Entrepreneurs who live in multi-family housing or on a lot smaller than 18,000 square feet in the Town of Yucca Valley take note: the Planning Commission feels that many home occupations would generate too much traffic for the neighborhoods, and it proposes to prohibit them in those areas. Among the home occupations that the Planning Commission says should be prohibited are office-type jobs in which customers come to the residence, catering businesses, barber and beauty shops, fortune telling, and dance and music studios. The commissioners also wanted to include day care centers and home-based food businesses such as bakeries, but held off pending research by Town staff on whether state law may require municipalities to allow these types of businesses. The Commissioners intend to take up the issue again at its August 12 meeting. Commissioners also heard from residents who were unhappy that the Planning Commission intended to pare the list of protected native desert plants in the Town of Yucca Valley down from more than a dozen to just two: the Joshua tree and the Mojave yucca. Commissioners were willing to add the pinon pine and juniper back onto the list, but were doubtful that either of those plants could survive transplanting. The native plant ordinance requires that property owners get permits from the Town of Yucca Valley for plants that will be destroyed or moved. The Commissioners hope that by requiring developers to leave 5 to 10 percent of the lot undisturbed, and by allowing deviations from development code standards, that native plants will be left in place. The Commissioners also tabled further discussion of this item to their August 12 meeting.
YUCCA VALLEY PLANNING COMMISSION RESTRICTS HOME OCCUPATION PERMITS, DISCUSSES NATIVE PLANT ORDINANCE
