Wellington, FL council looking to pass new rules for vacation rentals and those on the registry.
Wellington, Florida is considering creating a rule that would require vacation rental owners to check to see if potential renters are on the sex offender registry. The meeting is scheduled for tomorrow and will be held by Zoom.
The Responsible Party for all Vacation Rental properties is required to conduct a nationwide search to confirm that the prospective Transient Occupant(s) is/are not a registered sexual offender or sexual predator as a result of a conviction of a sexual offense. The Department of Justice offers a free search for all states on the National Sex Offender Public Website. Further, if a Vacation Rental property is located within 2,500 feet of a school, school bus stop, or park, it is a violation of Wellington’s CO, and of Florida Statute sections 775.21 and 775.215, to allow any person to establish a temporary, permanent, or transient residence with knowledge that such person is a registered sexual offender or registered sexual predator in any jurisdiction.
It should be noted that Wellington makes a misrepresentation in their proposed ordinance. Florida law (F.S. Sec. 775.215 – https://www.flsenate.gov/Laws/Statutes/2018/775.215) only requires 1000 feet, NOT 2500 feet. Secondly, Florida Law is not retroactive (offenses that occur on or after October 1, 2004 for an offense in FL and on or after May 26, 2010 for an offense that took place in another Jurisdiction).
You may provide written comments by emailing Village Clerk Chevelle Addie by August 25, 2020 at 5:00 p.m. at VillageClerk@wellingtonfl.gov, or you may access the public comment online form by visiting https://fl-wellington.civicplus.com/FormCenter/Clerks-Office-14/Public-Comment-Card-77.You must fill out all required information for the form to be submitted. Other available options are by regular mail at 12300 Forest Hill Boulevard, Wellington, FL 33414. Provide your full name and address, and if you are a Village business owner, list the business name and address. If you request, your written comments will be read into the record at the appropriate time. All other written comments received by the deadline will be distributed to the appropriate staff prior to the start of the meeting. Time limits will be enforced so written comments must be limited to 3 minutes. To request to speak during the virtual meeting, you must call (561) 868-8630 prior to the start of the meeting to be placed within the call list.
REFERENCE (20-3910 “Ordinance No. 2211 Vacation Rentals”)
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This article was not correct. They were not looking to bar all offenders from renting. They only were looking to limit renting within their county ordinance, which is 2,500 ft. They said that they “CANNOT make thing LESS restrictive, only MORE restrictive.” They clarified the code to erase the reference to the state statute, which is 1,000 ft. At the very least, this meeting showed me they wanted to be “less vague”.
What time does this meeting take place?
Here is my email to the heros (in their minds) of public safety:
Good Day,
With all due respect, while I can appreciate the need for safety, I am Disgusted by how truly dangerous people do not matter when it comes to politicians passing laws. Violent offenders with long rap sheets? Domestic abusers of woman and children? Felony animal abusers?
That is all A-OK in the book of politics.
Why are politicians constantly attacking the ‘easy prey’, the low hanging fruit? That is what PREDATORS do.
There are nearly 1,000,000 US citizens on the registry from offenses such as peeing in public, to possessing inappropriate images, to a teenager being with a younger teenager, to serial rapists. Are politicians mentally aware of how wide ranging the public-shaming umbrella of “sex offense” actually means?
You want to keep vacationers safe? Keep violent offenders out.
Great comment!
The more work you all do the worse it gets, its entrenched and the aint gonna guve it up, F word ed
I am writing from CA in opposition to this ruling.
Abolish the registry!!!
This is just a rehash of attempting to keep sexual offenders in check and make it difficult although they have done their time and working towards some type of normalcy. When you continue to badger, and exclude those who are working towards a good life, what you are attempting to accomplish creates more challenges because you continue to misrepresent laws and expand laws that were written with a purpose of being fair to “all people”. When you look at the recidivism of sex offenders, it is a very low rate. The chances that one would go to a resort to create a crime doesn’t make sense. What about arsonists? Resorts would be a great place because the opportunity lends itself to what an arsonist would be looking for? In other words, singling out one group does not accomplish what you want to do. It is a waste of time, money, resources and it does not protect the society. Parents, especially in resorts should have the responsibility placed on them, not the resorts or the community.