SEATTLE -- Fierce opposition from local residents persuaded King County officials Friday to move the site of a proposed tent camp for the homeless to a Bothell church.

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The camp was supposed to open Monday for 90 days at the Brickyard Road Park-and-Ride lot, on county land in Bothell, northeast of Seattle. Instead, it will open at St. Brendan's Catholic Church, several miles from the parking lot, County Executive Ron Sims said.

"Tent City is not a permanent solution. It is one that reflects the lack of affordable housing for everyone," Sims said. "The important thing is that the homeless will be off the streets and in a safe, humane environment while we look for other short- and long-term options."

About 200 people who live near the park-and-ride site complained vociferously about putting the tent camp there, and they sought a county Superior Court order to block its opening. They argued that by approving the move, Sims violated an ordinance on sensitive areas, acted without due process and failed to perform an environmental analysis required by state law.

Their request for a court order was rejected Friday in light of the location change. The residents had said they would not oppose locating the camp at St. Brendan's.

Tent City 4 -- the latest in a series organized by Seattle Housing and Resource Effort and the Women's Housing, Equality and Enhancement League -- is expected to have about 30 occupants.

Leo Rhodes, 39, a resident of Tent City 3 in Seattle's Lake City neighborhood, said he was disappointed that the site of had been moved to the church because it felt like the group had been rejected. Nevertheless, he said he was happy Tent City had a place to go.

Members of the organizations wrote a letter to Sims thanking him for his efforts.

"We will continue to work with the Eastside community to destroy their myths and stereotypes of us and other homeless people," it read.

Sims said that on any given night in King County, roughly 8,000 people are homeless, but only about 4,600 find shelter. Thirty-eight homeless people died in King County last year and 10 have died this year, he said.

The county spends more than $24 million a year to assist the homeless, he said.