TO: Honorable Mayor & Members of the North Port Commission
FROM: Heather Faust, MMC, City Clerk
TITLE: Discussion and Possible Action Regarding a Proposed Ordinance Establishing Stricter Residency, Clustering, and Activity Restrictions for Registered Offenders and Predators, Including a Comparison of Current City of North Port Laws With Ordinances Adopted in Miami-Dade County, Putnam County, and Existing State of Florida Density Restrictions. (Requested by Commissioner Duval).
Recommended Action
I move to direct the City Attorney to prepare a proposed Ordinance for first reading.
City Commission Options
Option 1: I move to direct the City Attorney to prepare a proposed Ordinance for first reading.
• Pro: Creates stronger protections for children and families by expanding residency buffers and preventing clustering, bringing North Port in line with stricter counties like Miami-Dade and Putnam. This can reduce the likelihood of concentrated offender housing near sensitive areas.
• Con: May expose the City to legal challenges (constitutional issues, preemption conflicts, or “banishment” claims) and increased enforcement costs, as courts in Florida have sometimes struck down or limited overly restrictive local Ordinances.
Option 2: I move to decline to adopt additional local residency or clustering restrictions at this time and instead direct the City Manager to have the Police Department continue to enforce existing state registration and residency laws, and to report back in six months with data on compliance, address verification activities, and any cases demonstrating a need for local Ordinance changes.
• Pro: Avoids the upfront costs and legal risk of a local Ordinance and relies on existing statewide standards and resources.
• Con: May leave the City without local tools used elsewhere (e.g., 2,500-foot residency buffers or anti-clustering rules) to address localized concentrations of registered offenders.
Background Information
Florida State Law: State Statutes impose residency limitations in certain circumstances (most commonly a 1,000-foot buffer from schools, childcare facilities, parks, and playgrounds for qualifying offenses). Additional reporting and registration obligations are set out in Florida law.
Miami-Dade County: Adopted the “Lauren Book Child Safety Ordinance,” which establishes a more expansive local residency restriction (notably a 2,500-foot buffer around schools / childcare facilities and mapping / address-compliance resources). Miami-Dade maintains public mapping and an address-compliance program.
Putnam County: Recently adopted a stricter local Ordinance (news reports indicate residency and anti-clustering measures were included) aimed at preventing high concentrations of registrants in limited neighborhood. Staff should review the enacted Ordinance text and related legal analyses.
City of North Port: The City’s publicly posted materials and Code repository show enforcement of state registration and public-notification practices and do not currently appear to include a local 2,500-foot residency buffer or explicit anti-clustering Ordinance. Staff analysis should confirm whether any codified local restrictions exist beyond state law and how the Police Department currently handles address verification and neighborhood concentrations.
Strategic Plan Pillar
Good Governance
Financial Impact
Not applicable.
Procurement
Not applicable.
Attachments:
1. Florida Statute Chapter 775
2. Miami-Dade Residence address compliance
3. 2025-021 Sexual Offender Act
Prepared by: Sara Lane, Administrative Services Specialist
Department Director: Heather Faust, MMC, City Clerk