Personal care homes flying under Barrow radar? County looking at rules as ...

The head of Barrow County Planning & Permits last week directed the owner of a newly state-licensed home for disabled adults not to accept any clients until the facility comes into compliance with local zoning and permitting requirements.

The owner, Agnes Taylor, has state licenses to operate both a Personal Care Home and a new Community Living Arrangement in two houses in the Matthews Plantation subdivision.

But the state licenses – the first of which dates back to 2003 – were granted without the knowledge of county officials who were surprised to learn of the existence of both homes last week.

Neither home has a county business license or a special use permit for the operation of such a facility in the R-1 residential zoning district in which they are located. And neither has been inspected by the county fire marshal to insure compliance with the Life Safety Code requirements.

In addition, state inspection reports for the personal care home indicate that it has more than one employee – which currently is forbidden in home-based businesses in Barrow County.

Rebecca Whiddon, the supervisor of planning & permits, discovered the existence of the personal care home after the Barrow Journal early last week sent a list of state-licensed homes to local government officials to check the status of the operators’ business licenses.

The newspaper began exploring the homes’ legal status following recent discussions by a citizens committee that was appointed by the Barrow County Board of Commissioners to review the county’s Unified Development Code.

For the full story, see the July 13 issue of the Barrow Journal.