RACINE — Although Thursday was the first time the city’s Sex Offender Residency Appeal board considered an appeal to where an offender can live, it was not the first official action of the board.
That occurred a few weeks ago when the body voted to remove bike paths from the list of places violent or child sex offenders are restricted from living near under a city ordinance.
When aldermen voted this spring to bar violent or child sex offenders from living within 1,000 feet of locations where children spend time, the list included a host of places, including schools, playgrounds, day care centers, libraries, parks, playgrounds, swimming pools, houses of worship and bike paths.
A review by The Journal Times of a map drafted for by the city showing the effect of such restrictions revealed that left only few pockets of the city available to such offenders.
On Thursday, John Campion said he and his fellow board members decided to strike paths from the list after determining that is was “unnecessarily restrictive without an attendant benefit.”
That occurred a few weeks ago when the body voted to remove bike paths from the list of places violent or child sex offenders are restricted from living near under a city ordinance.
When aldermen voted this spring to bar violent or child sex offenders from living within 1,000 feet of locations where children spend time, the list included a host of places, including schools, playgrounds, day care centers, libraries, parks, playgrounds, swimming pools, houses of worship and bike paths.
A review by The Journal Times of a map drafted for by the city showing the effect of such restrictions revealed that left only few pockets of the city available to such offenders.
On Thursday, John Campion said he and his fellow board members decided to strike paths from the list after determining that is was “unnecessarily restrictive without an attendant benefit.”
