After weeks of wrangling over the future of Nickelsville, the encampment’s roughly 35 residents finally have a new, permitted home. Volunteers spent Saturday moving a dozen large pink sleeping sheds from Nickelsville’s old Central District location to a hillside near I-5 on S. Dearborn Street, according to Sharon Lee of the Low Income Housing Institute, which is supporting the encampment.

On August 30th, Nickelsville residents moved out of their old site, which was owned by LIHI. The encampment had promised Central District residents that they would only stay a year there, and LIHI had plans to develop the property into low-income housing.

Nickelsville set its sites on the sloping Dearborn property, but the city Department of Planning and Development opposed the relocation, saying the land was unstable and posed a risk of landslie. LIHI hired a geological engineer who contested that view. As they argued, Nickelsville residents set up a temporary home nearby.

Then, last week, DPD came around and issued the necessary permit. Lee says that Mayor Ed Murray, in a meeting with the non-profit on Friday, disclosed that he had worked behind the scenes to make sure DPD issued the permit.

“Why is the press saying I’m against encampments?” Lee says the mayor asked during the meeting. “I’m not, I’m supportive.” Murray was no doubt alluding to articles like this one in The Stranger, which reported that Murray was holding up the permit and “opposed to encampments as a matter of policy.”

Asked to clarify the mayor’s view, spokesperson Jason Kelly says that Murray is available to talk about that tomorrow. In the mean time, Lee’s recounting of the saga underscores the mayor’s reputation of late as someone who can wring resolutions out of sticky situations, like the minimum wage controversy.

The resolution of this particular issue comes at a good time. Tomorrow, the mayor is planning a press conference at which he is expected to announce details of the housing advisory committee that he and City Councilmember Sally Clark have promised. Clark says she believes the mayor will name some committee members. Much of the committee’s work will be figuring out ways to create more affordable housing given Seattle’s rampant gentrification.

All is not entirely sewn up for Nickelsville. Lee says the encampment still needs a wealth of supplies, including water, batteries, flashlights, lumber, tents, and tarps. Donors can bring supplies to the encampment or donate money online.