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Ordinance 211109E

  • January 18, 2022

 

ORDINANCE NO. 211109E

AN  ORDINANCE  OF  THE  CITY  OF  BEVERLY HILLS, TEXAS RELATING TO THE REGULATION OF SEX OFFENDER RESIDENCY; CREATING A NEW ARTICLE 8.06 IN CHAPTER 8 OF THE CODE OF ORDINANCES OF THE CITY OF BEVERLY HILLS; PROVIDING FOR DEFINITIONS; PROVIDING FOR OFFENSES; PROVIDING FOR EVIDENTIARY MATTERS AND MEASUREMENTS; PROVIDING PROVISIONS; PROVIDING FOR AFFIRMATIVE DEFENSES; AND PROVIDING FOR A PENALTY

BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF BEVERLY HILLS, TEXAS AS FOLLOWS:

Section 1.   A new Article 8.06 is created in Chapter 8 of the Code of Ordinances of the City of Beverly Hills, Texas as follows:

Article 8.06 – Sex Offender Residency

(a)           Definitions.

For the purpose of this article, the following terms, words and the derivations thereof shall have the meanings given below:

Day care center – means a facility providing care, training, education, custody, treatment, or supervision for five (5) or more children for less than twenty-four (24) hours a day.

Minor – means any person younger than seventeen (17) years of age.

Permanent residence – means a place where a person abides, lodges or resides for fourteen (14) or more consecutive days.

Premises where children commonly gather – includes and means all improved and unimproved areas on a lot or tract of land where a public park, private or public school, amusement center, amusement park, public or semi-public swimming pool, water park, child day care center, designated and marked public or private school bus stop, public or non-profit recreational facility, playground, school, video arcade, or youth center is located, including playgrounds, schools, video arcades and youth centers as defined in Section 481.134 of the Texas Health and Safety Code.

Recurring visitor – means a person, who on at least three (3) occasions during any month, spends more than forty-eight (48) consecutive hours in the city.

Sex offender – means a person required to register or verify registration as a sex offender with local law enforcement under the Texas Code of Criminal Procedure, Ch. 62.

Sex offender residence – means a residence that serves as the permanent residence of a sex offender.

Temporary residence – means a place where a person abides, lodges or resides for a period of fourteen (14) or more days in the aggregate during any calendar year, and which is not the person’s permanent address, or a place where a person routinely abides, lodges or resides for a period of four (4) or more consecutive or nonconsecutive days in a month and which is not the person’s permanent residence.

(b)       Offenses

(1)        It is unlawful for a sex offender to establish a permanent or temporary residence, or to be a recurring visitor to a residence, within one thousand (1,000) feet of any premises where children commonly gather.

(2)        It is unlawful for a sex offender to establish a permanent or temporary residence, or to be a recurring visitor to a residence, within one thousand (1,000) feet of an existing sex offender residence.

(3)        A sex offender shall not on October 30 or October 31 of any year between the hours of 4:00 p.m. and 11:00 p.m. leave an exterior porch light on or otherwise invite Halloween celebrants or trick-or-treaters to solicit at the residence, permanent or temporary, of a sex offender.

(c)        Evidentiary Matters and Measurements

(1)        It shall be prima facie evidence that this article applies to a person if that person’s record appears on the Texas Department of Public Safety’s Sex Offender Database (the “database”) because of conviction(s) involving a minor, and the database indicates that the victim was a minor as defined herein.

(2)        For the purposes of determining the minimum distance separation, the requirement shall be measured by following a straight line from the outer property line of the permanent, temporary, or visited residence to the nearest property line of the premises where children commonly gather, as described hereinabove, or, in the case of multiple residences on one (1) property, measuring from the nearest property line of the premises to the nearest property line of the premises where children commonly gather, as described herein.

(3)        A map depicting the prohibited areas shall be maintained by the city.  Said map will be available to the public for inspection at the city police department.

(d)       Culpability

Neither allegation nor evidence of a culpable mental state is required for the proof of any offense defined by this article.  Persons required to register or verify registration as a sex offender with the city’s police department must verify with the police department whether their proposed permanent, temporary, or visited residence is within the prohibited distance of a premises where children commonly gather or a sex offender residence before establishing that permanent, temporary, or visited residence.

(e)        Affirmative defenses

It is an affirmative defense to prosecution under this article that any of the following conditions apply:

(1)        The sex offender established the permanent or temporary residence and has complied with all the sex offender registration laws of the state, prior to the date of the adoption of this ordinance.

(2)        The sex offender was a minor when he or she committed the offense requiring such registration and was not convicted as an adult.

(3)        The sex offender is a minor.

(4)        The premises where children commonly gather, as specific herein, that is within one thousand (1,000) feet of the permanent or temporary residence of the sex offender was established after the sex offender established the permanent or temporary residence and complied with all sex offender registration laws of the state.

(5)        The information on the database is incorrect, and, if corrected, this article would not apply to the person who was erroneously listed on the database.

(f)        Penalty

A person who violates any of the provisions of this article shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and upon conviction, shall be fined a sum not to exceed five hundred dollars ($500.00) for each offense, and each and every violation or day such violation shall continue or exist, shall be deemed a separate offense.

PASSED on this the 9th day of November, 2021.

                                                            CITY OF BEVERLY HILLS, TEXAS

 

 

By:________________________________

Lucy Miramontez, Mayor

ATTEST:

 

_____________________________

Renee Flores, City Secretary

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