V.M. Ybor residents get little help with sex offender problem
TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — The residents of V.M. Ybor have been coming to Tampa City Council for years to ask that something be done about a high concentration of convicted sex offenders living in their neighborhood.
On Thursday, the city council held a workshop to talk about the issue, but the results were not what residents were hoping for.
“Would that make any of you feel safe having 72 of these harmful individuals living within a quarter mile of your house?” V.M. Ybor resident Kelly Grimsdale asked councilmembers.
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The residents say there are more than 90 convicted sex offenders living in their neighborhood.
“To put things in perspective, the City of Tampa as a population has one sex offender or predator for every 311 residents. That’s as of this morning those stats. V.M. Ybor, in contrast, has one sex offender of predator for every 28 residents,” said V.M. Ybor Neighborhood Association President Kim Headland.
Councilmembers received a report from the Tampa Police Department based on state law and information from the Department of Corrections, informing them that there is little councilmembers can do. The report says state law controls where sex offenders can and cannot live.
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“As I have read the document and have heard the testimony the last time and then read the document, it seems like the recommendation is that we shouldn’t do anything that it make it worse,” said Tampa City Councilman Bill Carlson.
The residents complain that 58 convicted sex offenders live in just three boarding houses on Nebraska Avenue.
Councilmembers voted to ask the code enforcement to inspect the three homes to see if there are any violations. They also offered to set up a meeting with the mayor’s chief of staff.
Headland called this a “partial victory”.
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