With 16 registered sex offenders living or working in Gorham and no action from the state Legislaure, Gorham officials are poised to enact the town’s first sex-offender ordinance.
If passed, the ordinance would restrict where a convicted sex offender could live in Gorham.
Town Councilor Shonn Moulton, who sponsored the ordinance, said Wednesday it “gives a voice to kids that says, ‘Protect me.'”
The town council will consider the proposal Tuesday at 7 p.m. The public will have a chance to air concerns in a hearing before the council acts. If passed, it would take effect Aug. 1.
Moulton, who has a 3-year-old daughter, said he pushed the ordinance forward after the state Legislature failed to adopt a new law regulating sex offenders this year.
Councilor Mike Phinney, chairman of the ordinance committee, said the ordinance would establish so-called “bubbles” where convicted sex offenders couldn’t live. “It sets up zones around schools and day cares,” Phinney said.
Under the proposed ordinance, a convicted sex offender would be prohibited from living or loitering within a 2,500-foot radius of schools and a 1,000-foot radius of children’s day-care centers. It doesn’t restrict access to the town’s parks outside those areas.
Moulton said the ordinance is a blend of similar sex-offender ordinances developed in Waterboro, Lyman and Baldwin. He described it as an ordinance that affects police power and doesn’t need approval from the planning board.
Council Chairman Norm Justice said Tuesday there has been little discussion by the full council of the proposed ordinance.
Phinney said some sex offenders now living in areas that would be restricted could remain if the ordinance passed. “We wouldn’t be kicking people out,” Phinney said.
There are now 16 convicted sex offenders living or working in Gorham, according to the Maine sex offender registry Web site.
Phinney and Gorham Police Lt. Chris Sanborn both said the ordinance wasn’t proposed as the result of problems the town had had with a sex offender. “It’s a hot topic throughout the state,” said Sanborn.
Rep. Chris Barstow, D-Gorham, said the Legislature is still in the process of reviewing how the state should regulate where sex offenders live.
“It’s my hope that Legislature could pass a solution in the coming year that would be workable for all communities,” Barstow said.
Moulton said his proposal has support from the people he has talked with. Moulton recommended that other communities consider a similar ordinance.
“I realized nothing would be taken up on the state side, and I carried it forward,” Moulton said.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
