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The Town Board of The Town of Lansing, New York, pursuant to a Resolution dated April 19, 2006, does hereby pass a Local Law as follows:

Article 1. History & Authority

This Local Law hereby supersedes all prior Local Laws and Ordinances of the Town relating to the subject matter hereof. This Local Law is adopted pursuant to the Municipal Home Rule Law, which enables local governments to adopt local laws relating to their property, affairs, or government, so long as the local laws are not inconsistent with the New York State Constitution or any general law of New York State. The New York State Municipal Home Rule Law also authorizes local governments to adopt local laws regulating the protection, order, conduct, safety, health and welfare of the persons within the local municipality. This Local Law is adopted in recognition of the recently enacted Chapter 544 of the Laws of the State of New York of 2005 and Article 6-C of the Correction Law of the State of New York, which laws prohibit certain sex offenders from entering upon school grounds, facilities where children are cared for, and other public places. The Town of Lansing has determined that this Local Law is not inconsistent with said Chapter 544 of the Laws of 2005, nor with other laws of the State of New York or the laws of the Federal Government.

Article 2. Purpose

The purpose of this Local Law is to promote the health, safety, and welfare of the community (including the preservation and protection of the persons, property, Minors, and children of the Town of Lansing), and to protect peace and good order in the Town, by regulating and controlling activities of certain sex offenders while within the Town of Lansing, and by providing enforcement in furtherance thereof. Certain activities of sex offenders are regulated by the State of New York and the Federal Government, but such regulations do not preclude further legislation by municipalities. Thus, the Town of Lansing is seeking to further define Local Laws in relationship to individuals who have been categorized as Level Two Sex Offenders and Level Three Sex Offenders. Level Two Sex Offenders have been determined by the State of New York, or its authorized agencies, to be a moderate risk of committing another sexual crime, and Level Three Sex Offenders have been determined to be of a high risk to commit another sexual crime. Therefore, Level Two Sex Offenders and Level Three Sex Offenders pose a threat to the public safety, and it is paramount that action be taken to safeguard the health, safety, and welfare of the community, including the preservation and protection of the persons, property, Minors, and children of the Town, and of the peace and good order therein.

Article 3. Conflict with New York State or Federal Laws

In the event of any conflict between Federal Law, New York State Law and this Local Law, Federal Law shall be deemed primary, State Law secondary, and this Local Law tertiary, but only to the extent this Local Law is impermissibly inconsistent with such Federal or State Laws. Unless expressly pre-empted, any provisions of this Local Law that are more restrictive or stringent that any applicable Federal or State Law shall be and remain enforceable until and unless declared unenforceable, unconstitutional, or impermissible by a court or other tribunal of competent jurisdiction.

Article 4. Construction and Definitions.

Section 1: Terms and words used herein shall be construed in the singular or plural as the context admits or requires.

Section 2: “Community Recreational Facility” means a place, area, structure, or other property or facility owned or operated by a governmental entity or non-profit organization used by persons in the community to carry out recreational activities, including, but not limited to, outdoor and indoor facilities such as tennis courts, swimming pools, soccer fields, hockey rinks, baseball fields, playgrounds, and/or similar facilities. “Community Recreational Facility” specifically includes Myers Park, the Myers Park Marina, Ludlowville Park, the Town baseball and recreational fields along Route 34, and the Town highway baseball and recreational fields near the Town Highway Garage.

Section 3: “Daycare Facility” means any property licensed by New York State (or any County, governmental, or municipal subdivision thereof) for the provision of child or adult daycare, including, without limitation, Head Start, pre-school and after school services or facilities, and all playgrounds adjacent thereto.

Section 4: A “Facility for Minors” means any facility or institution regularly used for the training, entertainment, recreation, care or treatment of Minors while one or more Minors are present, including, but not limited to, Daycare Facilities and Summer or other day or overnight camps and campgrounds, including but not limited to YMCA Campgrounds, YWCA Campgrounds, Girl Scout Campgrounds, Boy Scout Campgrounds, and the like.

Section 5: “House of Worship” means any properties owned by any New York State registered charitable organization or religious corporation used or utilized for prayer, meditation, celebratory or mass services, and/or communion with nature or any one or more deities, including but not limited to churches, synagogues, temples, shrines, and the like.

