Subject: (REZN-10-13-3176) Request to amend the distance between Personal Care Homes,
Type I.
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UNIFIED DEVELOPMENT ORDINANCE REVISIONS
(Explanation of Revisions)
ORIGINAL ORDINANCE PROPOSED ORDINANCE CHANGE
Sec. 3.2.50. Personal Care Home, Type I
Section 3.2.50.E
E. Minimum Separation Distance. At least 1,000 feet shall separate individual
Type I personal care homes.
Sec. 3.2.50. Personal Care Home, Type I
Section 3.2.50.E
E. Minimum Separation Distance. At least 750 feet shall separate individual
Type I personal care homes.
The Planning Advisory Commission (PAC) considered this text amendment at their
meeting on November 6, 2013. The PAC recommended Approval.
The Planning Department recommends Denial. The Planning Department and the
Inspection and Codes Department (?Codes?) are strongly opposed to this
amendment. This change will negatively impact Muscogee County residents as a
whole, not just this particular applicant. Codes receives dozens of complaints
annually, ranging from lack of notice of a residence becoming a personal care
home (re neighbors) to failure by the home to appropriately monitor the
residents. Personal care home oversight is handled by the GA Department of
Community Health, which has 19 inspectors to handle 2,000+ personal care
homes. Therefore, state oversight is stretched thin and local authorities have
little enforcement capabilities. However, as of July 1, the General Assembly
added additional requirements for personal care homes, such as required fire
protection. This requirement has helped to slow the growth of personal care
homes in residential areas ? primarily because fire upgrades are costly. The
current 1,000 feet distance requirement assists the City in tracking and
mapping personal care homes and has worked well ? primarily keeping sections of
neighborhoods from becoming personal care home clusters.
The Planning Department also receives calls from citizens who are concerned
about this particular type of use. Residents are worried about the safety of
their family (particularly children) since personal care homes normally house
individuals that are elderly requiring a modest level of care, mentally ill, or
developmentally disabled. Residents also perceive personal care homes as a
business rather than a personal use and suggest that they should be located in
a higher density residential or commercial zoning districts.
Other municipalities have similar distance requirements. DeKalb County, GA has
the same distance requirement for personal care homes (that exceeds 3 clients)
located in residential zoning districts (Athens-Clarke County also has a 1,000
feet separation requirement). Cherokee County, Georgia has a 1,200 feet
distance requirement for personal care homes located in single family zoning
districts.
Two other personal care home types are in place to address larger, more
commercial facilities. Type II (7 to 18 clients) and Type III (19+ clients)
personal care homes do not have distance requirements because they are required
to be located in high density residential or commercial zoning districts.