Irvine City Council is scheduled Tuesday to discuss a law banning registered sex offenders from city parks, which would emulate a similar ordinance the Orange County Board of Supervisors passed last month for county parks.
“As a father of two young girls and an officeholder in one of America’s Safest Cities, I believe we should always be looking for new ways to increase the safety of our city’s children,” Councilman Jeffrey Lalloway said in a press release.
Lalloway started the push for the ordinance after he and other council members received at letter urging them to follow in the county’s footsteps. Orange County District Attorney Tony Rackauckas and Board of Supervisors Chairman Bill Campbell both signed the letter.
The county ordinance requires registered sex offenders to get written permission from Sheriff Sandra Hutchens before entering county parks. Punishment for a first violation of the law could include imprisonment and a fine of up to $500.
Lalloway said he’s “been assured” that both Rackauckas and Hutchens are going appear at the council meeting in support of his proposal.
In other scheduled council action:
Council is set to vote on waiving city permit fees for solar-panel installations at both commercial and residential properties.
The typical permit for a solar panel system at a residential home is $210, according to a city staff report. The fee waiver’s total fiscal impact to the city depends on how many permits are given out. The staff report suggests that if there is a 20 percent increase in permits over the next 12 months, approximately $28,000 in permit fees would be waived.
The fee waiver would also be in line with a 2010 voter approved initiative — the Irvine Sustainable Community Initiative – which calls for the city to implement policies that encourage renewable energy and environmentally friendly programs.