To: Board of Commissioners, Kittitas County, WA

Save Shady Acres Mobile Home Park in Ellensburg

We propose that the Kittitas County, WA, Commissioners stop the purchase of the Shady Acres mobile home park in Ellensburg, and desist from the proposed eviction of all the families who live there until such time as there is a solid plan for comparable low-income housing within Ellensburg proper.
It is morally indefensible to deprive these many families of their homes and their community, simply to build a seasonal RV park that will service the adjacent Fairgrounds and Rodeo.
[Proponemos que los comisarios del Condado de Kittitas, del estado de Washington detengan la propuesta de compra del parque de casas rodantes situadas en el terreno de Shady Acres en Ellensburg, y que el Condado desista de la propuesta de desalojar a todas las familias que viven allí hasta que se estableczca un plan sensato y riguroso que ofrezca a los residentes de Shady Acres unas viviendas de bajo costo comparables a las que tienen ahora, dentro de los límites de la ciudad de Ellensburg. Moralmente es inaceptable deprivar a estas familias de sus hogares y de su comunidad para simplemente construir un parque estacional que albergue Vehículos de Recreación (RV) para servicio de las instalaciones de La Feria (Fairgrounds) y de El Rodeo, adyacentes a él. ]

Why is this important?

Over 30 low-income families, nearly all of them Latino, are threatened with mass eviction by the Kittitas County, WA, Board of Commissioners, who have signed a purchase-and-sale agreement for the Shady Acres (Shady Brook) mobile home court and announced plans to evict or relocate all residents, in order to build a seasonal RV parking lot for the adjacent County Fairgrounds and Events Center. Most families own their manufactured houses, but these homes are old and cannot be safely moved. Housing specialists explain there is simply not sufficient affordable housing in the county to house these low-income families, who may face homelessness and destitution. It is vital that this tightly-knit, multigenerational community, in which residents provide a great deal of mutual support, be kept intact. Once the county announces the shut down of the park, residents legally have only 12 months to find new housing.