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REQUEST FOR <br />COUNCIL ACTION <br />CITY COUNCIL MEETING DATE: <br />MAY 21, 2012 <br />TITLE: <br />ORDINANCE AMENDING SANTA ANA <br />MUNICIPAL CODE CHAPTER 10, ARTICLE <br />XII, PERTAINING TO PROXIMITY <br />RESTRICTIONS FOR REGISTERED SEX <br />OFFENDERS TO CHILDREN'S FACILITIES <br />??-? ?h%C.wQ ?.c.c l <br />CITY MANAGER <br />RECOMMENDED ACTION <br />CLERK OF COUNCIL USE ONLY: <br />APPROVED <br />? As Recommended <br />Q As Amended <br />0 Ordinance on 1?` Reading <br />D Ordinance on 2"d Reading <br />? Implementing Resolution <br />Q Set Public Hearing For_ <br />CONTINUED TO <br />FILE NUMBER <br />Adopt an Ordinance amending Chapter 10, Article XII, of the Santa Ana Municipal Code, <br />pertaining to the proximity restrictions of registered sex offenders to children's facilities. <br />DISCUSSION <br />In May 2006, the City of Santa Ana was one of the first California agencies to adopt a registered <br />sex offender proximity ordinance. (Ordinance No. NS-2712). <br />The ordinance prohibits registered sex offenders from being on or within three-hundred (300) feet <br />of designated children's facilities for the purpose of loitering, loitering for the purpose of observing <br />children, or from returning to the location after being told to leave. <br />Under the City's current ordinance, "sex offender" is defined as a person required to register with <br />a governmental entity as a sex offender when the underlying offense was a crime involving a <br />child. "Child or children" means any person under the age of eighteen (18) years. "Children's <br />facilities" include public and private schools for minors, commercial day care centers, city parks, <br />the Discovery Science Center, the Bowers Kidseum, the McFadden Learning Center, and the <br />Newhope Branch library. <br />NEW DEVELOPMENTS <br />On April 5, 201 1 , the Orange County Board of Supervisors adopted an ordinance prohibiting all <br />registered sex offenders from entering into or upon Orange County parks and related recreational <br />areas without written permission from the Orange County Sheriff. The county ordinance applies <br />to all persons required to register pursuant to Penal Code section 290, et seq., and is not limited <br />to those sex offenders whose underlying crime involved a child or children. <br />Following the adoption of the county ordinance, Orange County District Attorney Tony <br />Rackauckas sent letters to cities within Orange County, recommending that they adopt an <br />ordinance similar to the county ordinance. (See attached letters to the City of Lake Forest, dated <br />November 1 5, 201 1 , and to the City of Santa Ana, dated May 14, 2012.) District Attorney <br />50A-1