Development Services Letter s1

STAFF REPORT TO: THE YAVAPAI COUNTY PLANNING AND ZONING COMMISSION

PREPARED ON: December 19, 2007 STAFF PLANNER: Nicole Russell/Elise Link

PLANNING AND ZONING COMMISSION HEARING DATE: February 6, 2008

APPLICATION NUMBER: H7197

ASSESSOR PARCEL NUMBER: 302-02-120

AGENDA ITEM NUMBER: 6

SUPERVISOR DISTRICT: 1

TYPE OF APPLICATION: Use Permit

APPLICANT NAME: LeRoy Thatcher

PROJECT NAME: Thatcher Family Plot Cemetery

PROPERTY LOCATION: Located approximately 1.1 miles from the intersection of Raney Road and Cattle Drive and approximately .6 miles east of Cattle Drive, in Juniperwood Ranch Unit 2, south of Ash Fork.

SIZE OF PARCEL: An approximately .13 acre portion of a 40 acre parcel

PARCEL ZONING: RCU-10A (Residential; Single Family; 10 acre minimum)

ADJACENT ZONING: RCU-10A (Residential, Single Family; 10 acre minimum) in all directions.

ADJACENT LAND USE: Residential in all directions.

FLOOD STATUS: The parcel is located in Zone unshaded X.

UTILITIES AND SERVICES:  FIRE: Not within a designated fire district. The nearest fire district is Ash Fork.  WATER: Well  SANITARY: Septic

BACKGROUND/PREVIOUS ACTION: The subject property and surrounding area was rezoned from RCU-2A to RCU-10A on November 8, 1993. The forty (40) acre parcel is part of the Juniperwood Ranch Unit 2 un-subdivided land filing. No other Zoning Map Changes or Use Permits have been applied for the subject property.

In January of 2007 the Arizona State Legislator updated the Revised Statutes Section 36-326.I, which deals with disposition-transit permits for human remains. In this revised statute it states that, “a deputy local registrar or the state registrar shall provide a disposition-transit permit for internment of human remains in a cemetery only if the

of 4 Staff Report To The Yavapai County Planning and Zoning Commission cemetery has been recorded in the office of the county recorder in the county where the cemetery is located.” This essentially means that Yavapai County Vital Records cannot issue a death certificate, unless the remains are laid to rest in a recorded and legal cemetery. The death certificate must state the cemetery name and location in order for Yavapai County Vital Records to keep track of the remains. It is legal by state statues for a family member to transport human remains to the cemetery of their choice.

On October 27, 2007 Mrs. Barbara Thatcher passed away in the Hospice Family Care Facility in Prescott. On October 30, 2007 the permit to transport her body was issued by Norvel Owens Funeral Home in Flagstaff, where her body was prepared for burial. Barbara’s husband, Mr. LeRoy Thatcher, and his nephew picked up her body and brought her back to the subject property where she was buried on the same day. Mrs. Thatcher was buried on an approximate .13 acre portion of the Thatcher’s forty (40) acre homestead in an eight foot by four foot gravesite that is seven feet deep (8’ x 4’ x 7’). This gravesite meets the National Cemetery Administration burial standards.

Yavapai County Vital Records would not issue the Death Certificate until Mr. Thatcher applied for this Use Permit.

REQUEST/DESCRIPTION OF PROPOSAL: Consideration of a Use Permit to allow a private family cemetery for no more than five (5) plots on a .13 acre portion of a forty (40) acre parcel in an RCU-10A zoning district. The applicant has indicated that the proposed cemetery is for the Thatcher family only. Although the applicant did originally want to have as many as seventy (70) plots, he has determined that five (5) will better suit the family’s needs in the coming years. The applicant has indicated that the five (5) plots will be for his wife Barbara, himself, his son serving in Iraq, and two (2) for additional family members. The location of subject property is fairly remote and the specified area for the proposed cemetery is approximately in the center of the forty (40) acre subject property, where the Thatcher’s home is located. The applicant has indicated that a more permanent and decorative fence will be constructed around the cemetery, to replace the five foot (5’) five-strand barbed wire fence, that is currently in place on the property to keep cattle out.

The applicant also proposes to record an easement for the proposed family plot cemetery, along with a road access easement to the cemetery.

ZONING: The property is currently zoned RCU-10A (Residential, Single Family; 10 acre minimum) which would allow as a matter of right all uses that are allowed in an R1L, RMM and R1 zoning districts, including single family homes with accessory uses and structures. A cemetery for human remains is first allowed in a C3 (Commercial and Minor Industrial) zoning district.

