Fresno County is moving to crack down on the number of sex offenders living in single family homes, otherwise known as transitional living facilities.
While the decision was approved on a unanimous vote at Tuesday’s Fresno County Board of Supervisors meeting, it didn’t make it through without some controversy.
The big picture: The board approved the introduction of an ordinance that limits the number of sex offenders to six within a single-family home.
- It will have to come before the board once again for final approval.
- Violators will face misdemeanor penalties with fines up to $1,000 and up to six months in jail. The county could also enforce administrative citations ranging from $10,000 to $50,000 per violation.
Go deeper: California already limits the number of sex offenders in one household to six, but the state does not provide an avenue for enforcement.
- The county’s new ordinance would establish local oversight for the transitional living facilities, giving the county and law enforcement the power to step in.
What they’re saying: Fresno County Supervisors Garry Bredefeld and Brian Pacheco, who proposed the ordinance, said they have transitional living facilities in their districts and routinely have calls for service, including a shooting at a facility in August.
- “It obviously makes the neighborhoods unsafe, and it’s a situation where our law enforcement have to deal with this going on all the time,” Bredefeld said.
- Bredefeld said he has been told some of the facilities have violated the state’s limit of six sex offenders several times, necessitating the ordinance.
- Fig Garden transitional living facility nonprofit Centers for Living ended up taking center stage at the meeting, with owners John and Dawn Coyle saying their facility reduces risk for the community, arguing that the homes have not created problems.
- Bredefeld fired back, saying, “I think it’s very important when people sling bullshit to call bullshit, and I think Mr. Coyle you sling a lot of bullshit.”
- Bredefeld added, “As for housing and these poor homeless pedophiles and sex offenders, I have a solution for the homeless crisis for them – they belong in prison, there’s a home for them there. They belong in jail.”
What we’re watching: The board will consider the final adoption of the ordinance at its next meeting on Jan. 6, 2026.
