Impose conditions before allowing cemetery expansion
Aug 25, 2008
Cemetery wants to double in size
The owners of Mt. Hope Cemetery, Morgan Hill Funeral Home, Inc., are asking Morgan Hill for a conditional-use permit to double in size by 5.4 acres, bringing the total facility to about 11 acres.
Located on Spring Avenue, the burial grounds haven't been expanded since 1998, so the need to grow is understandable if the cemetery is to continue to meet the burial needs of our community. The expansion would occur south and west of the property.
Neighbors upset with cemetery's proposed expansion
The request, however, has upset neighbors who complain the cemetery creates noise, fire and flood-control problems. They're also concerned about their homes being close to grave sites and tombstones, affecting their views. Others complain of water runoff, trash and trespassing.
If there's validity to these concerns, city officials should carefully consider them and work on solutions, while allowing the cemetery to expand. City staff has presented the Morgan Hill Planning Commission with several suggested requirements that should be met before the expansion is allowed. It's too late to say that it was a mistake to build homes next to the facility.
City has leverage and should use it
The city can work with cemetery owners to fix the problems and comply with weed abatement, particularly in the so-called "non-endowment areas" of the cemetery, where residents are worried that tall grasses pose a fire hazard. Senate Bill 1490, signed into law in the fall of 2006, also requires licensed cemeteries to be properly maintained. We agree with staff recommendations that in sloped areas, burial markers should be flat to prevent them from further obstructing homeowners' views. We also agree with the minimum 10-foot setback between any property line and the nearest burial plot.
The city has leverage right now and should use it to send cemetery owners the message that if it wants to expand it needs to improve the care and maintenance of the facility and be more considerate of the residents who live nearby.
As planners have noted, Morgan Hill's cemetery has been around since before the turn of the century. It's historic and it's an important link to our past - the resting place of our ancestors. It should be a clean, beautiful and peaceful place where we can go mourn our dead with dignity. It should be a special place treated with reverence and respect. Let's work together to make our cemetery the place that it needs to be.
Act now: Contact the Morgan Hill City Council and Planning Commission to let them know your feelings on the issue. (408) 779-7271 or via their Web site: www.morganhill.ca.gov.
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