» Sex offenders:

Common Council proposal comes after city was sued

The City of Milwaukee may dramatically loosen its residency restrictions for sex offenders. A measure to be considered Monday by the Common Council would ban many sex offenders from living within 500 feet, instead of the current 2,000 feet, of places such as schools, parks and day care centers.

The City of Milwaukee may dramatically loosen its residency restrictions for sex offenders.

The city’s current ordinance bans many sex offenders from living within 2,000 feet of places like schools, parks and day care centers. A measure set to be considered Monday by the Common Council would reduce that “buffer” to 500 feet.

The proposal would also ease requirements for family members who have sex offenders living with them, and exempt those offenders whose most recent crime and incarceration was more than 10 years ago. And it would limit the city’s residency restrictions to apply only to sex offenders required to register under state law for offenses against children.

The measure comes after six registered sex offenders filed a lawsuit in May challenging Milwaukee’s existing ordinance, which was adopted in 2014. In it, they argued that the current policy virtually bans them from living in the city, and violates their constitutional rights.

The current 2,000-foot radius limits Milwaukee’s registered sex offenders to living in about 115 designated residences, with a few exceptions. Reducing the buffer to 500 feet would expand that number to 15,049 residential buildings and 22,105 hous-