diff --git a/airtime_mvc/application/forms/SoundcloudPreferences.php b/airtime_mvc/application/forms/SoundcloudPreferences.php
index 1597bbe19..8fe460c15 100644
--- a/airtime_mvc/application/forms/SoundcloudPreferences.php
+++ b/airtime_mvc/application/forms/SoundcloudPreferences.php
@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
 <?php
+require_once 'customvalidators/ConditionalNotEmpty.php';
 
 class Application_Form_SoundcloudPreferences extends Zend_Form_SubForm
 {
@@ -43,12 +44,19 @@ class Application_Form_SoundcloudPreferences extends Zend_Form_SubForm
         $this->addElement('text', 'SoundCloudUser', array(
             'class'      => 'input_text',
             'label'      => 'SoundCloud Email',
-            'required'   => true,
             'filters'    => array('StringTrim'),
             'autocomplete' => 'off',
             'value' => Application_Model_Preference::GetSoundCloudUser(),
             'decorators' => array(
                 'ViewHelper'
+            ),
+            
+            // By default, 'allowEmpty' is true. This means that our custom
+            // validators are going to be skipped if this field is empty,
+            // which is something we don't want
+            'allowEmpty' => false,
+            'validators' => array(
+                new ConditionalNotEmpty(array('UploadToSoundcloudOption'=>'1'))
             )
         ));
 
@@ -56,12 +64,19 @@ class Application_Form_SoundcloudPreferences extends Zend_Form_SubForm
         $this->addElement('password', 'SoundCloudPassword', array(
             'class'      => 'input_text',
             'label'      => 'SoundCloud Password',
-            'required'   => true,
             'filters'    => array('StringTrim'),
             'autocomplete' => 'off',
             'value' => Application_Model_Preference::GetSoundCloudPassword(),
             'decorators' => array(
                 'ViewHelper'
+            ),
+            
+            // By default, 'allowEmpty' is true. This means that our custom
+            // validators are going to be skipped if this field is empty,
+            // which is something we don't want
+            'allowEmpty' => false,
+            'validators' => array(
+                new ConditionalNotEmpty(array('UploadToSoundcloudOption'=>'1'))
             )
         ));
 
diff --git a/airtime_mvc/application/forms/customvalidators/ConditionalNotEmpty.php b/airtime_mvc/application/forms/customvalidators/ConditionalNotEmpty.php
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..2f89fe667
--- /dev/null
+++ b/airtime_mvc/application/forms/customvalidators/ConditionalNotEmpty.php
@@ -0,0 +1,62 @@
+<?php
+
+/**
+ * Check if a field is empty but only when specific fields have specific values
+ */
+class ConditionalNotEmpty extends Zend_Validate_Abstract {
+    
+    const KEY_IS_EMPTY   = 'keyIsEmpty';
+    
+    protected $_messageTemplates = array(
+        self::KEY_IS_EMPTY   => 'Value is required and can\'t be empty'
+    );
+    
+    protected $_fieldValues;
+    
+    /**
+     * Constructs a new ConditionalNotEmpty validator.
+     * 
+     * @param array $fieldValues - the names and expected values of the fields we're depending on;
+     * E.g., if we have a field that should only be validated when two other
+     * fields PARENT_1 and PARENT_2 have values of '1' and '0' respectively, then 
+     * $fieldValues should contain ('PARENT_1'=>'1', 'PARENT_2'=>'0')
+     */
+    public function __construct($fieldValues)
+    {
+        $this->_fieldValues = $fieldValues;
+    }
+    
+    /**
+     * Implements Zend_Validate_Abstract.
+     * Given names and expected values of the fields we're depending on ($_fieldValues),
+     * this function returns true if the expected values doesn't match the actual user input,
+     * or if $value is not empty. Returns false otherwise.
+     * 
+     * @param String $value - this field's value
+     * @param array $context - names and values of the rest of the fields in this form
+     * @return boolean - true if valid; false otherwise
+     */
+    public function isValid($value, $context = null)
+    {
+        if ($value != "") {
+            return true;
+        }
+        
+        if (is_array($context)) {
+            foreach($this->_fieldValues as $fieldName=>$fieldValue) {
+                if (!isset($context[$fieldName]) || $context[$fieldName] != $fieldValue) {
+                    return true;
+                }
+            }
+        } elseif (is_string($context)) {
+            if (!isset($context) || $context != $fieldValue) {
+                return true;
+            }
+        }
+        
+        $this->_error(self::KEY_IS_EMPTY);
+        return false;
+    }
+}
+
+?>
diff --git a/airtime_mvc/public/.htaccess b/airtime_mvc/public/.htaccess
index 3dfbebfef..48c40b1dd 100644
--- a/airtime_mvc/public/.htaccess
+++ b/airtime_mvc/public/.htaccess
@@ -11,5 +11,3 @@ RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} -d
 RewriteRule ^.*$ - [NC,L]
 RewriteRule ^.*$ index.php [NC,L]
 RewriteBase /
-
-SetEnv APPLICATION_ENV development