ATTACHMENT Anew_site_m… · The Thai Cultural Center’s mission is to instill pride in Thai culture among Thai-American youth, to build self-confidence, camaraderie and leadership

ATTACHMENT A

EXISTING USE PERMIT # AZ054

ATTACHMENT B

CITY OF BERKELEY ZONING ADJUSTMENT BOARD

STAFF REPORT FOR

PROPOSED LAND USE PERMIT FOR BUDDHA SANCTUARY # 07-10000040

ATTACHMENT C

SUNDAY AND SUMMER CULTURE & LANGUAGE SCHOOL

ANNOUNCEMENTS & PHOTOS

SUNDAY AND SUMMER SCHOOL FOR CHILDREN

Salute to American & Thai flags

Fall 1989

Summer 2008

ring 2008

Sp

Music Rehearsal Room Summer 1991 Spring 1989 Fall 2007

SUNDAY THAI LANGUAGE SCHOOL FOR ADULT

ATTACHMENT D

THAI CULTURAL CENTER OF THE SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA

PHOTOS & WEBSITE

The Thai Cultural Center of the San Francisco Bay Area (TCC)

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The Thai Cultural Center of the San Francisco Bay Area was established in 1989 in order to instill pride in Thai culture among Thai-American youth, to build self-confidence, camaraderie and leadership skills through performance and to introduce Thai performing arts and music to audiences in California.

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February 2008

Currently, the center is preparing for it's next performance in San Francisco’s Chinese New Year Parade on Saturday, February 23, at 6pm. The event will also be broadcast on KTVU and KTSF television stations. We are proud to be representing the Thai community in this year’s Lunar New Year celebration.

For more information, please visit www.chineseparade.com.

The center happily welcomes it visiting instructors for 2008!

Pimon Poemcharoennukul (pictured left), “Kru Thom,” is this year’s visiting dance instructor. From the province of Samut Songkhram, she began studying traditional Thai dance in elementary school because she believes it is a beautiful symbol of the culture. She is excited at this opportunity to spread understanding of the Thai culture in the United States with the chance to learn English, and she says, “The kids are cute too.” She is currently an undergraduate student majoring in Thai performing arts.

Oraphan Laopha (pictured right), “Kru Kik,” a native of Bangkok, has been playing Thai classical music for 12 years. As a child, her friends persuaded her to take music lessons with them at her school, and her first instrument was the ‘kruey,’ a wind instrument resembling the recorder. She also teaches the Isan folk band in addition to specializing in the stringed ‘wode’. She is having fun teaching children at TCC because, she says, “sometimes we can’t communicate, but we are still able to learn from each other despite the language difference.”

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::Home ::About Us ::Classes ::Performances ::Gallery ::Contact

Copyright 2006 Thai Cultural Center of the San Francisco Bay Area.

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Mission | Overview | Staff

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The Thai Cultural Center’s mission is to instill pride in Thai culture among Thai-American youth, to build self-confidence, camaraderie and leadership skills through performance and to introduce Thai performing arts and music to audiences in California.

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The Thai Cultural Center of the San Francisco Bay Area (TCC) is located at Wat Mongkolratanaram Thai Buddhist Temple in Berkeley, CA, and offers music and dance lessons to Thai and Southeast Asian youth. Students attend Sunday afternoon lessons and more intensive classes during the summer session. All instructors are volunteers who are either permanently settled in the Bay Area or visiting summer and year-long teachers from the Rajabhat Institute at Ban Somdej Chao Phraya in Bangkok.

Though lessons have been taking place at Wat Mongkol since 1988, TCC was officially founded in 1989 by the center’s current director, Plearnjai Kundhikanjana. As the Thai and Southeast Asian communities significantly

grew in the 1970’s, she recognized the need for more formal instruction. During the center’s early years, TCC collaborated with Chulalongkorn University to host summer and yearlong instructors. In 1994, through Thailand’s Ministry of Education, the center partnered with the Rajaphat Institute at Ban Somdej Chao Praya, which began sending its performing arts students and graduates as visiting instructors at TCC.