Section 6: “Level Two Sex Offender” means (1) a person who is designated as a level two sex offender pursuant to Article 6-C of the Correction Law of the State of New York; or (2) a person classified as a level two sex offender by the Board of Examiners of Sex Offenders, or (3) any person adjudicated as a level two sex offender by any court of the State of New York, or (4) any person listed as a level two sex offender on the New York State Registry of sex offenders, or its equivalent. All non-residents of the State of New York that are required to register as a sex offender in their jurisdiction of residence or domicile shall also be deemed “Level Two Sex Offenders” under this Local Law, unless re-classified in another class by the State of New York.

Section 7: “Level Three Sex Offender” means (1) a person who is designated as a level three sex offender pursuant to Article 6-C of the Correction Law of the State of New York; or (2) a person classified as a level three sex offender by the Board of Examiners of Sex Offenders, or (3) any person adjudicated as a level three sex offender by any court of the State of New York, or (4) any person listed as a level three sex offender on the New York State Registry of sex offenders, or its equivalent.

Section 8: “Minor” shall mean any person under 18 years old.

Section 9: “Permit” shall mean a date and time specific written authorization or Court Order, stating that a sex offender may in, enter upon, pass through, or approach any specifically identified Prohibited Area, which authorization shall be issued and signed by any sex offender’s Probation Officer or by a County or Supreme Court Judge in Tompkins County.

Section 10: “Prohibited Area” means, as to Level Two Sex Offender or Level Three Sex Offender, any School Grounds, Special Educational Facility, House of Worship, Daycare Facility, Community Recreational Facility, or any other Facility for Minors.

Section 11: “School Grounds” shall mean any area in, under, over, on, or within any building, structure, athletic playing field, playground or land contained within the real property boundary line of a public or private nursery school, kindergarten, pre-school facility, Head Start teaching or daycare facility, elementary school, parochial school, intermediate school, junior high school, vocational school, special education center or facility, Board of Cooperative Education Services facility, or high school. “School Grounds” shall also include all lands and areas within 1,000 feet of any area, structure or property described in the immediately preceding sentence. “School Grounds” shall also include any school busses or other vehicles, school bus stops and their immediate vicinity, any area where any school bus (or other school vehicle) loads or unloads any Minors, and all school crosswalks and their immediate vicinities.

Section 12: “Special Educational Facility” means (1) any location and/or facility where any physically or mentally handicapped or impaired persons work, are trained, cared for and/or educated, or (2) any home, residential center, or non-residential center used for the detention, supervision, education, and/or training of any persons under the age of 21 who have been voluntarily or involuntarily adjudicated or otherwise declared or determined to be juvenile delinquents or persons in need of supervision.

Section 13: “Town” shall mean the Town of Lansing, as located in Tompkins County, New York.

Article 5. Restrictions Applicable To Certain Sex Offenders

Section 1: Level Two Sex Offenders and Level Three Sex Offenders are hereby prohibited from residing within 1,000 feet of the boundary lines of each and any of the following: School Grounds, a House of Worship, a Community Recreational Facility, a Daycare Facility, a Special Education Facility, and any other Facility for Minors, unless granted a Permit pursuant to the requirements of this Local Law.

Section 2: Level Two Sex Offenders and Level Three Sex Offenders are hereby prohibited from being physically present within 1,000 feet of the boundary lines of each and any of the following: School Grounds, a House of Worship, a Community Recreational Facility, a Daycare Facility, a Special Education Facility, and any other Facility for Minors, unless granted a Permit pursuant to the requirements of this Local Law.

Section 3: Level Two Sex Offenders and Level Three Sex Offenders are hereby prohibited from observing, photographing, or recording in any manner the movements of vehicles, persons, or Minors at each and any of the following: School Grounds, a House of Worship, a Community Recreational Facility, a Daycare Facility, a Special Education Facility, and any other Facility for Minors.

Section 4: Each Level Two Sex Offender and Level Three Sex Offender must provide each School Ground, House of Worship, Community Recreational Facility, Daycare Facility, Special Education Facility, and each other Facility for Minors with a copy of their Permit prior to being present in any Prohibited Area.

Article 6. Permits

Section 1: Permits may only be obtained from either the sex offender’s Probation Officer or a Judge of the County or Supreme Court in Tompkins County.

Section 2: Each Permit must be renewed annually. Where practical to so state, each Permit shall only be granted for specified times, dates, events, and locations. For example, a Permit that recites that is it granted for the purpose of allowing the delivery of a dependent child to a school upon each school day morning shall be a sufficient specification of times, dates, events, and locations.

