St. Cloud City Council Again Tables Level Three Predatory Offender Housing Ordinance

(KNSI) — The St. Cloud City Council has again postponed selecting an ordinance restricting where level three predatory offenders can live.

Council member Karen Larson has been working on the ordinance for nearly two years and hopes this step doesn’t make it impossible to get something done. “My fear is that what’s going to happen is that we’re going to end up with so many variables and so confused in discussing all those variables that it’s going to become very difficult to come to a new conclusion.”

Larson proposed passing the original ordinance made on October 7th to get something on the books with idea of amending the rule later. As it was written, it would have banned them from living within 1,000 feet of a school. Several council members and the mayor were opposed to that concept. Some of the discussion continued on if the rule was tough enough since it excluded things like daycare centers, churches and bus stops.

The council discussed the motions before voting unanimously to bring it back to the table on November 18th. The council will hold a public hearing on three choices at that time. One would ban level three sex offenders with victims under 18 from living within 1,000 feet of schools and parks; another would ban offenders from living within 1,000 feet of schools, community centers and parks. A third would prevent level three offenders from living within 1,000 feet of schools, parks, community centers and libraries. They are considered the most likely to re-offend.

Larson tells KNSI News they’ll have more information at the November 18th meeting. “And by then, I hope that we also have more detailed information about the impact of those maps, because, from my point of view, what we need to do here is balance public safety with an obligation that the city also has to support offender rehabilitation.”

She is concerned that if the rules are too restrictive, they could prevent offenders from living in homes designed to help them reintegrate into society.

The issue came to light after council member Larson learned that two level three predatory offenders had moved across the street from a St. Cloud elementary school in 2022. The topic was first discussed at a city council study session on May 20th and then again at a June 10th city council meeting.

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