Kokua Line
Kokua Line
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Permits needed
for group living
or meeting facilitiesQuestion: It seems our residential neighborhood of Manoa is becoming more and more institutionalized. It was our understanding that no more than five unrelated people could occupy a dwelling. However, Manoa Elder Care seems to be building a number of homes that take eight elderly residents and staff. Also, the Muslim Association of Hawaii is on our road of access, Aleo Place. The Muslims are good neighbors except that it is hard to get through during their services on Fridays. That is OK, but neighbors tell us they are interested in expanding, which would not fit well in this neighborhood of narrow streets. Are there any restrictions regarding care homes and churches? Do they need variances? Are there public hearings on these?
Answer: It depends on what kind of facility is planned.
Manoa Elder Care, for example, is classified as an Adult Residential Care Home, which is licensed by the state Department of Health and does not require a certificate of need or a conditional use permit from the city, according to Diane Okumura, supervisor for the department's Office of Health Care Assurance.
An ARCH is defined as any facility providing 24-hour living accommodations, for a fee, to adults unrelated to the family, who require at least minimal help in daily activities but who do not need the services of an intermediate care facility.
A Type I ARCH allows a maximum of five residents, while Type II allows six or more residents. No public hearing or public notification is required for Type I applications; neither is there any kind of geographical limitation or moratorium in numbers, Okumura said.
There are 164 adult residential care homes listed in Health Department records for Waipahu and 83 for Kalihi. There are seven in Manoa.
For a Type II facility with more than eight residents, however, applicants must first obtain a permit from the city for a group-living facility. In Manoa all seven ARCH facilities have eight or fewer residents.
A quick check of the Health Department's list of approved ARCH facilities statewide shows most are licensed for four or five residents. However, there are a few Type II facilities with significantly more than the typical maximum of eight. On Oahu, Lunalilo Home can handle 42 residents; Holy Family II in Kaneohe, 40; Kuakini Home in Liliha, 34; a Korean facility in Liliha, 27; Nuuanu Lani Care Home in Nuuanu, 40; Palolo Chinese Home in Palolo Valley, 60; the Gardens at Punaluu, 26; and Lakeview Home in Wahiawa, 24.
Okumura said these larger facilities typically have been operating for a long time.
In Manoa there are two Type I ARCH facilities (Lanihuli Hale on Lanihuli Street and Manoa Manor on Ferdinand Street), three Type II facilities (Manoa Cottage on Kamehameha Avenue, and Manoa Elder Care and Manoa Senior Care, both on Oahu Avenue) and two expanded-care ARCH II facilities (Manoa Senior Care A and Manoa Senior Care B, both also on Oahu Avenue).
Expanded care means some residents may require nursing home-level care -- a maximum of two in Type I homes and maximum 20 percent in Type II facilities, Okumura said.
The Type II and expanded-care facilities in Manoa are allowed to have a maximum eight residents.
Statewide, there are 542 licensed Adult Residential Care Homes with a total resident capacity of 2,882, and 137 expanded-care facilities with a resident capacity of 722. Title 11, Chapter 100 of the Health Department's administrative rules details the requirements and restrictions on ARCH facilities.
You can see where they are generally located, by area, by going to the Health Department's Web site at www.hawaii.gov/doh/resource/ohca/licensing/index.html.
Meanwhile, the city Department of Planning & Permitting issues permits for Group Living Facilities and Meeting Facilities (churches).
To operate a group living facility in a residential neighborhood, applicants must first obtain a "Conditional Use Permit, Major," which involves a pre-application public hearing before the neighborhood board, as well as a mandatory public hearing. The only two such facilities on record in Manoa are Ronald McDonald House and the Salvation Army facility, according to DPP officials.
Unless directly related to public health and safety, no group living facility can be located within 1,000 feet of the next-closest group living facility. Each application is also evaluated for such things as property size, noise, parking, etc.
New meeting facilities in a residential neighborhood must obtain a "Conditional Use Permit, Minor," but the director of planning and permitting has the discretion on whether to call a public hearing. However, when such an application is received, the department sends a written notice to the affected neighborhood board or community association, as well as to property owners within a 300-foot radius of the project site.
There must be a minimum lot size of 20,000 square feet and a minimum street frontage of 75 feet, as well as other access requirements for meeting facilities.
There is no application by the Muslim association to expand its facilities, a DPP official said.
The department has not noticed any increase in the number of applications either for churches or care homes in Manoa, an official said.
Tom Heinrich, chairman of the Manoa Neighborhood Board, said there haven't been any major problems or concerns voiced regarding group living facilities in the valley.
However, he said there does seem to be "a growing trend over the past four or five years" of interest in developing or converting an existing structure into some type of senior social service facility in Manoa.
More recently, a question "was raised very generally before the board" about whether there seemed to be a number of senior care homes being developed in the College Hill area, which includes Oahu and Kamehameha avenues, Lanihuli and Beckwith streets and Mohala Way, he said.
"Every once in a while," as well, questions have arisen either about the Muslim residence or other homes because they are not what people perceive to be "church" facilities, Heinrich noted.
But again, he emphasized there haven't been any major complaints about any of the care homes or churches.
Got a question or complaint?
Call 529-4773, fax 529-4750, or write to Kokua Line,
Honolulu Star-Bulletin, 500 Ala Moana Blvd., No. 7-210,
Honolulu 96813. As many as possible will be answered.
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