Section 3: Permits may only be granted when reasonably necessary or when reasonably tailored to allow the exercise of lawful constitutionally protected activities.

Section 4: Permits allow presence in Prohibited Areas only for so long as is reasonably necessary to accomplish the purposes for which the Permit is granted, and do not permit (A) presence at any other times, or (B) loitering.

Section 5: Permits may be granted only for good cause shown. In deciding whether to issue or approve any Permit, the Probation Officer or Judge may inquire of such individuals, groups, agencies, or institutions as are deemed desirable in order to determine whether the sex offender’s proposed access to or near any Prohibited Area is reasonably necessary or for a constitutionally protected purpose.

Section 6: It shall be presumptively reasonable for a sex offender to seek a Permit in the following circumstances: (A) to attend any educational course or facility; (B) to pick-up or drop off any dependent Minor family member or dependent at any educational facility where no other reasonable transportation options are available; (C) to allow a sex offender to vote, petition government for a redress of grievances, or engage in other lawful constitutional activities that are guaranteed by the Constitutions of the United States or the State of New York, or for which constitutional rights are codified or memorialized by the statutes or regulations of the State of New York and/or the United States.

Article 7. Emergencies and Lawful Travel; Limited Permit Exemptions

Level Two Sex Offenders and Level Three Sex Offenders may lawfully enter into or upon Prohibited Areas: (A) for bona fide medical emergencies that require immediate attention, so long as they remove themselves immediately when such emergency subsides or emergency medical care is provided; (B) to engage in lawful business at a federal, state, or local court or governmental agency, so long as they remove themselves promptly when such business is concluded; or (C) to travel upon a public highway for lawful reasons and without any pretextual or planned stops within any Prohibited Area.

Article 8. No Restrictions

Nothing within this Local Law shall be construed as restricting any lawful condition of supervision or probation that may be imposed upon any sentenced or to-be-sentenced sex offender.

Article 9. Enforcement

Section 1: All provisions of New York law generally applicable to misdemeanors shall apply to any criminal misdemeanor proceeding brought under this Article, and/except that each and any misdemeanor identified herein shall be deemed an unclassified misdemeanor.

Section 2: Any person that violates any of the provisions of this Local Law shall be (A) guilty of an unclassified misdemeanor and subject to a criminal fine of not more than $1,000.00 and/or a period of incarceration not to exceed 60 days, or (B) subject to a civil penalty of not more than $2500.00 to be recovered by the Town in a civil action. Each day that a violation of this Local Law occurs or continues shall be deemed a separate criminal or civil violation of this Local Law.

Section 3: Each and all remedies and rights provided under this Local Law shall be cumulative. The Town’s pursuit of any one right or remedy does not effect a waiver or an election of remedies, and the Town may thereafter pursue or continue to pursue any other right or remedy it may have in law, equity, or admiralty. The Town may also maintain actions or proceedings in the name of the Town in a court of competent jurisdiction to (A) compel compliance with or restrain by injunction the violation of any provision or requirement of this Local Law, and/or (B) to evict or seek forcible removal of any person in violation of this Local Law.

Section 4: A presumption of evidence and/or law shall apply to all proceedings brought under this Local Law such that any individual whose name is listed in the New York State Sex Offenders Registry, or its equivalent, as a Level Two Sex Offender or a Level Three Sex Offender, as applicable, is, for purposes of this Local Law, a Level Two Sex Offender or a Level Three Sex Offender, as applicable.

Article 10. Savings Clause.

If any clause, sentence, paragraph, section or part of this Local Law shall be adjudged by any court of competent jurisdiction to be invalid, such judgment shall not affect, impair or invalidate the remainder hereof, but shall be confined in its operation to the clause, sentence, paragraph, section or part thereof, directly involved in the controversy in which such judgment shall have been rendered.

Article 11. Limitation of Liability.

The Town shall not be liable or responsible for any injury to civil or other rights, injuries to persons, or injury or damage to property, due to the Town’s actions, or failures to act, under or pursuant to this Local Law, unless it is proven to a reasonable degree of certainty that such injury or damage was solely caused by a willful or intentional act of the Town, except that the Town maintains all immunities from liability as set forth or referenced in § 168-r of the Correction Law of the State of New York, as now exists or as hereafter amended.

Article 12. Effective Date.

This Local Law shall take effect immediately upon filing with the Office of the New York State Secretary of State.

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