SR125 SD1

WHEREAS, an adult residential care home is defined under section 321‑15.1, Hawaii Revised Statutes, as any facility that provides twenty‑four hour living accommodations for a fee to adults unrelated to the family, who require at least minimal assistance with the activities of daily living, personal care services, protection, and health care services, but who do not need the professional health services provided in an intermediate, skilled nursing, or acute care facility; and

WHEREAS, in recent years, there has been a proliferation of the establishment of adult residential care homes on Oahu; and

WHEREAS, many of the adult residential care homes are located in residential neighborhoods characterized by single family residences, and in commercial or mixed use areas; and

WHEREAS, concentrations of the adult residential care homes in these areas have attendant traffic, parking, delivery, noise, trash collection, and emergency services response challenges; and

WHEREAS, community residents have questioned the regulation of these facilities in residential neighborhoods in Manoa, including the regulation of the locations of the facilities, their distance from each other, and whether they are compatible with the land use; and

WHEREAS, there is apparently no regulation to provide an opportunity for public notice, review, or comment, especially by adjoining property owners, regarding pending applications to establish, modify, or expand adult residential care homes; and

WHEREAS, the City and County of Honolulu Department of Planning and Permitting has authority to issue permits related to the building of the residential care homes; and

WHEREAS, the Department of Health is authorized to license the establishment and operation of adult residential care homes; and

WHEREAS, the Department of Health has begun the process of reviewing current statutes and rules relating to the community‑based settings that it licenses; and

WHEREAS, a working group should be convened to study the development of adult residential care homes in residential neighborhoods in Manoa; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Twenty-fourth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2007, that the Department of Health is requested to convene a working group to study the development of adult residential care homes in residential neighborhoods in Manoa; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the working group is requested to include:

(1) The Director of Health or designee;

(2) The City and County of Honolulu Director of Planning and Permitting or designee;

(3) A representative of the task force that was established pursuant to Senate Concurrent Resolution No. 144, S.D. 1 (2006);

(4) Elected officials representing districts in Manoa; and

(5) Residents of Manoa; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that in completing the study, the working group is requested to:

(1) Examine and determine the adequacy of the statutes, administrative rules, and inspection and enforcement processes, related to the establishment, modification, and expansion of adult residential care facilities;

(2) Determine whether adequate opportunity exists for public notice and participation in the inspection and enforcement processes related to the establishment, modification, and expansion of adult residential care homes; and

(3) Consult with the Attorney General; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the working group is requested to submit a report to the Legislature no later than twenty days prior to the convening of the 2008 Regular Session; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Resolution be transmitted to the Director of Health, Attorney General, Director of the City and County of Honolulu Department of Planning and Permitting; Senator of the Tenth Senatorial District, and Representative of the Twenty‑fourth Representative District.

Report Title:

Adult Residential Care Homes; Working Group

THE SENATE	S.R. NO.	125
TWENTY-FOURTH LEGISLATURE, 2007		S.D. 1
STATE OF HAWAII