When a Washington state soccer association bought a
112-acre farm for its new soccer field recently, it started a
bitter match over open space. The land, in the Sammamish Valley
east of Seattle, is protected under King County’s 20-year-old
farmland preservation program, and critics say a soccer field
doesn’t measure up.
“This soccer group thinks
they can buy the property and then change the rules, but they can’t
do it,” says Le Roy Jones, one of the creators of the county
preservation program. He is determined to prevent the soccer field
because he worries it will lead to the destruction of the
program.
Soccer moms and dads disagree. “There
isn’t anyone involved in the soccer association that isn’t
concerned with preserving our valleys,” insists John Graham of the
Lake Washington Youth Soccer Association. “We’re attempting to get
others to understand that what we propose for the land is the best
thing for our community.”
Scott Wallace, a
retired dairy farmer who helped create the farm preservation
program in 1979, says Graham is on the right track. Farm economics
have drastically changed in the last two decades, he points out,
forcing many farms – including his – to
close.
“You can’t let farmland lay idle anymore
than you can your backyard,” Wallace says. “I think our best crop
is kids right now … when you’re not hurting the program or the
land, well, it’s really a no-brainer.”
For now,
the county controls the ball. Until Graham and his supporters
convince county officials to overlook preservation program law, the
land will remain an unused field.
*Rebecca
Clarren
This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline Does soccer tread on open space?.
Republish our articles for free, online or in print, under a Creative Commons license.
