(PUYALLUP, WA) – Forty-two mobile homeowners in Puyallup are being forced to move out, so a developer can make way for a new apartment complex.
City of Puyallup Spokesperson Eric Johnson says 11 families have already relocated.
“This is a special situation,” said Johnson. “We have a development coming in and some of these residents are at risk.”
According to Johnson, families living in Meridian Mobile Estates were first notified by developer Timberlane Partners in November 2020. However, the COVID-caused eviction moratorium forced Timberlane Partners to press pause. In September 2021, signs were posted once again in the neighborhood informing residents that they had one year to relocate.
Johnson says the city has stepped up to help struggling tenants by hiring two bilingual case managers and is offering a $5,000 relocation grant to each displaced household.
“As of now, over 90 percent of the households have applied for or received grants from the city,” said Johnson.
Johnson says there are a number of financial resources beyond that available to these homeowners. Among them: $17,000 State Department of Commerce Mobile Home Relocation Assistance Grant, $5,000 from Timberlane Partners, as well as vouchers from the Pierce County Housing Authority.
Homeowners KIRO 7 spoke with remain dissatisfied. They claim their landlord gave them little notice and has offered them a miserable amount of money.
Armando Aragon moved to Meridian Mobile Estates seven years ago. He says that currently he is paying $700 a month in rent.
“I’m looking for another place to rent, but it’s very expensive here,” said Aragon. “Very, very expensive.”
Aragon wishes he and his neighbors had at least the option to buy the land their homes currently sit on.
“They don’t want to move but we don’t have another option,” said Aragon.
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