The Henry County Board of Commissioners is temporarily halting the acceptance of applications for personal-care homes in the county. Commissioners enacted a 90-day moratorium on approving licenses, or permits, relating to such facilities.

County spokesperson, Julie Hoover-Ernst, said the action is being taken in order to clarify language in Henrys Unified Land Development Code (ULDC).

Officials said that the ULDC and the Comprehensive Land Use Plan require additional review and revision by the county, in relation to the location of personal-care homes within single-family residential zones, and the development and standards of personal-care homes located anywhere within unincorporated Henry County, she said.

Cheri Hobson-Matthews, Henrys planning and zoning director, said her staff has received a number of inquiries regarding the location of personal-care homes in residential areas of the county.

With some inconsistencies regarding the utilization of properties for a personal-care home as a home occupation, versus a non-home occupation, staff felt that it was pertinent to clear up any ambiguities that the Unified Land Development Code currently presented, Hobson-Matthews said. The moratorium is designed to allow staff the opportunity to conduct an additional review and revision to the ULDC and Comprehensive Plan, as they relate to the location of personal-care homes within single-family residential districts, and the development and standards of personal-care homes located anywhere within unincorporated Henry County.

Hoover-Ernst added that, during the moratorium, the county will research surrounding jurisdictions, and examine commission meetings from when the ULDC was passed, to ensure that the revised language lines up with the commissions collective desire regarding personal-care homes.

Officials will seek to determine if the original intent was to allow personal-care homes to operate inside a subdivision, as well as determine what number of clients and employees is appropriate in those zones, the spokesperson said. Any changes made to the ordinance will not apply to group homes or assisted-living facilities. For more information, visit http://www.hcpz.org.

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Moratorium enacted for personal-care home applications