Sex offender residency ordinance placed on the November 17 agenda for first reading (Ordinance No. 8282)

What the sources say

• Verified

  The November 17, 2026 agenda caption for item 9.2 describes Ordinance No. 8282 as making it "unlawful for persons required to register on the Texas Department of Public Safety Sex Offender Database to reside within 1,000 feet of property where children assemble or gather," prohibiting "renting or leasing residential housing to predatory sex offenders," and providing affirmative defenses and a variance procedure. The memo's summary reads only "This item is the first reading to consider an ordinance for Sex Offender Registration," and staff recommends approval. ^[1][2]

• Verified

  The draft in the packet makes it unlawful for a registrant "to establish a permanent residence or temporary residence within 1,000 feet of any premises where children commonly gather," and for any person to lease, rent or otherwise provide a residence "with the knowledge that it will be used as a permanent residence or temporary residence by a registrant." It defines a permanent residence as 14 or more consecutive days and a temporary residence as 14 or more days in a calendar year or four or more days in a month. Premises where children commonly gather "includes, but is not limited to," public parks, playgrounds, private and public schools, arcades, youth centers, amusement centers and parks catering to children, public swimming pools, childcare facilities and day care centers; planted street medians are not parks. On October 30 and 31 (or other trick-or-treat dates the City sets), from 4 to 11 p.m., a registrant may not leave a porch light on or otherwise invite trick-or-treaters. Distances are measured property line to property line, and the City is to keep a public map of the zones. ^[2]

• Verified

  The draft's affirmative defenses are: a residence established, with registration laws followed, before the article's adoption; an offense committed as a minor without an adult conviction; the registrant being a minor; a child-gathering premises opened after the residence was established; and incorrect database information. It is prima facie evidence that the article applies if the database shows a victim younger than 17. A variance request goes to the police chief, who must rule in writing within 15 business days and may waive the restriction or shrink the zone; one section allows appeal to the city manager within ten days, while another says the chief's decision "is final." A violation is a Class C misdemeanor under the Code's general penalty (Section 1-1-5), each day a separate offense; the draft states no dollar amount. ^[2]

• Verified

  Compared with the September 22 draft as NewsChannel 10 described it, the November 17 packet text covers temporary as well as permanent residences (NewsChannel 10 reported that temporary residents would be exempt), adds the ban on knowingly renting to registrants and the Halloween rule, and does not name libraries among the premises, which NewsChannel 10 listed; the draft's list is not exclusive. No City document read explains the changes. ^[2][3]

• Verified

  The draft attached to item 9.2 carries a header dated "10/5/26," is titled and footed "Ordinance No. 8279," numbers its sections 10-3-117 and 10-3-118 and then 8-3-119 through 8-3-123, and its signature block lists first reading on October 13 and second reading on October 27, 2026. The agenda gives the ordinance as No. 8282; No. 8279 is the Vineyards rezoning (item 8.2), and the City's agenda planner posted November 2 listed the residency ordinance as No. 8281, the number the agenda gives the TIRZ #2 expansion. ^[2][1][4]