The resolution, which was proposed by Councilwoman Kathy Walsh and will be aired by the Town Board at a public hearing Aug. 5, expands the town's Child Protection Act to include a provision that would limit the number of sex offenders allowed to reside in a single-family home to just two.
There are currently nine homes in the Coram ZIP code, all in Gordon Heights, housing three or more sex offenders, according to the New York state sex offender registry. Each of those homes is owned by the family of the late Mary Dodson, according to Brookhaven tax records. Five of those homes house four or more sex offenders, including 92B Homestead Drive, which is home to seven. There are two more Coram homes that house two sex offenders each, including 95 Homestead Drive, which, according to assistant town attorney Stephen Kiely, does not have the required rental permits.
According to Mr. Kiely, 14 homes owned by the Dodsons have been cited for not having rental permits the past several years. Twelve of those homes have come into compliance. The other Dodson house still not in compliance, according to Mr. Kiely, is located at 82 Norfleet Lane and is currently home to one registered sex offender.
The nine homes where three or more sex offenders reside are on four adjacent streets -- Homestead Drive, Fife Drive, Carr Lane and Norfleet Lane -- within a mile of each other. Homestead Drive is home to 25 sex offenders.
"[Gordon Heights] is a nationally known saturation area," said Laura Ahearn, executive director of Parents for Megan's Law, a Stony Brook-based not-for-profit. "This has been a problem for more than a decade. We've been working on getting a bill like this passed for a long time."
While sex offenders already living in the area would be permitted to remain at their current addresses, houses already over the limit would not be permitted to accept any more registered sex offenders as tenants. By attrition, those homes would eventually no longer be home to more than two sex offenders.
Eventually, Ms. Ahearn believes, the number of sex offenders living in Coram will dramatically decrease.
"It won't take long at all," she said. "We've seen a lot of shuffling. I'd imagine you'll see a difference after the first quarter ... and after a year you'll see a real significant improvement."
Ms. Ahearn said her organization has previously lobbied for similar legislation at the state and county levels, but was unsuccessful because such zoning issues are handled at the town level. Should the Town Board approved the proposed legislation, Brookhaven would be the first town in New York State to adopt such a law.
Under current town laws as many as eight unrelated people are allowed to inhabit one single-family home. Therefore, it is legal for as many as eight sex offenders to live under the same roof.
Ms. Walsh said that even though she doesn't represent the Gordon Heights area, the legislation is important to her in her role as the Town Board liaison to the Brookhaven Youth Bureau.
"I feel this is part of my responsibility," Ms. Walsh said. "This townwide quality-of-life issue crosses all Town Council lines."
In all, there are 73 sex offenders living in Coram, more than any other hamlet in Suffolk County.
Homes in Coram where two or more sex offenders reside:
78 Carr Lane (4)
82 Carr Lane (3)
15 Fife Drive (6)
18 Fife Drive (2)
85 Homestead Drive (3)
86 Homestead Drive (5)
92 Homestead Drive (4)
92B Homestead Drive (7)
95 Homestead Drive (2)
98 Homestead Drive (3)
84 Norfleet Lane (3)