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Irving council reviews proposed cemetery rules; 25‑acre minimum draws concern
Summary
City staff presented a draft cemetery ordinance establishing minimum lot sizes, setbacks and SP‑2 application requirements; council members questioned a proposed 25‑acre minimum and whether it would effectively bar new cemeteries in the city without variances through the SP process.
City planning staff presented a proposed zoning text amendment to establish regulations and an SP‑2 procedure for new cemeteries in Irving.
Jocelyn Murphy, director of planning, described the proposed standards: minimum lot width of 80 feet, setbacks from rights of way, prohibitions on locating cemeteries in easements, internal driveway/site plan requirements, and a stated minimum lot size of 25 acres for a cemetery. The amendment would apply definitions consistent with state law for cemetery, columbarium and mausoleum and require SP‑2 generalized site plans showing internal driveways.
Council debate focused on feasibility. Speaker 16 criticized the 25‑acre requirement, saying it would “just eliminated anybody's chance” to propose new cemeteries in Irving and argued the threshold was too large; other council members pushed back that smaller proposals could still be presented and considered through the SP/variance process. Staff clarified that if a smaller site is proposed, it would be evaluated through SP procedure and council would have discretion to grant variances.
Council members also asked how existing historic cemeteries are handled; staff said several historic cemeteries already exist but are not zoned as cemeteries and that an expansion of an existing cemetery on land already dedicated as cemetery would follow a different path. The council did not take a final vote on the ordinance and directed staff to continue working with P&Z and the council on the proposed standards.
What’s next: staff will continue refinement of the ordinance language and provide clarifications about the variance/SP process if a smaller parcel is proposed.
