CEMETERY FEASIBILITY STUDY

12-02-11

BACKGROUND HISTORY:

The City owns five cemeteries:

1. Tucker Hill, 2. Chestnut, 3. Evergreen, 4. Evergreen Extension 5. Greenwood and

6. Woodlawn

Tucker Hill and Chestnut

Closed approximately mid 2009.

Those in the know that deal with these cemeteries advised current staff that both facilities
were full and that bodies were being placed on top of other. This information is
unsubstantiated.
City currently allows burials if family members are buried there and Public Works
physically probes the plot twice, once before excavation and secondly, to excavating the
burial plot to determine if a burial is feasible.

Evergreen and Evergreen Extension:

No requests have been received for burials.

Staff believes the situation to be much the same as Tucker Hill and Chestnut.

Greenwood and Woodlawn:

Both cemeteries are adjacent.

Records appear to be more accurate for these cemeteries.
Real Estate Office has been informed that there may be approximately 100 empty lots
in the northwest corner of Greenwood.
Staff recommends that, without forensic study, the vacancy cannot be confirmed.
At this time we must conclude that the cemeteries are sold out and that burials can
move forward by providing proof of ownership.
FINDINGS:

Surplus City Property:

Possible donation site whereby a funeral home may create a new cemetery.

Pros:

No land cost to create new cemetery.

City owned land can be conveyed fee simple.
City can assist in platting and zoning matters.
Private venture, no involvement by City staff.

Cons:

Zoning must be changed to institutional zoning.

Land must be platted and subdivided to create legal access corridors; individual, multiple
and family plots for sale.
Possible opposition by neighboring properties.
Possible environmental, topographical and hydrologic concerns.
Removing these properties from the City surplus inventory will prevent other economic
development opportunities.

Possible site is attached separately to this report.

Parcel #25237-001-00 is the City owned land that is being un-encumbered by the termination of
the Project Hope lease located in the 3100 block of NW Martin Luther King Avenue.

The entire parcel is 21.7 acres.

The property is encumbered by 150 feet of transmission line easements.
Using the same utilization pattern that exist at Greenwood and Woodlawn cemeteries the
number of burials per acre is estimated to be 780.

Note: Highland Memorial Park reports that they have 26.7 cares unencumbered and burial space
for an additional 7,900 interments.

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