From the Record:
Fair Lawn may restrict areas open to sex offenders
Registered sex offenders will have a limited choice of where they can live in the borough, if a proposed ordinance intended to restrict them from interacting with children is adopted later this month.The ordinance being considered by borough officials would prohibit any registered sex offender from residing within 1,000 feet of any school, playground or child care center. It would also prohibit registered sex offenders from loitering within 300 feet of those places.
Registered sex offenders already living in the “sex offender-free zone” — the 1,000-foot buffer — would not be forced to move.
“The basic idea is we’re looking to prevent any sex predators from being in the area of children. We’re making a statement that we’re out to protect our children,” said Steven Weinstein, a borough councilman.
Fair Lawn will hold a public hearing on the ordinance at its council meeting next Tuesday.
More than a dozen New Jersey towns, including Prospect Park, Paramus, West Paterson and Wallington, have established so-called sex offender-free zones. Northvale is considering a similar ordinance.