- September 21, 2024
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An ordinance pursuing increased residency distance requirements for sexual offenders and sexual predators in unincorporated areas of Volusia County is moving forward — but with resistance.
The Volusia County Council approved two motions on Tuesday, Oct. 17, related to County Councilman Danny Robin's "Safer Volusia" initiative, both by a 5-2 vote. The first motion directed staff to bring back an ordinance increasing the existing distance requirement dictated by Florida Statute prohibiting sexual offenders and predators from living within 1,000 feet from schools, daycares, parks and playgrounds to 1,500 feet. Councilman Don Dempsey and Chair Jeff Brower voted against, citing concerns about eliminating available housing for these offenders on the west side of the county.
According to data provided by the county, the increased distance requirement would result in a loss of 1,895 units or 6.1% of the total 30,926 residential units available to sexual offenders and predators today.
The Volusia Sheriff's Office reports there are 1,267 registered sexual offenders and about 120 sexual predators in the county.
Dempsey, a former prosecutor, said he and Assistant County Attorney Russ Brown spoke with a probation officer who told them that the increased distance requirement would eliminate two of the three existing apartment complexes on the west side of the county whose landlords are willing to rent to offenders.
"If this passes, this is not just a 6% reduction in housing," Dempsey said. "This wipes out the entire west side."
Most cities in Volusia County have increased distance requirements for sexual offenders and predators. In Ormond Beach, they cannot live within 2,500 feet of churches, schools, parks, daycares, playgrounds, the library, recreational facilities, bus stops and the beach.
Only in unincorporated areas of the county, the city of Pierson and the town of Ponce Inlet (which doesn't have a school) can offenders and predators live within 1,000 feet of schools and daycares. Ponce Inlet prohibits them from living within 2,500 feet of parks and playgrounds. The county and Pierson adhere to the state's 1,000 feet requirement for parks and playgrounds.
Robins, a former police officer for the Daytona Beach Police Department, said the ordinance would not apply to sexual offenders and predators who are currently living within 1,500 feet of a designated facility; it would only apply to those who look for housing after the ordinance takes effect.
The ordinance would also make an exception if the offender or predator was a minor when he or she committed the offense and he or she was not convicted as an adult, or if a facility was built within the 1,500 feet of their residence after they moved into their home.
"If you're asking for sympathy for me over 500 feet, ladies and gentlemen, you're not going to get it," Robins said. "I'm sorry. To me, this is common sense legislation."
He also highlighted the fact that he'd received letters of support from the Volusia Sheriff's Office, State Attorney R.J. Larizza's office, and the police chiefs of South Daytona, New Smyrna Beach, Edgewater, Port Orange and Ormond Beach.
Dempsey said it's not a "politically popular" position to take in an election year to show perceived leniency toward sex offenders.
"I was talking about this in my campaign when I ran for state attorney, so yeah, it's no wonder that I lost, because again, it doesn't sound politically correct to say, 'We need to back off just a little bit on these sex offenders,'" Dempsey said. "It's rather, 'Let's get the torches and the pitchforks out and let's get them.' That's the politically correct way to get elected or reelected."
The "tough on crime" approach will force some of the offenders into homelessness, Dempsey said.
Brower said it should be a simple issue because they all care about children.
"This should be a slam dunk ... but I'm worried about the unintended consequences," Brower said.
The first motion approved by the council also directed staff to bring back residency data on how many rental properties will be eliminated should the distance requirement be increased to 1,500.
As part of Robin's "Safer Volusia" initiative, the council also voted 5-2 to pursue a fee schedule for registrations for sexual offenders and predators, with an administrative fee study to support the new fee. Dempsey and Councilman Troy Kent voted against.
Robins said while sex offenders and predators already have to register with VSO, there are costs associated with processing applications.
"The paperwork, the printer ink, the desks, the computers, the tracking, the man hours — all of this creates a burden on the taxpayer that we, as a council, have the ability statutorily to charge for those services," Robins said.
Councilman Matt Reinhart said fees are collected for other applications, like building permits and vehicle tags.
"Right now, the taxpayers that are not guilty of these things are paying for it," he said. "... Things take time and money, so we're just trying to offset those costs."
Dempsey argued that sex offenders and sexual predators pay court costs, including a monthly cost for probation supervision.
"It's not like the taxpayers are footing the bill for all their supervision," he said. "I mean, they do pay, and I would only point out these sex offenders are given pretty onerous conditions for sex offender probation. It's not like typical probation, so now we're just adding more of a burden to them."
Robin's initiative also sought to establish a "designated children's play area." This would prevent all adults 18 and older who are not accompanying a child from entering or lingering in a playground if there are children present. This motion failed 6-1, with Robins being the only vote in favor.
The rest of the councilmen thought this restriction wouldn't necessarily increase safety for children, as sexual crimes can occur anywhere, and thought it would harm residents who want to enjoy parks. Councilman Troy Kent asked what would happen if two high school seniors wanted to go to a park. Under the ordinance, they would be banned from doing so if there were other children present.
"We're criminalizing innocent behavior," Kent said. "I think about those two 18-year-old seniors, still in high school, who we're going to criminalize them going to a public park and swinging on a swing? Or God forbid, they want to go down the slide."
Robin's initiative also included a proposal to add cameras in county parks and playgrounds, but he opted to hold off on making a motion, citing that he wanted to collect more information.
