Commission amends development code to require mapping and 25-foot buffers for discovered graves; fence rules clarified

The Florence City Planning Commission voted to amend the Unified Development Ordinance to address development of properties that contain graves, cemeteries, or graveyards. The amendment requires professional identification and mapping of cemetery boundaries and a 25-foot buffer between graves and new development.

Planning staff explained the amendment is intended to provide a predictable, proactive process when cemeteries are found on development sites. "The graves, cemetery, graveyard, or other like facility shall be determined by a professional archaeologist or other methods deemed appropriate by the planning director to determine the boundary and confirmation of the cemetery," staff said. The professional is to map the site, document orientation and history when available, and provide coordinates for the cemetery boundary.

Under the amendment, lots containing graves would be deeded separately and accessed by a minimum 20-foot easement. A 25-foot buffer yard would be required on the perimeter outside the recorded grave area; the buffer "shall not include any graves," staff said. Fencing was discussed extensively: the proposed draft initially referenced a four-foot fence, but commissioners debated whether to require fencing, set a minimum, or apply existing fence rules.

Commission discussion covered private family plots, historic cemeteries, state reporting requirements and who should bear the cost of preservation measures. Planning staff and a staff member identified as Dudley noted state requirements for discovery during excavation: "If a grave's found, they're supposed to stop and document that and and then preserve it," Dudley said.

The commission considered multiple motions. An initial motion to require a developer to install fencing failed for lack of a second. The commission then adopted a motion to keep fencing optional, require the 25-foot buffer and limit built fences to no more than six feet in height (with the existing variance process available for taller fences), retain a 50% opacity standard for fences, and leave fencing otherwise optional. The motion carried with the majority of commissioners in favor; the final tally recorded one vote against and one abstention. Planning staff said the amendment aims to give the city a consistent process for mapping and protecting graves discovered during development while preserving property-owner discretion for private plots.

Staff noted the state has separate mechanisms that can apply to gravesite protection and that moving graves remains a distinct legal process handled under state law.