Following a lawsuit filed against the city by an organization dedicated to protecting the rights of registered sex offenders, Lompoc officials are moving to repeal its ordinance limiting where they can live in the city.
In February, attorney Janice Bellucci, who is the founder and executive director of Alliance for Constitutional Sex Offense Laws, filed a lawsuit against the city in which she claimed that the city’s residency restrictions for sex offenders are unconstitutional. These restrictions prohibit sex offenders from living within 500 feet of a child care center, public or private school, park, or public library, among other limitations.
The lawsuit cites a 2015 California Supreme Court ruling that stated residency restrictions in place at the time in San Diego County were unconstitutional because they severely limited sex offenders’ ability to find a place to live and often forced them into homelessness. Additionally, the Supreme Court found that these restrictions don’t actually make communities safer, but instead jeopardize public safety by making it more difficult to monitor and rehabilitate sex offenders who become homeless.
During the City Council meeting on Aug. 6, City Attorney Jeff Malawy recommended the city repeal this ordinance, citing this lawsuit and previous ones filed against the city over this regulation. Additionally, he said, the ordinance is unnecessary because it’s largely a duplicate of state law.
“The police department can enforce state law and the city will be removed from the target of litigation that we’ve faced over the last seven years,” Malawy said.
Lompoc isn’t the only city the Alliance for Constitutional Sex Offense Laws has filed lawsuit against in recent years. In an interview with the Sun in July, Bellucci said she has filed 36 lawsuits against cities and counties throughout the state since 2015, with dozens more to come. In almost all cases, the city being sued repealed its residency restrictions and the lawsuit was settled.
The lawsuit against Lompoc appears to be heading in the same direction. On Aug. 7, the day after the City Council meeting, Bellucci filed a notice of conditional settlement with the Santa Barbara County Superior Court, which states a request for dismissal of the case will be filed by Sept. 30.
The Lompoc City Council unanimously approved moving forward with repealing its ordinance during the Aug. 6 meeting. The item will appear again before the council for a final vote on Aug. 20, according to a draft agenda for the meeting.