The center performs for a variety of cultural shows, fundraisers, Thai Buddhist holidays, festivals, and private functions throughout the Bay Area, including events at the Asian Art Museum, San Francisco City Hall, the California Culinary Academy Greystone Campus and the Chinatown New Year’s Street Festival. The center has also produced a number of Thai classical dramas; each performed in the Bay Area to benefit the Thai Temple and in Thailand to fundraise for the Crown Princess’s Orphanage Foundation.

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Thailand Performance Tour 1997

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Plearnjai Kundhikanjana Director

Plearnjai, or Nancy, has been teaching Thai classical dance to Thai-American youth for over 30 years. She began learning Thai classical dance at the age of five, and as a young adult, she performed professionally with Thai TV Channel Four. A few years after immigrating to the US in 1965, she wanted to provide Thai-American youth with a structured summer and weekend activity, so she first began teaching dance at the temple in South San Francisco, CA before it relocated to Berkeley in the 80’s. In 2006, she received an honorary doctorate in liberal arts from the Rajabhat Institute at Ban Somdej Chao Praya for her work and dedication to the Thai Cultural Center. She and her husband, Visut, have owned and operated Plearn Thai Restaurant in Berkeley, CA since 1981.

Atchara Wongsaroj Assistant Director

Atchara began her work at TCC in 1988 as a volunteer dance instructor. She has since served the center in a variety of capacities, as dance instructor, performer and singer for TCC productions. With our director, she also helps advise instructors and selects performance content. Atchara started dancing at the age of nine at her primary and secondary schools at Santa Cruz Convent in Bangkok, Thailand. While studying travel industry and tourism at Borpitpimook College, she continued to pursue her love of Thai dance by performing at school functions. Atchara came to the US in 1983. She currently owns and operates Amarin Thai Cuisine in Alameda, CA. All her daughters, Nicha, Anna and Nina, are currently students at TCC.



Somprasong Loakimpongswat Music Instructor

Somprasong was raised in Samut Songkram, Thailand. He grew up in a musical family that managed its own Thai classical music ensemble and began learning the Thai circular gamelan from his father when he was seven years old. He obtained a bachelor’s degree in music education from Rajabhat Institute at Ban Somdej Chao Phraya, and afterwards taught at the secondary school level in Bangkok. In the summer of 1998, Somprasong taught Thai music at the San Diego Thai temple and another summer at TCC in 2000. He became a permanent teacher at TCC in 2001. He coordinates and conducts all musicians for performances in addition to singing vocal narration during dramatic productions.

Nicha Kittitanaphan Dance Instructor / Performance Coordinator

Nicha was born in Bangkok, Thailand and came to the United States at the age of two. She has been performing since 1988, and more recently, began teaching and coordinating performances. In 2004, she co-produced the center’s production of Phra Apai Manee and the Spell of Nang Laweng. Nicha has her bachelor’s degree in political science and mass communications from UC Berkeley. She currently works in special productions at Macy’s West and manages her family’s restaurant, Amarin Thai Cuisine, in Alameda, CA.

Virada Chatikul Dancer / Outreach and Publicity

Virada was born and raised in San Francisco, CA, and started dancing with the center when she was fifteen. Virada graduated from Smith College with a BA in sociology and also studied at the School of Oriental and African Studies in London. She currently coordinates YouthCares, a youth development program connecting high school students with immigrant senior citizens. In 2006, she completed a short documentary on the Thai Cultural Center.

Artawood Chitamitara Musician

Art was born and raised in Los Angeles, California. He received his Thai cultural education at Wat Thai of Los Angeles. He has been playing music and performing dances since he was seven. In 2003, he moved to Berkeley to attend UC Berkeley, and joined the Thai Cultural Center in 2004 during the end of his freshman year. He graduated in December 2006 with a bachelor's degree in Political Science and Psychology



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Music students receive one-on-one instruction and later rehearse with the full ensemble. During music lessons, students are taught the proper respect and handling of instruments. For instance, musicians learn to pay respect to instruments before and after playing, to avoid foot contact with instruments and to walk around instruments without stepping over them.

