Sex offender ordinance passes council

WAUPACA – A new ordinance to restrict where a sex offender can live was passed by the Waupaca City Council on Aug. 19.
The ordinance would disallow sex offenders from living within 1,000 feet o\f schools, licensed daycare, specialty schools, playgrounds, recreational trails, parks and places of worship.
The ordinance would also disallow sex offenders from loitering within 500 feet of those locations as well.
According to the ordinance, the measurement starts at the closest boundary line of the offender’s residential property to the closest boundary line of the protected location.
Property owners are also restricted from knowingly renting residential property to a designated offender.
Also found in the ordinance is a restriction prohibiting sex offenders from participating in holiday activities that involve children under 18-years-old, including distributing candy.
Waupaca Police Chief Pete Kraeger presented the second reading of the ordinance at the Aug. 19 meeting.
“The purpose of this ordinance is to provide the city with an additional and reasonable tool to promote public safety and protect children by establishing restrictions on where certain designated sex offenders may reside,” Kraeger said.
After a sex offender is no longer under supervision by the Department of Corrections, unless there is a local ordinance in place, there are no restrictions on where a sex offender can live.
Similar ordinances have been adopted in over 150 municipalities around the state to address local safety concerns.
This ordinance will affect offenders not already residing in the area, courts have made it clear that the ordinance cannot ban offenders from living anywhere in a city, Kraeger said.
Of the 40 sex offenders currently living in the city, they will be grandfathered in, meaning if they are currently residing within 1,000-feet of a protected location, they are allowed to remain in that residence.
However, any new sex offender moving to the area will face the new residency restrictions.
Kraeger said, there will also be a citizen led, five-member citizen sex offender residency board created with this ordinance.
This board will consider appeals to the ordinance’s residency restrictions and decide if the restrictions should be waived for unique situations that may arise with an offender.
The appointments to the appeals board will be made by Mayor Brian Smith, and all chosen will need confirmation through the city council.
“The ordinance has been reviewed by the city attorney, and the Police and Fire Commission reviewed the proposal and unanimously supported forwarding it to the council,” Kraeger said. “The proposed ordinance has been structured to provide reasonable restrictions while recognizing the legal limitations that apply.”