MOVE OUT: Des Moines Residents Forced Out
Residents of a Des Moines trailer park got a notice they need to get out.
City Council Member Brian Meyer says the city told the parks landlords three years ago, 12 of his properties were on city owned land.
The city gave the landlord that time to start moving the residents, however he never passed along this information until now.
Residents of the Fort Des Moines trailer park want answers, because the city’s telling them one thing and their landlord says another.
“The city says we have to move in 90 days and he says we have to move by August 31st,” says resident Julia Alcantar.
The landlord gave notice to 12 neighbors.
He’s terminating their rental agreement because their home is on city-owned property.
“The six trailers on this side and the six on Army Post are put illegally from the first owner, so there is only six trailers that are legally put on the property,” says resident Janet Acosta.
The residents own their trailer and have the right to move it to another location, however some trailers are nearly 40 years old and other parks won’t accept trailers that old.
Also, for some owners, financially just isn’t an option.
“We live paycheck to paycheck we can’t just up and move our trailer or ourselves to a new location,” says Alcantar.
For the Acostas, who like many here live on a single income, the thought of uprooting their family and starting over somewhere new is a choice they don’t want to make.
“A lot of us can’t afford any other living situation, any other living place, so we’re all pretty upset because there is nowhere is to move or to live,” says Acosta.
The city council is holding a meeting with the residents this Tuesday evening, to try to help them find alternative housing.
Channel 13 tried several times to reach the landlord of the property but our phone calls were never returned.
