Three hostels sit nearly side by side along Lemon Road, a small street in Waikiki.

Complaining that the establishments breed raucous partying and drinking until all hours of the night, some area residents and businesses are now trying to stop an affordable walk-up from becoming the privately owned road's fourth hostel.

"We don't need another hostel," said Nancy Hall, a resident of the Hale Niu Apartments, which is set to be purchased by a hostel owner. "The neighborhood would like to take back their block."

Several residents and businesses on the road, adjacent to the Honolulu Zoo, have appealed to the mayor and City Council for help. And the Waikiki Area Residents Association is seeking a limit on the number of hostels in a given block and more monitoring of the businesses.

For their part, the hostel owners on Lemon Road say they're not doing anything wrong.

"We just go by what the city ordinance says," said Orlena Wong, manager of Waikiki Beachside Hostel. "We strictly enforce 10 p.m. quiet hours. About 10 o'clock, this place is very quiet."

The resident manager at Pacific Ohana Hostel, who identified herself as T. Hill, said she's willing to work with the neighborhood to address concerns. "I've already worked very closely with the police to maintain a very legitimate business," she said. "We don't even allow drinking in our building after 8:30 in the evening. And we're very firm about no illegal activity here."

Hall said the owner of the Pacific Ohana is trying to buy Hale Niu, at 2556 Lemon Road. Hill declined to confirm the information and said the owner of Pacific Ohana had no comment.

Ken Ten, who owns the Hale Niu, would only say the apartments were in escrow and the proposed buyer is a hostel owner. He could not say whether the walk-up would be turned into a hostel.

In recent weeks, Hall and her neighbors have been going before community groups to raise concerns about the hostels. They have an appointment this week with City Councilman Charles Djou, whose district includes Waikiki. And they are awaiting a response from the mayor.

In their letter to the mayor and other city officials, which was delivered Wednesday, the Waikiki Area Residents Association said hostels should not be treated like hotels or motels. "We believe that there should be regulatory oversight of hostels, just as there is of drinking establishments," the group stated.

Louis Erteschik, vice president of the association, said the city should also limit the number of hostels to one per block. Erteschik, who is also a member of the Waikiki Neighborhood Board, said he has never received similar complaints about hostels elsewhere in Waikiki. But he noted most of those hostels are not sandwiched between residential buildings.

City spokesman Bill Brennan said hostels are a permissible use for the zoning on Lemon Road. He also said the city Department of Planning and Permitting received a letter dated Oct. 17, sent by residents and businesses on the road, and will respond by dispatching inspectors. In that letter, Hall and two others questioned alleged illegal additions to some of the hostels and whether the establishments were subject to the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Waikiki police Lt. Darren Chun also has heard complaints from residents on Lemon Road. He said the street now gets more regular police patrols, especially at night.

"The complaints we get regarding Lemon Road are noise complaints, parking complaints, sometimes drinking outside of the hostels or urinating against the walls along the property lines," he said. "We know of all the concerns on that particular road. We're doing the best to address those issues."

Carol Ohmura, of the Columbus East property management office on Lemon Road, said she's not against all hostels. But she said the hostels on the road have gotten out of hand, perhaps because there are too many of them too close together. "It has to be more regulated," she said.

Ohmura said she put a chain barrier around her business, a two-story wooden structure, after regularly finding beer cans and rotten food on the premises when she arrived in the morning. She said she also found evidence of drug use, including small plastic packets.

The Waikiki Neighborhood Board has yet to take a position on the hostels issue. Mike Peters, secretary of the board, said he urged Hall to speak at the October meeting, but he stressed he has not yet taken a stand on the issue.

"I can't say if it's true or not true," he said.

"The area down there, you could see how hostels so close together could be a concern. But hostels play an important role in our tourism because they're supposed to provide an affordable travel option."

Reach Mary Vorsino at mvorsino@honoluluadvertiser.com.