THOMASVILLE — The Cairo City Council is changing city ordinance pertaining to personal care homes, officials said Monday.

The council, at its Thursday meeting, agreed to pursue an ordinance change so that personal care homes will not be allowed, via a conditional use permit, in single-family residential areas.

Councilman Jimmy Douglas said Monday the city has received complaints from some neighborhoods that residents of personal care homes are not being looked after very well.

“We’ve had complaints that residents of some homes — not at all of them — are out unsupervised, wandering around the streets, or in other people’s yards,” he said. “I’m not saying they are not needed, but there does need to be some control over them.”

The ordinance defines a personal care home as, “a building or group of buildings, a facility, or place in which is provided two or more beds and other facilities and services — including rooms, meals and personal care for non-family ambulatory adults for which a fee is charged.”

There will be two public readings of these revisions at the council’s July meetings, 6 p.m. the second and fourth Mondays, for final approval of the ordinance.

“We’ve had many applications for personal care homes this year and we already have six in the city limits, four in zoned R1, or residential areas,” City Manager Chris Addleton said Monday. “We’ve gotten a few complaints and police calls. The council voted in May to put a 60 day moratorium on them so staff could review the ordinance.”

Addleton said staff brought a recommendation back to council that it not allow personal care homes as a conditional use in zoning area R1, R1A and R1AA, or single family residences.

“Residential zoned neighborhoods are single family residences and staff does not feel like a personal care home is suitable because multi people in a single family residence is not compatible,” he said. “Those already here would to be grandfathered in. If we continue to have problems, than we can review the application.”

A conditional use permit is defined as “a use which within certain districts is not permitted as matter of right but may be permitted within these districts by the city council after the planning commission has reviewed that proposed site plans for the use, its location within the community, its arrangement and design, its relationship to neighboring property and other conditions peculiar to the particular proposal.”

The permit is also one that is given once it is determined the proposal will not be contrary to the intent of the zoning chapter and has been recommended after a public hearing.

“A person wanting to open a personal care home submits an application and goes before the planning commission,” Addleton explained. “It holds a public hearing and then take a vote or makes a recommendation. Then, the application comes before the council for a public hearing and then a vote.”

Douglas said the homes are supposed to be under state supervision, but there are not enough people to cover the area.

“At least this will move these homes out of residential neighborhoods where they won’t be able to interrupt people’s lives on a daily basis,” he said.

Addleton said personal care homes are still allowed in some multi-family residential districts and some commercial districts.