Project Scope and Capacity

Executive summary

The project has changed dramatically. In 2022 the County described 50,000 graves and a religious building at maximum buildout in 2122. In 2023 the applicant described roughly one-half acre of initial development and 100 funeral events per year. The current 2026 referral describes 1,832 graves and 60 funerals per month.

100-year statement versus current capacity

The current application continues to say the cemetery will have enough gravesites to serve anticipated needs for the next 100 years. The current County referral, however, identifies a maximum capacity of 1,832 graves. At 60 funeral events per month, 1,832 grave sites correspond to about 2.5 years if one interment occurs per event; even the current application’s statement that a single adult grave may contain two caskets does not by itself explain a 100-year buildout. This is a reconciliation problem, not proof that every funeral equals one grave or that every grave will be filled at the stated rate.

Historical building inconsistencies

The 2022 record contains several different building descriptions: a February referral described 20,000 square feet; the July referral described 3,000 square feet; a plot map in the July packet labeled a 2,500-square-foot building; and stage drawings showed a 10,000-square-foot, 30-foot-high building with an occupancy of 1,200. These are historical inconsistencies, not current building proposals.

Whole-project question

The current draft Conditions of Approval cap the project at 1,832 graves. That reduces the risk of casually treating the former 50,000-grave concept as the current project. But it leaves a basic fork in the record: either 1,832 graves genuinely is the entire project and the continuing 100-year statement needs support, or larger future cemetery phases remain contemplated and should be clearly described in the environmental record.