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DeKalb Township seeks Oakwood Cemetery expansion; council approves zoning change on consent
Summary
DeKalb Township presented a plan to buy under-an-acre from First Congregational UCC to expand Oakwood Cemetery with landscaping, a memorial plaza and columbaria; council approved the special-use permit ordinance on first reading and waived second reading following a unanimous recommendation from the Planning & Zoning Commission.
DeKalb Township officials told the DeKalb City Council on May 12 they plan to purchase just under an acre from First Congregational United Church of Christ on North First Street to expand Oakwood Cemetery with a low-impact park area, walking paths, a memorial plaza and columbaria for cremated remains.
Township Supervisor Mary Hess and Township Trustee Catherine McLaughlin said the use would be an institutional expansion of cemetery services rather than new traditional in-ground plots. "The majority of the project is funded by a donor," Trustee Catherine McLaughlin told the council, and she added the project would provide a range of affordable options for cremated remains while keeping the northern portion of the site—partly in the floodplain—as natural open space.
Staff told council the site is zoned multifamily and is a legal nonconforming parcel for its current use; the Planning & Zoning Commission held a public hearing on May 5 and recommended approval by a 5–0 vote (one commissioner absent). The council voted to pass Ordinance 2025-021 on first reading and then waived second reading with a unanimous roll call.
Township officials said access would be provided through the church parking lot and that any work in the floodplain will comply with local floodplain rules. The council took no additional conditions beyond standard regulatory compliance and the Planning & Zoning recommendation.
