Planning Commission tables St. Victoria cemetery variance requests after neighbors raise safety, traffic and access concerns

At a Planning Commission meeting in Victoria, the commission voted to table two variance requests from St. Victoria Catholic Church that would let the parish add burial plots and a new vehicle access from Victoria Circle for a proposed columbarium.

City planner Brian McCann explained the requests as a package: consolidating seven church parcels into a single 26.5-acre lot, adding a roughly 26-foot-wide access from Victoria Circle to meet Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) needs, and reducing the front setback from 30 feet to 5 feet to create additional burial capacity. "They are proposing a single access from Victoria Circle," McCann said, noting the property is encumbered by steep slopes, wetlands and a shoreland overlay that limit other options.

The request prompted several neighbors to speak. James Haines, who lives at 1812 Victoria Circle, said: "It's gonna impact traffic. It's gonna impact our community down there," and urged the commission to consider alternatives. Pam Fessenden, whose backyard borders the church, questioned the need for a 17-space lot near the circle and suggested using deeper wooded areas for any additional parking. Attorney Chuck Beekler, representing the church, said the church is "kinda shoehorned into this one specific area" by topography, wetlands and shoreland restrictions and that the additional access is needed to comply with ADA for burials and columbarium access.

Staff presented conditions drafted in the resolution, including: approval to construct one additional access; approval of the setback reduction if granted; consolidation of the seven parcels; a prohibition on using on‑street parking on Victoria Circle for funeral parking; and coordination with public works to remove a sewer stub if necessary. McCann also told the commission staff had published notice in the Waconia Patriot and mailed notices to property owners within about 350 feet.

Commissioners raised alternatives and information gaps: whether fewer parking spaces or only a hearse/ADA spaces could meet needs, whether a longer ADA ramp could be built without a new road, and exact counts for burial plots affected. Estimates in the hearing varied: staff said the setback encroachment removes roughly 30 burial sites; another count mentioned about 40. The church reported the overall expansion would add roughly 250 burial sites and a columbarium with more than 300 niches, and said the new access would also provide safer ingress and egress for funeral vehicles.

After discussion, a commissioner moved to table both variance requests to allow staff and the applicant to explore alternatives and return with additional information; the motion was seconded and carried unanimously. Staff said the matter will return to the Planning Commission for further review before any action by the City Council.

The commission’s action is advisory; any eventual approval would go to the City Council. The resolution draft and staff report note a dependency between the access variance and the lot-consolidation: the columbarium and access cross current parcel lines and the parcels would need to be combined to permit the improvements.

Neighbors and applicants were encouraged to work with staff during the tabling period. McCann noted one open issue staff was still investigating: whether any active service lines cross the proposed columbarium area; the resolution calls for the church to coordinate with public works on removal or abandonment of a sewer stub if needed.