Wow, I didn’t know there were Pa-Auk places in the United States. Apparently, there’s even a Pa-Auk monastery in Georgia? Can you please tell us more, Venerable?
Pa-Auk Georgia is really controlled by Tusita or Venerable U Mangala even though it has the Pa-Auk Name. It has mostly been private and mostly occupied by either Myanmar or Chinese monks or nuns. The land trust that has limited an plans to move forward is still active but should expire soon (if not already). After that, there might be some planning commission allowances to do something with the land (legally).
As for the California place. I think it is a private house. I’m not sure who is there. While it is likely there will be a five person limit on who can stay there, there are often “monasteries” in the West with only one or two monks and sometimes they struggle just to have one. So, I think the probable five person limit is not so much a problem. They have lots of land, but surely it cannot be anything other than agriculture zoned land. The house on the property is really nice, as you would expect for a famous person who wants seclusion. It can be good for meditation, but not really large retreats. I can only say “good luck” on converting the property into a meditation center. It is a very nice piece of land though. It might be possible to build a non-residential hall on the property. Usually you can do that agriculture land.
I don’t know much more than the information I have given. If someone else knows they can respond, but please don’t as more questions on this. There are no answers unless you contact Pa-Auk yourself. My information might be outdated.
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Thank you very much Venerable