Last week we ran a story about a soccer camp that Peter Fewing has been building east of North Bend near the Edgewick interchange of Interstate 90. Adjacent neighbors are concerned that the camp is a conflicting land use and should never have been permitted in the first place. I have to say I agree.

So, did the county allow a conflicting use because of who Peter Fewing knew or did they turn the rare blind-eye and allow a use which should never have happened in the first place? In an environment where the county is on most of us like glue when something is done wrong, doesn’t it seem odd that they didn’t notice what Mr. Fewing was doing? Neighbors report seeing a number of dump trucks bring material into the site. Wouldn’t it be prudent to have an inspection at the end of bringing the material on-site and verifying the number of yards? Don’t dump trucks usually generate trip tickets and did the county ask for the trip tickets from whatever location the material was coming from?

Lets face it, despite how much we all love soccer fields, myself being a huge proponent of more athletic fields, this use just doesn’t fit with the character of the area. Adjacent neighbors are correct in raising their concerns to the county. The camp doesn’t meet the criteria established for a conditional use permit. Let’s correct the erroneous actions of King County and request that the property not be developed any further and let’s have an independent review panel look at the entire history of the project up to this point and make a determination as to who is at fault and what actions need to be taken to correct the situation.

To Mr. Fewing, I would urge you to look for other property, preferrably in Snoqualmie Valley, that would better suit the facility you are attempting to build. Maybe you can get involved with the city of North Bend in developing the Tollgate Farm property into a sports complex.