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Trailer court to be vacated

Posted at 5:53 PM, Mar 15, 2016
and last updated 2016-03-17 17:41:50-04

Over thirty residents of a trailer court in Nampa will soon be forced to move, and many of them don't have any place to go.

"We take life for granted, we take our blessings for granted. And when they are taken away you really don’t understand the impact until it's taken away," resident Lisa Brandon explained.

Tenants say that since late February, they've only been able to get access to water for one hour a day.

In each trailer home, you'll find buckets and tubs filled with the liquid commodity that has become more valuable than they ever could have imagined. Now, they're about to lose their homes.

"We will be issuing a notice and order for the property to be vacated within seven days,” Nampa Building Department Director Patrick Sullivan said.

Landlord Dean Levitt says it's all because of the septic system. It's old, failing and can't be replaced. In the past, sewage has seeped above ground. Levitt says that switching to Nampa's sewer system would be too expensive and said that the water restriction was done to give tenants more time to find a new home.

Out of the seventeen tenants, eleven of them own their trailers. Many of them are families with small children. Those homes could be a complete loss as moving them is too expensive for many of the residents.

"It's too much money and I don't have this money," said resident Raquelina Santoyo. When asked what she will do, the single mother of two replied, "Go live under the bridge."

City officials say they will refer the tenants to social services but many want to stay where they are.

Some have lived there as long 17 years. They are hoping the community comes to their help.

"When you view it out here it doesn't look like much, in fact it looks like nothing. But this is our home," said Lisa Brandon.

City Officials say they will be posting each trailer with the notice on Wednesday.