently prohibits lodging establishments


Tuesday, September 9, 2014 State law trumps Orange ordinance


from renting or leasing more than two distinct rooms to sex offenders at one time and must post a notice that such individu- als are staying on the premises. The court case, In Re Taylor, is challenging the constitutionality of those restrictions. Until the court issues its ruling, the Or- ange City Council has directed the police department to suspend enforcement of that portion of the ordinance.


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