Below is the cover letter we attached to the application to the DCD.
The Cover Letter:
Decemebr 2, 2011
TO: Jefferson County Department of Community Development
FR: The Paradise Theatre School in Chimacum WA
RE: Request for Consideration of Change to the Discretionary Use Code Amendment
Enclosed please find an application and a check for the application fee for the following:
This is an application for a conditional discretionary use code amendment to change the “no” to a “yes” for “Indoor entertainment and recreational facility” under the Rural Residential/1DU/RRL1:5 designation for parcel # 901142014 at 161 Center Road, Chimacum. Over the past eight years this building has been known as “The Paradise Theatre School.” The Paradise Theatre School is a not-for-profit, 501(c)(3) organization.
This parcel is located very near the Chimacum General Crossroads at the SR 19/20 Intersection. Chimacum has been the home of the Olympic Music Festival for many years and more currently the home of Chimacum Corner Farmstand, Farm’s Reach Restaurant and family farms with public facilities such as Finnriver Farm. Mt. Townsend Creamery is making plans for a possible store, restaurant, and bed and breakfast directly across the street from The Paradise Theatre School. There is a “Chimacum Renaissance” happening at the present time, and The Paradise Theatre School, a non-profit arts organization, is an ideal addition for cultural and economic development in this growing sustainable community.
Historically, the building has been used as a public space for various commercial and non-profit ventures. Before the Theatre was used as a theatre school, the building was used as an antique store, a ballet school and an art school; it was originally built in 1906 to be used as a Methodist Church for sermons, weddings, funerals, and other community-oriented gatherings.
The anticipated hours of operations for the public are:
Classes: six days a week/4 hours a day or evening w/ no more than 15 students per class/rehearsal; and
Performances: 8:00 -10:30 pm on select Thursday, Friday, and Saturday evenings and Sunday afternoon totaling no more than 80 performances per year. There will be an estimated 25 – 50 audience members per performance.
Admission to classes, workshops, and performances will be charged except for youth programs, which will be free of charge, and low-income adults who may receive scholarships and reduced or free admission.
On-site parking is proposed for an estimated average of 25 cars with additional and overflow parking on site for a total of approximately 20 cars. We understand that in the past there was a concern expressed regarding parking at/near our site: It is important to note that this occurred during an outdoor performance when an unexpected and unprecedented number of people attended a play. The outdoor plays are now conducted at H. J. Carroll Park, free of charge to the public.
There will be two theatre instructors living on site in a separate dwelling unit.
Who we are: The Paradise Theatre School is a leading educational and cultural force on the Olympic Peninsula in Washington State, encouraging discipline and theatrical risk-taking in our students, producing uncompromising new plays and adaptations of the highest quality, and addressing the problems and possibilities of our times.
What we do: Offer classes and performances to the residents, including low-income youth and adults, of Jefferson County and its visitors.
Why we do it: The Paradise creates community by advocating for the audiences and students we serve in all the work we do. We are committed to making The Paradise Theatre School’s unflinching creative aesthetic accessible to the widest possible audience.
At The Paradise, our ambition is to create an educational experience so astonishing, thought provoking, and of such high quality that uninitiated students are moved to attend local arts events, and then moved again to be expressive artists in their own right.
Community members who are supported in attending theatrical classes and performances benefit from experiences that can result in wider scholastic and employment options, as well as increased potential for civic engagement. Our friends at the Jefferson County Bard College Clemente Course in the Humanities have demonstrated that lower income citizens who receive access to studies in the Humanities for the first time in their lives experience growing levels of civic engagement and self-sustainability. We note similar results from students and attendees of our programming.
We wish to note that Jefferson County is not overrun by theatre instructional programs or live theatre. We believe The Paradise Theatre School is an essential ingredient in the cultural and much-needed economic revival of the Chimacum area.
The Paradise Theatre School practices a non-discrimination policy of dignity and independence for its students which prohibits discrimination and harassment and protects the right to be free of hate activity based on race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, disability, marital status, citizenship, national origin, political affiliation, or veteran status.
