Planning for Cemeteries

FEATURE Planning for Cemeteries by Valerie Capels & Wayne Senville Planning for new or ASSESS THE CAPACITY expanded cemetery space is OF EXISTING CEMETERIES a challenging issue, often How many cemeteries are in or given little attention. The first, around your community and what obvious step is to acknowledge the is their remaining capacity? If your need to address this issue. Like the community is among those having subject of death itself, most people limited (or no) land for new ceme- don’t think about cemeteries if they tery space within its jurisdiction, it don’t have to. And planners, it may be necessary to take a regional seems, are no different. perspective toward addressing resi- Do you plan for your communi- dents’ future needs. ty’s roadway network? Your hous- Assessing capacity is usually ing needs? Your park system? Your straightforward; but there are some schools? Cemeteries deserve the factors that need to be considered. same attention and should be People often assume that cemeter- incorporated into the planning ies are owned and managed by processes that cities and towns some form of governmental or reli- undertake for other types of infra- gious entity and when the time structure, community facilities, and comes to make burial plans, space services. will be available for them. Few Over 2.5 million Americans are realize that many cemeteries are expected to die this year.1 The vast commercial ventures owned by cor- majority will be buried. Yet a num- porations, or are owned by reli- ber of communities, especially gious, ethnic, or other organiza- those more fully developed, are ©ISTOCK.COM/JULI PHILLIP tions. They may have policies that hard pressed to find cemetery space Savannah residents take pride in their historic cemeteries, which limit certain types of interments, within their borders. Newspaper also draw many visitors to the city. Here, a gravesite sculpture in and may also choose not to be the Bonaventure Cemetery. accounts across the country report forthcoming with information case after case of neighborhood opposi- has become a growing concern, as ceme- about their capacity or future plans. tion to cemetery proposals. At the same tery revenues fail to keep pace with the In contrast, cemetery commissions – time, maintenance of existing cemeteries cost of upkeep. typically accountable to the local govern- While the subject of cemetery plan- 1 The National Center for Health Statistics reports ing body – oversee many, if not most, slightly over 2.4 million deaths in 2002, the most ning can be complicated, this article will municipally owned cemeteries. Local recent year for which this data is available: address some of the more basic issues cemetery commissions will have infor- <www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/deaths. htm>. Given cur- mation regarding the capacity of public rent trends, this projects to slightly over 2.5 million in that planning commissioners – and pro- 2006. fessional planners – should be aware of. continued on next page Forecasting Capacity: because of the site’s topography; and 10 The remaining capacity would be: Forecasting cemetery space needs to acres are used by administrative and main- • 10 acres x 1,000 sites per acre take into account the nature of the site’s tenance buildings. That leaves 10 acres = 10,000 potential sites topography, as well as the extent of infra- available. Also assume that 1 acre can • 10,000 potential sites divided by 700 structure, and landscaping. For example, contain 1,000 gravesites (a rule of thumb sales per year = approx. 14-15 yrs. assume a cemetery occupies 100 acres of is that between 800 and 1,200 gravesites This kind of basic forecast would need land, but 50 are already occupied by will fit on an acre). Also assume that sales to be adjusted to take into account factors gravesites, 30 acres are not useable of lots have averaged about 700 per year. such as local cremation rates. PLANNING COMMISSIONERS JOURNAL / NUMBER 64 / FALL 2006 1 Planning for Cemeteries alone will not translate into the number nity. Over time these cemeteries have continued from previous page of burials that will be needed in the next often become “landlocked,” hemmed in cemeteries, but not necessarily of religious 10, 20, or 100 years. The number of resi- by development. While in some states or other privately owned cemeteries. dents who have moved away and want to cemeteries (like railroads or public utili- be buried “back home” may or may not ties) by law have the power of eminent FORECAST NEED be offset by others in the community domain – which could be used to take One way to forecast need is to look at seeking to be buried elsewhere. land for cemetery expansion – this would the likely mortality rate of the current Some communities, particularly those typically be an expensive, not to mention and projected population. Most state which attract