FRESNO COUNTY, Calif. (KFSN) — A new lawsuit filed against Fresno County claims its latest ordinance is ‘unconstitutional’.<\/p>\n
The Board of Supervisors is being challenged for its ordinance that is to take effect on Thursday, which seeks to limit the number of sex offenders per single household to a maximum of six.<\/p>\n
The ordinance has been contentious since the Board introduced it, with people on both sides voicing strong opinions.<\/p>\n
This lawsuit was filed by a group based in Sacramento that advocates for the rights of registered sex offenders. They allege this ordinance is unconstitutional and that it will force registrants to end up homeless. But the county is standing behind its move, saying it’s a matter of public safety.<\/p>\n
“At the heart of the matter with this, just making sure when it comes to sex offenders and a lot of homes that are starting to pop up in neighborhoods that we don’t have an over concentration of sex offenders in any one particular location,” says Nathan Magsig, Fresno County Supervisor.<\/p>\n
But a new 12-page lawsuit filed against the County alleges the board’s ordinance violates ‘a sex offender’s right to live, work, assemble, and move about the state.’<\/p>\n
The plaintiff, The Alliance for Constitutional Sex Offense Laws Inc, claims the ordinance is preempted by state law.<\/p>\n
“The fact is, people who are required to be registered are indeed human beings, and they need a place to live. The fact is, Fresno County appears to be ignoring those basic facts and instead of trying to banish people required to register from Fresno County,” says Janice Bellucci, the attorney who filed the lawsuit.<\/p>\n
At the center of the controversy are transitional homes in Old Fig Garden. The supervisors claim they’re a hub for registrants and pose a public safety threat.<\/p>\n
“It’s really transforming some of our single-family residential neighborhoods. That traditionally has been communities of families, whether they be elderly people, or people who are raising young children,” says Magsig.<\/p>\n
But the lawsuit pushes back on that idea, claiming the ordinance will only harm public safety by increasing homelessness of these individuals.<\/p>\n
One example in the suit is plaintiff John Doe, a parolee who is required to live in Fresno County. The suit alleges that under this ordinance, this person would have to leave their transitional home and will most likely end up homeless.<\/p>\n
“Is there any law like this across the state? In any other county or jurisdiction, doing something like this? No, and if there were, we’d be challenging that as well,” says Bellucci.<\/p>\n
In a statement, the county says it has “not yet been served, but firmly believes the ordinance protects residents and is legally defensible.”<\/p>\n
The Center for Living is a nonprofit impacted by this ordinance, in a statement to Action News they said, “while we disagree with the merits of the ordinance; we are now in full compliance. In less than 30 days we provided a new housing solution for 48 adults.”<\/p>\n
The first hearing in Fresno County Superior Court will be on July 1st.<\/p>\n
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