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Columbia council approves Old Leesburg Road annexation after residents press for cemetery protections
Summary
Council approved annexation and zoning changes for two Old Leesburg Road parcels after residents urged protections for an on-site historic cemetery; the developer’s broker said the company will provide a 20-foot buffer, a chain-link fence, paved access and two parking spaces, and council members pressed for a professional survey to define boundaries.
Columbia City Council on second reading approved the annexation, future land use map amendment and zoning map amendment for properties at 4316 and 4340 Old Leesburg Road in Council District 4, after a string of public comments pressing the city and developer to protect an on-site cemetery.
Residents raised the cemetery concern during the public-comment period. Mary Baer told council she had learned the zoning item was back on the agenda and relayed worries from a family member who could not attend. She said the developer had not directly told neighbors how the cemetery would be preserved and that a broker had described only a chain-link fence and two parking spaces. “We still don't know the boundaries of that cemetery,” Baer said.
Gerald Waller, who lives at 4308 Old Leesburg Road, said he had been told the developer would provide a 20-foot buffer on both sides of his home: “So I guess they've met our demands right there,” Waller said. Hank Mabry, a commercial real estate broker representing developer Canary Woods, told council the developer had agreed to a 20-foot natural buffer on two sides of the house, to install a chain-link fence around the cemetery, to build a paved access road and to designate two parking spaces. “We're going to put a chain link fence around it. We're going to run a paved road to it and we're going to designate two parking places for the cemetery,” Mabry said.
Council members asked whether state guidelines apply and urged caution because older cemeteries often extend beyond visible markers. One councilmember recommended hiring surveyors and engineers to locate old stones and ground indentations before construction. Mabry said the developer had located the site in a survey and would “do everything we can to protect it,” but he did not present expanded preservation language or a formal recorded easement during the meeting.
The annexation and related map amendments had received first reading Jan. 20. On second reading council moved, seconded and approved the annexation and zoning change; the roll call recorded assent from attending members. The council did not adopt a separate, binding preservation easement or specify exact legal protections for the cemetery at this meeting.
Next steps identified during discussion included professional surveying and additional planning-division approvals for development elements. Members and speakers indicated they would continue to press for clarity on boundary definition and formal protections before final development permits.