tourists, have found that politically unpopular, option. health departments produce statistical their rural cemetery lots are being pur- Sometimes creative planning can help mortality rates for the different jurisdic- chased by people from larger metropoli- expand the capacity of an existing ceme- tions they serve. However, this figure tan areas, in part because of their quaint tery. One way is by incorporating colum- charm and because they are often much baria and mausoleums, which occupy less expensive. As a result, some ceme- Cremation Trends much less space per person than typical tery organizations have adopted policies burial plots. According to the Cremation limiting sales of lots to residents or In Rome, Georgia, where the historic Association of North America descendants of former residents. Myrtle Hill Cemetery is nearing capacity, (CANA), a 1,200 member trade group, It is also important to consult with the City of Rome is planning on building more than one in four Americans are funeral industry professionals in your a new mausoleum and columbaria. A turning to cremation. Thirty years ago, area regarding the trend toward crema- cemetery master plan prepared in 2004 the proportion was less than one in ten. tion or other alternatives, as this can CANA projects that by 2010, more than (partially funded by a grant from the affect the current and future need for 35 percent of those dying will be cremat- National Park Service through the Geor- cemetery space. ed.2 These figures vary significantly gia Department of Natural Resources’ depending on the social and cultural ISSUES IN PLANNING Historic Preservation Division) found composition of different areas. For exam- FOR CEMETERIES that construction of mausoleums and ple, Washington State and Hawaii had If more cemetery space is needed, can columbaria “would blend into the exist- the highest rate of cremation at 63 per- an existing cemetery be expanded – or ing appearance of the cemetery, despite cent in 2003, while Tennessee had the must a new site, in or outside of your their divergence from historic burial lowest at 3 percent. practices.” The plan noted that “since CANA also reports that over 80 per- community, be found? Existing cemeteries, especially in several slopes and terraces are in need of cent of cremated remains are placed in walls, these locations are the ideal places containers; just 16 percent in caskets. urbanized areas, are often located on to start placing columbaria.” Some 40 percent of all cremains are land that was, at the time the cemetery delivered to a cemetery – of those, 59 was built, on the outskirts of the commu- continued on next page percent are buried (typically in smaller plots), while 26 percent are placed in columbaria, and 15 percent scattered in areas dedicated for this use.3 One impli- cation of the increase in cremation is that there will be somewhat less pressure for cemetery space, especially in areas with higher rates of cremation. But this also means that communities will need to provide for the siting of mausoleums and columbaria, a point we will return to later in this article. 2 In 2003, over 28% of deaths resulted in cremation. National Vital Statistics, Vol. 52, Number 22, 6/10/2004. In numbers, of the 2,423,000 deaths in the U.S. in 2003, 696,000 were cremated. Canadian cremation rates are considerably higher, standing at 47% in 2002. 3 Detailed cremation statistics, including state- W. SENVILLE by-state totals, are available at CANA’s web site: Small neighborhood cemeteries, like this one in Burlington, Vermont, are usually “good neighbors,” <www.cremationassociation.org/html/statistics. securing open space in the heart of residential areas. Just ask Burlington Mayor Bob Kiss, who lives just html> behind this cemetery. PLANNING COMMISSIONERS JOURNAL / NUMBER 64 / FALL 2006 2 Mausoleums Mausoleums are buildings which contain crypts for entombment of deceased individuals. They often also include columbarium niches for cremated remains. Mausoleums can be freestanding buildings, or be part of a larger facility, such as a church. The word mausoleum derives from the enormous tomb of King Mausolus – a Persian ruler in the mid-4th century BC. His mausoleum, located in southwest Turkey, is considered one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. Above: Mausoleums are often attractively land- scaped, like this one in Boca Raton, Florida . Left: The Chicago Post A 16th century engraving by Marten Heemskerck Office Building, new in of the Mausoleum of Mausolus. 1932, closed in 1996. Renovation proposals rang- According to Douglas Keister, author of ing from residential condos Going Out in Style: The Architecture of Eternity, to giant auto showrooms a book on the history of the mausoleum, have fallen through. Would one of the most ambitious community mau- a proposal to convert it soleum projects in the U.S.

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