SEX OFFENDER RESIDENCY RESTRICTIONS.
Fort Worth City Code § 23-23
in effect§ 23-23 SEX OFFENDER RESIDENCY RESTRICTIONS.
(a) Definitions. For purposes of this section:
DATABASE. The state registry of sex offenders maintained by the Texas Department of Public Safety pursuant to Tex. Code of Criminal Procedure, Chapter 62.
MINOR. A person younger than 17 years of age.
PERMANENT RESIDENCE. A place where a person abides, lodges, or resides for a period of 14 or more consecutive days.
PREMISES WHERE CHILDREN COMMONLY GATHER. A school, day-care or child- care facility, park, playground, public swimming pool, youth center, community center, or public library.
SHELTER.
a. A lawfully operating emergency shelter facility, capable of, and intended to provide temporary shelter to no less than 50 adult homeless individuals; and
b. A facility which is temporarily used for emergency shelter overflow during periods of inclement weather.
SPECIFIED SEX OFFENDER. A person required to register as a sex offender in the state database pursuant to Tex. Code of Criminal Procedure, Chapter 62 for an offense involving a victim who was a minor at the time of the offense.
TEMPORARY RESIDENCE. A place where a person abides, lodges, or resides for a period of 14 or more days during any calendar year but which is not the person’s permanent residence, or a place where a person routinely abides, lodges, or resides for a period of four or more consecutive or non-consecutive days in a month and which is not the person’s permanent residence.
(b) Offenses.
(1) It shall be unlawful for a specified sex offender to establish permanent or temporary residence within 2,000 feet of any premises where children commonly gather.
(2) It shall be unlawful to let or rent any place or structure or part thereof, manufactured home, trailer, or any other conveyance with the knowledge that it will be used as a permanent residence or temporary residence by any person prohibited from establishing such permanent residence or temporary residence pursuant to the terms of this section due to the place or structure or part thereof, manufactured home, trailer, or other conveyance being located within 2,000 feet of any premises where children commonly gather. This prohibition shall not apply to a shelter.
(c) Evidentiary matters.
(1) It shall be prima facie evidence that this section applies to a person if the person’s record appears in the database maintained by the Texas Department of Public Safety (the “database”) pursuant to the Tex. Code of Criminal Procedure, Chapter 62 and the person is subject to registration for an offense involving a victim who was a minor at the time of the offense.
(2) No culpable mental state is required for an offense under subsection (b)(1) above.
(3) For purposes of this section, the distance between a residence and the premises where children commonly gather shall be measured by following a straight line from the outer property line of the residence to the nearest property line of the premises where children commonly gather.
(4) In cases of a dispute over measured distances, it shall be the burden of the person challenging the measurement to prove otherwise.
(5) A map depicting the prohibited areas shall be created and maintained by the Fort Worth Police Department and shall be available to the public for inspection at the Fort Worth Police Department.
(d) Affirmative defenses. It shall be an affirmative defense to prosecution under this section that:
(1) The specified sex offender established the permanent residence or temporary residence within 2,000 feet of the premises where children commonly gather prior to the date of adoption of this section and has complied with all sex offender registration laws of the State of Texas.
(2) The premises where children commonly gather located within 2,000 feet of the permanent residence or temporary residence of the specified sex offender was opened after the specified sex offender established the permanent residence or temporary residence, and the specified sex offender has complied with all sex offender registration laws of the State of Texas.
(3) The specified sex offender is a minor.
(4) The specified sex offender was a minor when he or she committed the offense requiring registration in the database and was not convicted as an adult.
(5) The information in the database is incorrect, and, if corrected, this section would not apply to the person who was erroneously listed in the database.
(6) The specified sex offender established the permanent residence or temporary residence at a shelter.
(e) Penalty. Any person violating the provisions of this section shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and upon conviction shall be punished by a fine not to exceed $500.00 for each offense. Each day such violation shall continue to exist shall constitute a separate offense.
(Ord. 28335-02-2026, § 1, passed 2-24-2026, eff. 3-13-2026)
Source: City of Fort Worth, Code of Ordinances, City Charter and Zoning Ordinance (American Legal Publishing, codelibrary.amlegal.com)URL: https://codelibrary.amlegal.com/codes/ftworth/latest/ftworth_tx/0-0-0-77670Fetched: 10/26/2026