The center currently teaches: Thai classical orchestra Northeastern Bohng Lahng Ensemble (the first ensemble established in the United States

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The Thai Cultural Center’s dance repertoire represents various styles of Thai dance, from classical to dramatic to regional. The graceful and precise classical and dramatic styles introduce students to stories from Thai history, literature and mythology that borrow largely from Hindu traditions and to the practices and customs of ancient royal courts. Through regional styles, students become familiar with the diverse choreography, music and dress associated with each of Thailand’s four regions: North, Northeastern, Central and South.

Students ideally begin studying dance from the ages of three to five, however, the center accepts beginning students starting from age six. Students learn finger, wrist and joint stretches and warm-ups to increase flexibility. As with the study of Thai music, students practice proper signs of respect to teachers and dance deities.



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Our annual performances include:

April: Songkran (Thai New Year’s) June: Opening of Thai summer school July: Buddhist Lent begins August: Queen Sirikit’s birthday (also Thai Mother’s Day) and Annual Queen’s Ball September: Graduation for Thai summer school October: Buddhist Lent ends November: Loy Krathong (Thai River festival) December: King’s Birthday Celebration and Annual King’s Ball (an event of the Thai Association of Northern California)`

For a current updates on our performances, please visit our What’s New page.

The center also performs at a number of festivals, private functions and community events throughout the year. To book a performance for your event, please send us an email through our Contact page. To ensure our availability, please contact us at least 2-3 months prior to your event.



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THAI CULTURAL CENTER OF THE SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA

California Culinary Institute – Greystone Campus Napa, CA Thai Food Festival Performance Sunnyvale, CA Rehearsal at Ratchapath University

B

angkok, Thailand 2002

Performance at National Theater Bangkok, Thailand 2002



Taping at Thai National TV Channel 5 2002

Taping at Thai National TV Channel 5 2002 The Grand Palace Bangkok, Thailand 2002

Current Prime Minister Samak Sunthornvate, then Governor of Bangkok, arranged and sponsored a personal tour for the group all over Thailand. The group posing with former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinwatra, at the Thai Government House

lassical instruments in the rehearsal room of the Thai

raditional costume and classical instruments storage

CCultural Center

Troom

ATTACHMENT E

1900 OREGON ST. NEIGHBORS LETTER TO ZONING ADJUSTMENT BOARD

APRIL 17, 2008

ATTACHMENT F

ANY MOUNTAIN PARKING AGREEMENT

ATTACHMENT G

AREA MAP INCLUDING NEARBY POPULAR FACILITIES

Grove Park

Berkeley BowlMarket

Ashby Flea Market

Wat Mongkulratanaram

ATTACHMENT H

MODIFIED PLAN FOR LOCATION OF BUDDHA SANCTUARY, PARKING LOT

AND BUDDHA GARDEN FOR PROPOSED LAND USE PERMIT # 07-10000040

Items modified from the previous proposed land use permit for Buddha

Sanctuary

• Entrance to Buddha Sanctuary will be relocated to MLK Jr. Way.

• To reduce impacts, the Sanctuary will be moved 15 feet away from the immediate

neighbor to the south (closer to the Temple’s main building)

• All table and parasols will be eliminated.

• Create new 9 off-street parking spaces.

• The entire project will not use slab floor, instead it will be replaced with

permeable surface.

• Nine cars off-street parking will be created instead of four.

• To further reduce impacts to immediate neighbor screen plants will be put behind

the building along the fence.

• The parcel abutting Oregon Street will be left as open space as Buddha garden.

• There is no change in the height of Buddha Sanctuary. The upper part of the

building “Monthop” is an essential and defining element in Thai temple

architecture.

The proposed new construction is funded by donations and support from the Thai-American community in Berkeley and temple visitors. The proposed structure offers a unique opportunity for the Thai community to express and share their culture. The architecture of the new sanctuary is unique and may gain the attention of visitors to the City of Berkeley. The new temple will ultimately add to the existing cultural diversity that is the character of the Berkeley community.

Buddha statures that will be placed in the Sanctuary currently they are in a garage building.

