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City outlines ground‑truthing plan for Oak Lawn Cemetery after radar anomalies; work to wait until after baseball season
Summary
City planning staff reported ground‑penetrating radar anomalies at Oak Lawn Cemetery and described a phased archaeological plan that would pause work and notify the state archaeology officer if burials are confirmed; field investigations are planned after the conclusion of the baseball season.
City planning staff on March 5 updated the council on ground‑penetrating radar (GPR) work at Oak Lawn Cemetery and next steps for archaeological ground‑truthing if subsurface anomalies prove to be gravesites.
Planning Director Derek Kilborn summarized phase‑1 and phase‑2 work that identified anomalies in areas with incomplete plot records. "When you have that information, you compare that with the plot records that are on file," Kilborn said, explaining that anomalies could reflect prior construction, unrecorded graves, or other buried items and that targeted test excavations will determine their nature.
Kilborn told council the ground‑truthing is scheduled to begin after the upcoming baseball season and World Series timeline to avoid disruption: "The way that this has been set up is that the ground truthing won't begin until after the end of this upcoming baseball season," he said. City staff and a consultant advised that, should potential burials be found, work would stop immediately and the state archaeological officer would be notified under Florida statute. Brijesh from Capital Improvements added that the process is regulated and that statutory requirements will guide next steps.
Council members requested follow‑up detail on lodge records and asked staff to share the consultant's protocol for further public clarity. Staff agreed to gather additional records and provide the consultant’s recommended next steps to council.
