Kahala residents upset with the condition of as many as four homes owned by Japanese billionaire Genshiro Kawamoto said last night they plan to band together to ask him to be a good neighbor and fix up his properties.

These same residents said that the four homes, on 'Aukai and Kahala avenues, Royal Place and 'Elepaio Street, have swimming pools filled with debris, reinforcing bars sticking out of crumbling rock walls and, in some cases, swimming pools with green, stagnant water, said Richard Turbin, a Kahala Avenue resident and member of the Wai'alae-Kahala Neighborhood Board.

Last month, the billionaire said he was filling in the swimming pools to lower maintenance costs in preparation of renting out the homes to needy Hawaiians by April.

"This clearly has to be a violation of the health code," Turbin said as he asked area lawmakers last night to put pressure on state Department of Health officials. "I'm hoping that if confronted by a group of citizens making it clear that they are upset, Kawamoto will do the right thing and clean up these properties."

Turbin said he called Kawamoto's representatives in Hawai'i to attend the Wai'alae-Kahala Neighborhood Board meeting so residents could air their concerns. No one representing Kawamoto made their presence known. More than 20 residents have complained about the situation with the properties, Turbin said.

"This is wrong," Royals Place resident Rick Blangiardi said. "It would never happen in Palm Springs or anywhere else."

Reach Suzanne Roig at sroig@honoluluadvertiser.com.