Picture of flower and herbal plants on the empty parcel abutting Oregon Street that will be developed into Buddha

Garden

ATTACHMENT I

PUBLIC OUTREACH MATERIALS AND EFFORTS PHOTOS, NEIGHBORHOOD CORRESPONDENCE AND

INFORMATIONAL BROCHURE

Dear Neighbors, You are cordially invited to a neighborhood get together and a Thai dinner at the Berkeley Thai Temple on Friday, July 11, 2008, start at 6:30 to 7.00 PM. There will be both vegetarian and non-vegetarian dishes. The Thai Temple would like to take this opportunity to describe its purpose and goals for the Temple’s neighborhood, the Thai community and as well as the larger Berkeley community. It will be an opportunity for our neighbors to discuss their concerns and ask questions about the Temple’s activities. We believe that a dialog among all interested parties is crucial toward achieving mutual understandings of everyone’s goals and concerns. Please do join us for this get together event. If you have questions, please call Mr. Sakchai at 510-821-1864. We hope you will be able to attend. The Berkley Thai Temple, CA

July 31, 2008 Dear Neighbor, The Berkeley Thai Temple would like to thank everyone who joined us at the neighborhood get together on Friday, July 11, 2008. We are glad to have had the opportunity to meet each of you and hope that you enjoyed the event and the meal. As you may know, some of our neighbors have expressed certain concerns about the Temple’s Sunday activities and we are in the process of continuing our mediation with these neighbors. We would like to take this opportunity to update you about actions that we have taken to ensure that we continue to contribute to a peaceful, friendly and vibrant community spirit: • Our Sunday hours have been reduced significantly, to from 10:00AM - 1:00PM. This

limited 3 hour time frame has reduced the number of Sunday visitors and related traffic to the Temple substantially.

• We provide ample trash and recycling bins in the vicinity of the Temple. These are

immediately emptied and removed after each Sunday’s activities. Our cleaning crew also makes regular rounds in the neighborhood throughout the week to collect and dispose of litter.

• Also at the request of our neighbors the planned entrance for the four parking stalls will

be moved from Oregon Street to Martin Luther King Jr. Way. • To provide for additional parking for our Sunday visitors, we have obtained permission

to use 32 parking spaces in the triangular parking lot bordered by Shattuck Avenue, Adeline Street, and Stuart Street (parking lot for Any Mountain store).

We encourage open and on-going communication with our neighbors and community. Please feel free to contact us anytime regarding questions, comments, or suggestions. We can be reached by phone at 510-821-1864 or 510-849-3419, or you can drop by the Temple anytime. The Berkeley Thai Temple is committed to being part of and serving our community. Our neighbors are welcome to visit the Temple anytime to make use of our meditation hall, walk through our garden, or meet with our monks to learn about Buddhism. Thank you again for coming to the get together. We look forward to seeing you soon. Sincerely, The Berkeley Thai Temple Wat Mongkolratanaram

Neighborhood dinner at the Temple on Friday July 11, 2008

Ajarn Manut Suksa-ad, the head abbot, welcomes a neighborhood visitor Food table during neighborhood dinner A meal shared between the neighbors The Temple’s board welcoming neighbors and asking for feedback on better relations Neighbors taking a tour of the Temple’s meditation room.

ATTACHMENT J

CITY OF BERKELEY ENVIRONMENTAL

HEALTH INSPECTION REPORT & PRE-PERMIT

AUGUST 7, 2008

ATTACHMENT K

CITY OF BERKELEY CIVIC ARTS COMMISSION

ARTS AND CULTURAL PLAN JULY 2004

ATTACHMENT L

PHOTOS OF MAJOR EVENTS AND TEMPLE GROUNDS

Wat Mongkulratanaram 1980

Wat Mongkulratanaram 2008

Queen of Thailand visited the temple on May 25, 1993

Royal seal have been permanently placed on the temple’s main building wall to signify that the temple have been adopted under Royal patronage after the queen official visit. The Thai community was very

delighted with the event.

Monk providing spiritual guidance

ummer Language and Culture School Commencement 2008 S

Documents

ATTACHMENT Anew_site_m… · The Thai Cultural Center’s mission is to instill pride in Thai culture among Thai-American youth, to build self-confidence, camaraderie and leadership