CHANDLER — Only one registered sex offender lives in Chandler, although 14 others also give city addresses, officials told The Statesman after it published a June 3 story using information from a state Web site.

“Right now, we have one here,” Assistant Police Chief James Lehman said. “I put eyes on them daily.”

Chandler was expected on Tuesday night to consider passing an ordinance prohibiting registered sex offenders from living or loitering within 300 to 1,000 feet of where children gather. Chief Ron Reeves said no specific incident prompted the ordinance.

“Nothing has happened. A registered sex offender was seen in the area, without incident, watching his grandkids play ball. Someone mentioned it to us and we realized we had no ordinance in effect to regulate registered sex offenders.”

Furthermore, Lehman said, Texas laws may not be enough to restrict the movement of registered sex offenders inside the Chandler city limits.

“When they’re released (from custody), they’re not really supervised,” he said. “The state is having manpower issues, so it’s being lax on that. I make sure they are registered into the system here in Chandler, and I make door-to-door visits. We keep a close eye on them.”

The Texas Department of Public Safety shows 15 registered sex offenders provide Chandler mailing addresses. All but one of those live outside the city limits, according to police.

“Chandler mailing addresses go all the way to LaRue,” city administrator Jim Moffeit said. “We don’t have 15 sex offenders here, and we don’t want people thinking Chandler is harboring them. We definitely want to know where they are and what they’re doing.”

In the ordinance, the “City Council ... finds that sex offenders who are required to register pursuant to Chapter 62 of the Texas Code of Criminal Procedure may present an extreme threat to the health, safety, and welfare of children; and ... it is the intent and objective of the City Council of the City of Chandler to exercise all legislative powers within its means to protect citizens and children.”

Under Section II of the ordinance:

•It is an offense for a sex offender to establish a permanent or temporary residence within 1,000 feet of real property comprising a school, child-care facility or institution, park, playground, or other places where children congregate.

•It is an offense for a sex offender to knowingly enter a child safety zone.

•It is an offense for a sex offender to knowingly loiter on a public way within 300 feet of a child safety zone.

•A sex offender shall not, on each Oct. 30-31 or any date set by the city for trick-or-treaters, between 4 and 11 p.m. leave an exterior porch light on or otherwise invite trick-or-treaters to solicit the premises.

The ordinance also prohibits property owners from renting real property to sex offenders.

It mandates that any sex offender in violation of the ordinance has committed a misdemeanor and shall be fined up to $2,000 each day of the offense.