Municipal *policy impact analysis: Buddhist temples in southern California

Purpose. The purpose of this exploratory study was to empirically investigate the approval policy outputs and outcomes of establishing Buddhist Temple organizations in southern California. The problem under investigation was to determine why some municipalities and temple applicants had difficulties in the approval process and what these problems were.;Theoretical framework. Policy impact analysis (Anderson 1990) was used as the foundation for analysis. Policy outputs, (statues and codes) and policy outcomes (the affective relationship of the governed with the government) were used for comparison of the subjects. The six models of policymaking (Henry 1995) were utilized to construct the methodology.;Methodology. Qualitative analysis was used in this multiple case study. There were five cities in two counties of southern California along with ten temples that were observed in this policy impact analysis. Using convenience sampling, focus groups and personal interviews were conducted, with structured questions posed to representatives of the municipalities and the abbots and representatives of the temples. To control for variation in ethnicity, temple applicant subjects included Thai, Cambodian, Vietnamese, Chinese, and Korean applicants.;Findings and conclusions. Using content analysis from audiorecorded interviews, categories of misunderstanding and differences in communication patterns were discovered. Temple applicants must learn that the rules of municipalities (policy outputs) are equally applied to all forms of organizations and cities must understand the general reluctance of Buddhist organizations to seek such formal relationships with a government. An unanticipated finding was that there was no evidence of any ethnic discrimination on the part of any municipality in this study.;Recommendations. Municipalities that experience growth in Asian minority groups who are Buddhist need to make a more proactive approach in the establishment of Buddhist temples in the city. Temple applicants must learn that American cities and towns believe in the separation of church and state but must enforce policies that protect the quality of life for everyone. Further research in cross-cultural communication in multiethnic communities would benefit the policymakers and citizens alike especially taking a regional variation approach to public policy.