WESTFIELD – The Law Department has advised the City Council to repeal the sex offenders’ ordinance because of a recent decision by the state’s highest court.
The Supreme Judicial Court, in an Aug. 28 decision, upheld a lower court decision ruling that a local law restricting where sex offenders can live in the city of Lynn exceeds the city’s authority to regulate where registered sex offenders can reside, a ruling that could have broad implications for about 40 other communities.
The SJC in its ruling states: Conclusion. The totality of the 1999 statutory scheme, incorporating as it does a series of interdependent policies and practices specifically designed to protect the public from level two and level three sex offenders by monitoring and notification to the public, evinces the Legislature’s intent to have the first and final word on the subject of residency of sex offenders.
In addition, insofar as the ordinance effects a wholesale displacement of sex offenders from their residences, it frustrates the purpose of the registry law and, therefore, is inconsistent and invalid under the home rule provisions.
Westfield is one of those communities which sets restriction of where sex offenders can live or even go under Chapter 10, Article III of the City Code of Ordinances adopted on Jan. 20, 2011.
The ordinance prohibits a registered sex offender from “establishing a permanent residence or temporary residence” with 1,000 feet of a school and establishes “child safety zones” which includes schools, parks, both public and private, and playgrounds.
Registered sex offenders “shall not loiter on of within 1,000 feet of any property on which there is a school, park or any private or public recreational facility.”
The City Council sent the Law Department recommendation to the Legislative & Ordinance Committee for review and possible action.
“Our legal department is recommending that we repeal it,” L&O Chairman Ralph Figy said this morning, “but that doesn’t mean it’s a done deal.
“It’s in my committee and I will schedule for discussion,” Figy said. “I anticipate there will be a lot of discussion about it.”
At-large Councilor Brent B, Bean, III, a former L&O Chairman, said this morning that the City Council members know the community better than the state Legislature and SJC.
“I think we should be able to have a stricter ordinance than the state law because we do know our community,” Bean said. “What we have now is an opinion from the Law Department; let the court tell us we have to repeal it. I’d rather sit on what we have in place now.
“If we do have to appeal, we’ll have to go back to the drawing board and write it differently or by doing some sort of overlay district,” Bean said. “We’ve gotten creative through the years to circumvent laws that come down from the state and federal government.”
