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No limits on number
of residents in homes

Question: We live on Ikulani Street in Ewa Beach. Several times a day, a Handi-Van picks up and delivers patients to a residence there, blocking traffic for more than 30 minutes at a time because no one comes out to get the patients. There are more than eight cars at that residence, which is why the Handi-Van has to stop in the middle of the road. How can people have more than two dozen people living in a residence and still be allowed to have handicapped patients? Who can we call to complain about these people inconveniencing the neighborhood? What is the rule? Do we live in a hospital zone, boarding house zone, apartment and hotel zone?

Answer: You live in a residential district, but there is no special zoning required to have an Adult Foster Home in a residential neighborhood.

The foster home you refer to is monitored by the state Department of Health's Developmental Disabilities Division. The home is certified for two foster clients, although only one is currently residing with the family there, said Donna Namba, foster home recruiter for the division.

In certain subdivisions, she said, caregivers are asked to consult with the community associations about their plans, but in the majority of cases, there are no community restrictions.

Likewise, there is no restriction as to the number of family members -- related by blood, marriage or adoption -- who may reside in a home, as long as there is enough space to accommodate everyone and the house meets all the city's building code requirements.

In addition to family members, a household may have a maximum of three renters -- again, as long as the house meets all other city code requirements, said Art Challacombe, chief of customer service for the city Department of Planning and Permitting.

Namba said the caregiver's children and grandchildren also reside in the "big home," with room enough to accommodate everyone.

"One of our policies is that we don't allow unrelated people (other than the foster adults) residing in the home," she said. "But we also make sure there is sufficient bedroom space for everybody in the home and there is no overcrowding."

Namba explained that a foster home is basically considered a family: "It's not a business and the clients are integrated into a family setting."

Her office checks a home's building plans to make sure that no family member is displaced because of a client.

This particular caregiver had two wheelchair clients, according to Namba, both with their own bedrooms, but is now down to one.

Regarding your complaint about the Handi-Van blocking traffic, Namba said she knows the street is crowded because of parking on both sides. But she says the property in question can accommodate at least four cars and not all the cars parking along the street belong to the family.

In the times she has gone to inspect the home, it's taken "five minutes at the most" for the Handi-Van to drop off a client.

"I've never known Handi-Van to wait 30 minutes, because that's not their policy," she said, a statement confirmed by a Handi-Van official.

If a van arrives late or early, it will wait five minutes after the appointed time, said Patricia Nielsen, vice president of paratransit for Oahu Transit Services, which operates the Handi-Van.

"But normally we wouldn't block access -- that wouldn't be typical," she said, adding it is unlikely a Handi-Van would wait for 30 minutes.

If long waits have been reported and are "occurring as a pattern, we would have done something about that because we don't need to have our drivers sitting there either," Nielsen said.

Namba said the caregiver was made aware of your complaint and was "going to try to mitigate" the situation. She does acknowledge that sometimes cars are waiting to pass when she gets her client from the Handi-Van "so she'll try to get it hurried up," Namba said. "She knows it's an inconvenience and she will try her best to remedy that."

Meanwhile, Namba noted that there are other kinds of care homes in the neighborhood, including Residential Alternative Community Care homes, which come under the state Department of Human Services.

If there are eight or fewer clients in a home licensed by the Department of Health, no special approval is required from the city, Challacombe said. If there are more than eight, then a conditional-use permit is required and there has to be at least a 1,000-foot separation from another licensed facility.

Basically, there is no geographical limitation or limit in numbers for such care homes, so long as they meet state and city requirements.

Auwe

To all the female drivers who go up and down Ewa Beach Road letting their young children hold the steering wheel like they're driving the car and looking out, smiling. I have been seeing quite a number of them lately. Police should continue to monitor the use of seat belts. Auwe also to the men who pack little ones while speeding on their moped/dirt bikes. Where are all their brains? -- No Name

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