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open space dedicated to the City which were kept pristine. He noted that staff <br />allowed and supported re-forestation to take place with oak, bay, or laurel trees. <br /> <br />Chair Blank inquired whether would there be an issue using a conditional use <br />process to allow other uses without a formal modification of a PUD. Mr. Pavan <br />replied that staff would support this request as appropriate. <br /> <br />Commissioner Olson stated that he was in favor of grapes but that his sense from <br />the discussion was that the Commission did not want to see grapes along that <br />section of Foothill Road. He noted that the sloped areas up the hill are great for <br />grapes, and he voiced concern with restricting this. <br /> <br />Commissioner O’Connor stated that the Commission’s biggest concern was having <br />a lot of accessory buildings and filling the open space up with structures. <br />Commissioner Narum stated that vineyards were not consistent with everything else <br />along Foothill Road, but she would not object if any lots wanted to plant some <br />grapes within their building envelope as part of their landscape, similar to a property <br />to the south. <br /> <br />Commissioner Pearce suggested the Commission provide a mechanism for these <br />applications to come back to the Commission for consideration. Chair Blank agreed. <br /> <br />Commissioner O’Connor stated that he was more concerned about having horses. <br /> <br />Chair Blank stated that he believed the PUD process was an administrative burden, <br />and he agreed with providing a mechanism for a CUP. <br /> <br />Mr. Pavan suggested modifying the condition to allow appropriate agricultural uses, <br />subject to CUP review and approval. Ms. Decker noted that it appeared the <br />Commission’s intent is to allow agricultural uses and orchards but not necessarily <br />heavy vineyard growth that would take away the natural landscape. She added that <br />staff can craft the condition to state this; however, she expressed concerned about <br />an application to put in five fruit trees having to come back to the Commission for <br />approval. <br /> <br />With respect to the bond, Commissioner Olson stated that it appears that the <br />applicants must put up a bond prior to knowing whether or not the three permits are <br />obtainable. He questioned if this was reasonable and suggested providing a bond <br />when there is evidence that the permits are issuable. <br /> <br />Mr. Dolan said it is important to recognize that in a typical approach, a project would <br />not even have this opportunity. He noted that all these requirements normally need <br />to be completed up front, and staff has put together an opportunity to move forward <br />without completing the required improvements. He added that staff has a fair <br />amount of confidence that these permits are obtainable because the area is not a <br />PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES, August 13, 2008 Page 17 of 26 <br /> <br /> <br />