ACCESS: From State Route 89, the property is accessed by way of a series of unpaved, non-maintained, private roads.

SCREENING: The Ordinance states that where a commercial, office or non-residential use abuts property in any residential zone, a masonry wall six feet (6’) in height is required. However, the Ordinance goes on to state that alternatives that are equivalent to a six foot (6’) masonry wall, that provide a solid buffer, may be approved by the

of 4 Staff Report To The Yavapai County Planning and Zoning Commission

Planning and Zoning Commission. The proposed C3 (Commercial and Minor Industrial) use is surrounded by residential zoning. Staff understands that there is currently a barbed wire fence that surrounds the proposed cemetery. The applicant stated in the letter of intent that a non-solid decorative fence may be installed later and that the proposed cemetery area is not easily seen from the border of the subject property due to heavy vegetation. A waiver of screening is requested and may be appropriate for this application.

SIGNAGE: There is no signage proposed in an effort to keep the site inconspicuous to outsiders.

FIRE: This subject property is not located within a local fire district.

CITIZEN PARTICIPATION PROCESS: The applicant has contacted the ten (10) surrounding property owners within a 1000 foot radius, even though three hundred feet (300’) is the minimum required. As of this writing, two (2) letters of support and no letters of opposition have been received by Development Services.

CONFORMANCE WITH COUNTY GENERAL PLAN: There is no mention in the General Plan that specifically addresses private family cemeteries. However, in the Land Use section of the General Plan under Land Use Recommendations, it states that property rights are (to be) respected in the context of considering regulatory standards that relate to the scale, sensitivity and/or location of proposed projects. The applicant has indicated that this proposed cemetery is approximately in the middle of his approximately forty (40) acre parcel and will be for family members only.

CONFORMANCE WITH COMMUNITY PLAN: The subject property is not located within a community plan area.

OTHER CEMETERY APPLICATIONS: There are no other similar previous applications. A Use Permit /Zoning Map Change application combination for an existing family cemetery was approved by the Board of Supervisors on February 3, 2003 on a permanent basis. This Use Permit/ Zoning Map Change was for the zoning change from RCU-2A (Residential; Single Family; 2-acre minimum) to R1-25 (Residential; Single Family; site built) zoning district in order to allow for an eight (8) headstone family cemetery to be split off of the main parcel and be legal conforming. This parcel is located in the community of Walker.

REVIEWING AGENCY COMMENTS: The applicant has been made aware of all reviewing agency comments. As of this writing, staff has not received any concerns or objections to this application.

o PUBLIC WORKS: The County Engineer will waive the 502 (access plan) requirement for this request.

of 4 Staff Report To The Yavapai County Planning and Zoning Commission

STAFF ANALYSIS, SUMMARY AND EVALUATION:

Issues to Consider:

Mrs. Thatcher is already buried on the subject property. Denial of this Use Permit would result in having to exhume Mrs. Thatcher’s body from the Thatcher homestead, which would cause extreme distress for Mr. Thatcher and the Thatcher family.

The applicant has notified neighbors within 1000 feet of the subject property; there have been no complaints to the proposed family cemetery and two (2) letters of support have been received.

Issues with Private Cemeteries in Residential Zoning Districts: Cemeteries are first allowed in the C3 (Commercial and Minor Industrial) zoning district.

When the parcel surrounding the Thatcher cemetery, set-out by an easement, is owned by someone in the future who has little or no connection to those buried on the property, the Thatcher family cemetery may be viewed as a nuisance. Future owners of the property might just as soon use the portion of the property where the cemetery is located for placement of a residence, an outbuilding or some other use. They will only be able to accomplish this by exhuming the bodies and moving them, which could be complicated, costly and negates Mr. Thatcher’s desire for a family cemetery at their homestead.

If a separate tax parcel were to be established for the Thatcher family cemetery, eventually, distant heirs, further and further removed from those buried at the cemetery, will likely grow weary of paying taxes on the property and the cemetery could become an issue for the County to deal with. Staff discouraged establishing the cemetery as a separate parcel for that reason.

Although, allowing the Thatcher cemetery may be reasonable, given the circumstances of the request such as the size of the parcel and the remote location, it may not be reasonable to encourage private family cemeteries throughout the County in residential zoning districts for the reasons mentioned above.