New Pasco County commissioner Mike Moore wasted no time settling into his office, nor cementing his relationship with county sheriff Chris Nocco, proposing an ordinance Monday that could be one of the toughest in the state against registered sexual predators and sexual offenders.
Moore wants to introduce a draft ordinance at the commission’s regular Jan. 13 meeting that would expand existing state law requiring registered predators and offenders to not live within 2,500 feet of where children might congregate.
It’s modeled after an ordinance already in place in Miami-Dade County, and that already has been challenged in federal court by the American Civil Liberties Union. That ordinance prohibits predators and offenders from living within 1,000 feet of a school.
Moore’s would go beyond even that. He wants nearly a half-mile separating predators and offenders from not only schools, but also bus stops, day care centers, libraries, assisted living facilities and nursing homes.
“Anywhere that our most vulnerable citizens congregate,” Moore told reporters Monday at The Shops at Wiregrass, where the sheriff’s office maintains a field office.
Considering the number of bus stops in Pasco County number more than 6,500, that alone could make it nearly impossible for someone who is a registered predator or offender to move into or live in the county. Nocco said he had no problem with that.
“It’s not a bad day if they all leave the county,” he said.
For details on Moore’s proposal, check out the Dec. 10 print edition of The Laker/Lutz News.
