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Commissioners review private cemetery application after staff find recorded deed; site plan deemed technically adequate
Summary
A private cemetery proposed by Benjamin Hanley Jr. met staff's technical site-plan and perpetual-care requirements but staff discovered a recorded deed/trust prior to approval; commissioners discussed procedural remedies, including requiring applicants to cure the recorded deed, running the item through both hearings, or denying while a zoning violation exists.
Planning staff reviewed a request to establish a private cemetery for Benjamin Hanley Jr. and told the commission that private cemeteries are a permitted use in A1 zoning but must follow a defined public-notice and two-hearing process.
Staff reported the submitted site plan and perpetual-care plan, prepared by Alice Tone, met the county's technical requirements. "The proposed site plan for the cemetery layout and the perpetual-care plan that was submitted and performed by Alice Tone met all of the requirements for private cemeteries," planning staff said.
However, staff also reported that a deed transferring the cemetery parcel to a cemetery trust already had been recorded. Commissioners noted the recorded deed raises a procedural and zoning compliance problem because, under the county's ordinance, approval by the board is required before the plat/designation is filed with the court. Several commissioners said they believed the recorded deed meant there was an existing zoning violation that applicants should cure before seeking approval.
Commissioners discussed options: deny the request because of the existing violation; require the applicant to undo or "roll back" the deed and then reapply; or proceed with advertising and run the site through the commission and board hearings to preserve process and avoid future procedural objections. Staff said they had only learned of the recorded deed that day and would contact the applicants to advise them of options.
No final board decision on the cemetery was recorded in the transcript. The commission directed staff to contact the applicants and recommended that the public-notice process be completed (advertising and letters to adjoining landowners) and the item be heard at the required public hearings so the planning commission and board of commissioners can render a final determination.