Decemebr 2, 2011
TO: Jefferson County Department of Community Development
FR: The Paradise Theatre School in Chimacum WA
RE: Request for Consideration of Change to the Discretionary Use Code Amendment
Enclosed please find an application and a check for the application fee for the following:
This is an application for a conditional discretionary use code amendment to change the “no” to a “yes” for “Indoor entertainment and recreational facility” under the Rural Residential/1DU/RRL1:5 designation for parcel # 901142014 at 161 Center Road, Chimacum. Over the past eight years this building has been known as “The Paradise Theatre School.” The Paradise Theatre School is a not-for-profit, 501(c)(3) organization.
This parcel is located very near the Chimacum General Crossroads at the SR 19/20 Intersection. Chimacum has been the home of the Olympic Music Festival for many years and more currently the home of Chimacum Corner Farmstand, Farm’s Reach Restaurant and family farms with public facilities such as Finnriver Farm. Mt. Townsend Creamery is making plans for a possible store, restaurant, and bed and breakfast directly across the street from The Paradise Theatre School. There is a “Chimacum Renaissance” happening at the present time, and The Paradise Theatre School, a non-profit arts organization, is an ideal addition for cultural and economic development in this growing sustainable community.
Historically, the building has been used as a public space for various commercial and non-profit ventures. Before the Theatre was used as a theatre school, the building was used as an antique store, a ballet school and an art school; it was originally built in 1906 to be used as a Methodist Church for sermons, weddings, funerals, and other community-oriented gatherings.
The anticipated hours of operations for the public are:
Classes: six days a week/4 hours a day or evening w/ no more than 15 students per class/rehearsal; and
Performances: 8:00 -10:30 pm on select Thursday, Friday, and Saturday evenings and Sunday afternoon totaling no more than 80 performances per year. There will be an estimated 25 – 50 audience members per performance.
Admission to classes, workshops, and performances will be charged except for youth programs, which will be free of charge, and low-income adults who may receive scholarships and reduced or free admission.
On-site parking is proposed for an estimated average of 25 cars with additional and overflow parking on site for a total of approximately 20 cars. We understand that in the past there was a concern expressed regarding parking at/near our site: It is important to note that this occurred during an outdoor performance when an unexpected and unprecedented number of people attended a play. The outdoor plays are now conducted at H. J. Carroll Park, free of charge to the public.
There will be two theatre instructors living on site in a separate dwelling unit.
Who we are: The Paradise Theatre School is a leading educational and cultural force on the Olympic Peninsula in Washington State, encouraging discipline and theatrical risk-taking in our students, producing uncompromising new plays and adaptations of the highest quality, and addressing the problems and possibilities of our times.
What we do: Offer classes and performances to the residents, including low-income youth and adults, of Jefferson County and its visitors.
Why we do it: The Paradise creates community by advocating for the audiences and students we serve in all the work we do. We are committed to making The Paradise Theatre School’s unflinching creative aesthetic accessible to the widest possible audience.
At The Paradise, our ambition is to create an educational experience so astonishing, thought provoking, and of such high quality that uninitiated students are moved to attend local arts events, and then moved again to be expressive artists in their own right.
Community members who are supported in attending theatrical classes and performances benefit from experiences that can result in wider scholastic and employment options, as well as increased potential for civic engagement. Our friends at the Jefferson County Bard College Clemente Course in the Humanities have demonstrated that lower income citizens who receive access to studies in the Humanities for the first time in their lives experience growing levels of civic engagement and self-sustainability. We note similar results from students and attendees of our programming.
We wish to note that Jefferson County is not overrun by theatre instructional programs or live theatre. We believe The Paradise Theatre School is an essential ingredient in the cultural and much-needed economic revival of the Chimacum area.
The Paradise Theatre School practices a non-discrimination policy of dignity and independence for its students which prohibits discrimination and harassment and protects the right to be free of hate activity based on race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, disability, marital status, citizenship, national origin, political affiliation, or veteran status.
We hope you will understand our lack of familiarity with this type of application and hope that, if we made any errors, you will inform us so that we may correct them immediately.
We do request prior notification for purposes of review or inspection. Our contact information can be found below.
The Paradise Theatre School will deeply appreciate your serious consideration of our request, and we thank you for your kind attention to this matter.
Sincerely,
deForest Walker,
President
Pattie Miles Van Beuzekom,
Co - Artistic Director
Co - Artistic Director