JEFFERSON COUNTY, Colo. Arvada city leaders are considering an ordinance that would restrict where registered sex offenders can live, as Colorado currently has no statewide law establishing residency limits for offenders. Watch Allie Jennerjahn's report in the video player below: Arvada considers limits on where sex offenders can live in the cityThe proposal would create buffer zones around locations including schools, playgrounds, and libraries. Senior Assistant City Attorney Padraic Emerine presented the idea during a city council workshop earlier this month."So what we're trying to do, and the direction that City Council gave us after that September 8 workshop, was create the possibility of some buffer zone, but not to eliminate the whole possibility of a sex offender establishing residence in the city of Arvada," Emerine said.Under the proposal, a 500-foot buffer zone is recommended for sex offenders, while a 1,000-foot buffer is recommended for violent offenders.Emerine said the ordinance would only restrict where offenders can live not where they can go. For example, it would not prevent an offender from attending their child's football game. Those types of conditions would have to come from a judge.Councilman Bob Fifer questioned the effectiveness of the proposal."They can just drive to the park. Why do you even put anything?" Fifer said. "Because if we're trying to protect our young kids, or the schools or whatever, it doesn't prevent them going onto the property and still doing whatever they do so for the violent predators, even."Mayor Lauren Simpson provided context on what prompted the discussion. She said it began a couple of years ago after an offender moved across the street from a high school girl's softball field."The idea then is not necessarily that he can never go to a park or anything like that, but that perhaps allowing a resident within immediate eyeline of a preferred victim type may not be the best idea," Simpson said.Emerine said 216 sex offenders and three sexually violent predators currently live in Arvada. He said those already living in the city would not be impacted by the new ordinance if it passes."You cannot pass a law and then go back in time and make it illegal for people that were operating under something that was already legal," Emerine said.No date has been set for when the ordinance would go into effect if approved.This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy. ...read more read less