Longmont Moves Forward With Ordinance Limiting Housing for Sex Offenders Near Schools and Parks

The Longmont City Council voted on Tuesday night in favor of a sex offender ordinance to limit the number of unrelated sex offenders in a residence to three and to prevent sex offenders from residing within 500 feet of schools, parks, and child-care centers. This was the first vote for the measure with only councilmember Aren Rodriguez opposing the ordinance. There will be a second vote for the measure with public feedback on May 20 before the ordinance is officially passed.  

The Longmont City Council has been discussing the potential ordinance since March 1 after several residents complained about a facility operated by for-profit group Mobarez Solutions that is currently housing eight registered sex offenders, including multiple offenders with offenses involving children. This home is about a half-mile from Alpine Elementary School and just a block away from Rough and Ready Park. In the sex offender database, the Mobarez Home is listed as 0.1 miles from Rough and Ready Park and one-tenth of a mile is 528 feet. 

The ordinance would only apply to sex offenders who are moving to a new residence and would not require them to move from their current registered locations. The ordinance applies to sexually violent predators, those with multiple offenses or multiple victims, and those with offenses involving minors. Sex offenders who don’t fall into these categories would be exempt and “registered sex offenders placed as part of a state law preemption” are also exempted. 

“We can’t ban every registered sex offender from the City of Longmont,” Assistant City Attorney Jeremy Tyrrell said during the discussion after the overlay map was presented. “That’s not allowed under state law, generally speaking. So we’re left with the issue of what do we think is most important from a policy and public safety and that kind of perspective.” 

The original draft of the ordinance included a 1,000-foot setback for schools in Longmont, but councilmember Matthew Popkin made a motion to drop the setback requirement to 500 feet. “I’m making this motion because I'm really not convinced that the 1,000-foot setback is grounded in anything substantive and meaningful,” Popkin said. “I think we want to make sure that what we’re doing is supported by research and evidence and that our justifications for it are recognizing that we are balancing numerous community needs at once.”

Popkin said some unintended consequences of the ordinance could be the creation of clusters and could also lead to housing instability, which could increase the likelihood of recidivism. Before making the motion, Popkin thanked residents for expressing their concerns and said he understands the value of passing an ordinance. 

Councilmember Rodriguez made a motion to remove the restriction of the number of sex offenders that can live in a home together. Rodriguez pointed to the case in Fort Collins where a man was keeping a child in the closet and said this man lived alone. “Congregate living provides accountability,” Rodriguez said. He added that homeless offenders are more likely to reoffend and creating more barriers to housing can cause unintended consequences. Rodriguez was the only one who voted in favor of this motion.  

“We are also representatives of our constituents and our constituents have come out in mass to tell us to take action and to protect our most vulnerable,” said Mayor Pro Tem Susie Hidalgo Fahring. For that reason, Fahrin said she was voting no on councilmember Rodriguez’s motion.