Orrington residents will choose if they want to enact an ordinance that prohibits people on the sex offender registry from living within 750 feet of schools and churches
About 35 residents, the board of selectmen, Town Manager Chris Backman and town attorney Andrew Hamilton gathered at the Center Drive School on Thursday to discuss which of three ordinances voters should choose if they decide to vote for the restriction of where registered sex offenders can live.
A special town referendum is scheduled for Dec. 11.
The public hearing and upcoming election follow months of advocacy and petition gathering from Orrington residents who were dismayed to learn the town did not already restrict where people on the sex offender registry are allowed to live.
Maine does not have a statewide residency restriction for sex offenders, but it offers language towns can adopt. Under Maine law, it would only apply to someone on the registry for a conviction of a crime against a child younger than 14.
“I think we can all agree that if there are any protective measures that we can offer as a town, our kids deserve that,” resident and petition gatherer Michael Randall said.
Residents submitted two petitions with similar ordinance language. Those two proposed ordinances are questions one and two on the Dec. 11 ballot. The third ordinance, question three, was written by the town and town’s attorney.
All three proposed ordinances set a 750-foot restriction from schools, parks, playgrounds and other areas where children are the primary users, for people who are on the sex offender registry.
The third choice is the only one endorsed by the board of selectmen. Multiple residents spoke in favor of the third choice during the meeting.
“In my opinion C is for ‘correct,’” town attorney Andrew Hamilton said.
One key difference in the town’s proposed ordinance and the submitted ordinances is how it applies to people on the registry already living in town who may be within the 750-foot radius.
If a registered sex offender living within the 750-foot radius leaves Orrington but intends to return and keeps their home registered at the same place, they will have to move when they return because that is a violation of the submitted ordinances. That opens the town to potential lawsuits, Hamilton said.
The town’s proposal removes that issue, Hamilton said.
“If you’re going to affect the life, liberty interest of an individual, you should do it in a way that’s constitutional and consistent with state law,” Hamilton said.
Residents spent about 50 minutes asking questions of Hamilton about the ballot language and nuances surrounding the legality of the election. The wording of the questions on the ballot had to be done in specific ways under state law and Orrington’s charter, Hamilton said.
If someone votes “yes” on all three questions, the town’s submitted ordinance will supersede the first two ordinances.
The town office’s meeting room, 1 Municipal Way, is open for voting from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., Dec. 11.
