LONGMONT, Colo. — Longmont City Council has a first reading Tuesday night for a proposed ordinance to determine how far sex offenders should live from schools and parks.
Right now, there's no rule in place pertaining to sex offenders and residency requirements, according to a spokesperson for the city.
The discussion came about after neighbors raised concerns about a home on Winding Drive that houses eight convicted offenders.
"I don't think solving their problems is putting them in a residential area," said Steven Wilson, neighbor.
Neighbors told Denver7, no one gave them notice.
The home is 0.1 miles from Rough and Ready Park and 0.5 miles away from Alpine Elementary School. At least five of the convicted people living in the home in question have been convicted of crimes against children, according to the Colorado Public Sex Offender Search.
"We got some teenagers, and so we monitor, kind of like, what they're doing. They used to go play basketball at this park right here. Now they're going to the elementary which is a little bit farther over there and out of the way," Todd Charkey who lives in the neighborhood said. "It's something that they're having to avoid. It's something that that we as parents have a very, very, you know, upsetting situation, because we have a hard time even letting them go walk with their friends over there."
The man running the home, Roohallah Mobarez, is a convicted sex offender. His website, Mobarez Solutions, calls the home a "recovery residence."
Justia U.S. Law defines that as, "any premises, place, facility, or building that provides housing accommodation for individuals with a primary diagnosis of a substance use disorder."
He has two homes registered through the Colorado Agency for Recovery Residences (CARR) — one in Longmont and one in Denver.
Mobarez wouldn't do an interview with Denver7, but his website states that people are only accepted into a home if they've granted parole by the Colorado Parole Board.
Mobarez is hosting an open house on Thursday from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. Attendees can meet residents and attend a question-and-answer session to address community concerns.
"There are locations for people to actually get the help they need. That's not in the middle of a residential neighborhood with parks, kids, school," said Sean Sendziak, neighbor.
Tuesday night, city council will consider the ordinance which recommends a 1,000-foot setback between a sex offender's home and schools and day cares, as well as a 500-foot setback from private and city parks.
Denver7 is committed to making a difference in our community by standing up for what's right, listening, lending a helping hand and following through on promises. See that work in action, in the videos above.