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Commissioner Pearce commented that it always make her really sad when she sees neighbors engaging in hostilities like this. She stated that she understood where both sides are coming from. She noted, however, that this is a farm property and a lot of things come with it such as being near horses, getting flies and the odor from manure, and a water tank. She noted that there is no well expert present, but that given what the well expert said, the present location appears to be the most efficient. She pointed out that while the tank could be place five feet in either direction, the applicant took care to move it toward the garage. With respect to the neighbor's situation, she indicated that she would consider mitigation but the neighbors appear not to want mitigation since they cut down the trees that would have screened the tank. Commissioner Olson stated that he initially thought that one of the possible mitigations would be to move the tank farther to the east so it is completely behind the garage. He noted, however, after driving down Diamond Court, that the tank would still be visible from Diamond Court. He added that it was unfortunate that the solid fence was removed. He stated that he was in a tough spot because moving the tank to mitigate the view for the neighbors to the rear would not solve the problem for the Diamond Court residents. He stated that after taking several trips to the Happy Valley area, he noted that the place is a farm country and that the decision to locate the tank as close to the wellhead as possible was one that was motivated by efficiency. He stated that in that respect, he did not think the tank should be moved. Commissioner Narum agreed with Commissioner Pearce that it is a sad situation when neighbors are hostile towards one another. She noted that the property is zoned Agriculture which would include a farm and things like water tanks. She indicated that she is not quite as concerned about the Diamond Court residents as when they bought their houses at that location, they knew that it was agricultural land on the other side of the fence. She inquired if putting back the solid fence would make a difference. She indicated that she would be open to discussing some mitigation on this water tank, such as planting some large bushes on the back side, although she is questioning whether it was worth the effort since she did not think that was the answer to the problem. She stated that as a chemical engineer, she believes it would be most efficient to locate the tank as close to the pump as possible as the shorter distance would decrease the friction of the water to the pipe. She concluded that unless she heard some compelling reason about mitigation, she would grant the use permit and leave the tank where it is. Commissioner O'Connor stated that he is also a bit conflicted. He noted that if the application came before the Commission before the tank was installed, there would have been more opportunity to resolve some of the issues. He stated that he was not sure moving the tank 20 or 30 feet behind the garage would have been a big issue; however, considering the timing of when the tank was installed, the older photographs and what he saw when he was at the site, and the removal of the trees, he noted that it could have been better screened if some of the existing vegetation had been left in place. In response to Commissioner Fox's comments about the growth of the redwood trees, he stated that his brother has some redwood trees and that he would trim theirs trees up to PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES, April 9, 2008 Page 15 of 33