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Council approves San Gabriel Cemetery expansion at 607 West Roses after EIR and historic review
Summary
The council certified an environmental impact report and introduced an ordinance to allow the San Gabriel Cemetery to acquire 607 West Roses Road for expansion (about 596 additional plots and 10 columbarium spaces). The approval was unanimous; staff will return for second reading and final adoption.
San Gabriel 99The City Council unanimously approved staff recommendations to certify the final environmental impact report, adopt required CEQA findings and introduce an ordinance to permit the San Gabriel Cemetery to acquire 607 West Roses Road and expand cemetery grounds.
Planning Manager Samantha summarized the application as a general plan amendment (low-density residential to open-space/public facility), a zone change, a zone-text amendment and a lot-line adjustment. The applicant proposes to demolish the existing single-family residence on the roughly 25,000-square-foot property and to add approximately 596 burial plots plus 10 columbarium niches. The staff analysis concluded the property is eligible as a historic resource and the EIR and mitigations were prepared and circulated; mitigation measures include documentation of the residence for city archives and a bronze plaque recognizing the property's historic designer.
John Babcock, chair of the San Gabriel Cemetery board, described the cemetery's financial and operational rationale: limited endowment funding and constrained space make the acquisition necessary to maintain perpetual care of cemetery roads and landscaping. He told council that the cemetery had increased endowment contributions and added columbarium space but that the 607 property was unique in its ability to connect to existing cemetery grounds and provide long-term revenue to support maintenance.
After brief council deliberations noting the site—s historic context and community value, Vice Mayor Menchaca moved to adopt the staff recommendation to certify the EIR, adopt a statement of overriding considerations and introduce Ordinance No. 711 by title for subsequent second reading. The motion was seconded and passed 5–0. The ordinance and related resolution will return for formal adoption at the council's next regular meeting.
What happens next: Staff will file the final EIR actions, return with the second-reading ordinance on the next regular agenda and implement the mitigation measures described in the EIR, including archival documentation and a plaque describing the property's historic significance.
Provenance: topicintro SEG 1303; topfinish SEG 1843.
