SEATTLE — A recreational vehicle (RV) encampment in Seattle's Beacon Hill neighborhood that's been there for years, parked feet from one man's home, has finally been moved.
"Now I can actually have access so I can get to the back corner of my house and clean that up," said Beacon Hill resident Gerald Gutierrez.
It's an area that hasn't been seen in years for Gutierrez.
"I don't have any rat infestation, there are no flies out there, I don't have to worry about bleaching that side of the house every single week," Gutierrez said.
Representatives from the City of Seattle said they don't have an exact number of people living in RVs or other vehicles in the city. But as of June 30, the city snapshot found more than 400 RV encampments.
An RV encampment belonging to one man and his two teenagers has been moved after numerous calls and emails to the city.
"When we first moved in here almost six months ago, my wife said I don't know if I feel safe. Now it's somewhat safer for sure," said Gutierrez.
Six weeks ago, KING 5 reported about Gutierrez and his effort to get the city to take action. Now all that remains is a shed and box truck.
Gutierrez said the one thing he's worried about is if the trash and safety concerns will continue to happen down the road.
The man and his vehicles were towed less than a block down. In front of Jonathan Gibson's home.
"I was thinking it was going to move in a net positive gain. What happened, in fact, it just didn't pan out that way," Gibson said.
Gibson said he's worried about the trash build-up and safety.
"If there wasn't consistent trouble happening, if the cops weren't consistently here, if the ambulances weren't consistently here, it'd probably be less of an issue," Gibson said.
Gibson said he's willing to fix issues and come up with solutions, but they have to actually want to listen.
A firetruck and ambulance came and took a teenager away while KING 5 was talking with the man in the RV. The man declined an on-camera interview and didn't want to be named, but he did say that safe Section 8 housing is hard to come by. He said he works with caseworkers and is trying to find a permanent home.
The city told KING 5 that their HOPE team plans to offer shelter and services this week.
"It's still a winning situation for everyone in the community," Gutierrez said.
It was a winning situation that came after months of unanswered emails and phone calls.
"The last time we had this interview, the first person that said she was going to reach out and do something about it was Tammy Morales, but I have yet to hear from her," said Gutierrez.
It's been exactly six weeks since KING 5 requested an interview with Councilmember Tammy Morales. KING 5 requested another one three weeks ago and again on Thursday. Each time we were told she was unavailable for an on-camera interview.
"What's the point of speaking out and saying you're going to do something if we're not going to hear from you or it's going to be impossible to get ahold of you? It's like are you really my district representative?" Gutierrez said.
Residents now wonder if the 72-hour rule will apply or whether they'll be waiting years for help.