With eight residential care homes in their community and a ninth set to open, about a dozen Manoa residents came out yesterday in support of a bill aimed at strengthening regulation for the facilities.

The residents say the care homes should be prohibited from operating so close to one another and be better monitored.

"There is a real need for control of the spread of adult residential care homes," said Eugene Vricella, one of those residents who is leading the fight against more care homes moving into Manoa.

The resolution, which passed through the House Health and Human Service Committee unanimously yesterday, asks the state Department of Health to look at the concentrations of care homes and their impact on surrounding communities, along with existing regulations.

Health Department Director Chiyome Fukino opposed the resolution, saying it is not necessary because personnel are already reviewing care home regulations. She also said a task force convened last year to look at care home issues would better address the concerns.

The Health Department regulates and licenses care homes. Statewide, there are nearly 500 care homes for medically fragile or elderly patients. The facilities are not allowed to have more than eight clients at one time and must be operated independently.

Manoa residents started gathering over the issue earlier this month when they learned that a woman who operates two care homes on Kamehameha Avenue planned to open a third.

The two existing care homes are side by side, and the third would also be in the row of homes. Residents say the facilities bring all the noise and congestion of a business — traffic, employees and trash.

Sandra Shim, who operates the care homes, declined comment through a representative yesterday. But she has told residents, in response to concerns the two existing care homes are not being operated independently, that she is not doing anything wrong.

The city Department of Planning and Permitting is looking into the issue as it reviews permits for the third care home.

State Rep. Kirk Caldwell, who represents Manoa, said he is concerned about the issue, especially when it comes to historic areas of the neighborhood. Care homes often drastically change buildings to accommodate more patients and employees, which can alter the character of the whole neighborhood, he said.

"They shouldn't be conglomerated like this," he said.

Some 89 Manoa residents signed a petition supporting tougher regulations for care homes. Marlene Alvey, who lives on Kamehameha Avenue, said she believes restricting the number of care homes in an area would relieve the conflicts between the businesses and neighboring residents.

"We are very concerned about the proliferation and commercialization of our historical neighborhood by assisted residential care homes," she told the legislative committee yesterday.

Lawyer Brook Hart, who also lives in the neighborhood, added that having these homes so close together turns them into a mini-hospital.

"You can't just rededicate a residential neighborhood to hospital care," he said after the hearing. "The concentration of these units within a residential neighborhood creates many problems."

Reach Mary Vorsino at mvorsino@honoluluadvertiser.com.