Irvine to consider limiting sex offenders’ access to parks

The Irvine City Council on Tuesday could become the latest in Orange County to consider a citywide ordinance banning sex offenders from public parks.

The proposal follows the Orange County Board of Supervisors’ approval of an ordinance in April prohibiting registered offenders from visiting county parks. Since then, Costa Mesa, Huntington Beach, Laguna Beach and other cities have considered similar laws.

In May, Westminster made it a misdemeanor for offenders to visit its parks.

Irvine’s direction is less clear. City staff made no recommendations but presented the council with three options: introduce an ordinance barring all registered sex offenders from parks, bar sex offenders from parks if their crimes were against children, or do nothing and wait to see how such prohibitions work out in other cities.

“There is no clear and definitive judicial resolution in California of the legal issues that may be associated with locally imposed restrictions on the ability of registered sex offenders to enter and remain in parks and recreational areas,” the staff report reads. “The city attorney’s office believes that fair arguments can be made in support of such measures, but obviously no assurance can be provided at this time that such arguments will be adopted by the courts.”

There are 44 registered sex offenders living in Irvine, the council staff report showed. Four are on parole from prison, eight on probation from county jail, two on federal probation and 30 are not on probation or parole but are required to register annually.

To date, laws that restrict sex offenders’ civil rights have been narrow. Courts have upheld the right of cities to limit how near to parks and schools that sex offenders can live, and others have prohibited a subset of sex offenders from visiting parks. There has been no court decision regarding an ordinance as sweeping as that of Orange County’s or as those proposed by its cities, the staff report said.

Should Irvine approve barring all sex offenders from parks, the penalty for any violation would be up to six months in jail and a $500 fine. A second offense would result in a minimum of 10 days in jail. The director of public safety could grant a written exemption for individual sex offenders.

The second option, limited to sex offenders whose victims were children, would involve similar penalties but not offer exemptions.

The council is required to revisit the ordinance at a future meeting.

joe.serna@latimes.com