Herndon officials had a grave discussion earlier this week about plans to build out the remainder of Chestnut Grove Cemetery (831 Dranesville Road).
With people evidently dying to get in, the cemetery is running out of space for graves, but in response to public feedback, town staff have proposed nixing some of the planned new burial spots.
In a presentation to the Herndon Town Council on Tuesday (June 10), Department of Public Works staff said concerns from neighbors about stormwater issues and the cemetery’s proximity to their properties prompted an expansion of the originally planned 25-foot buffer to 60 feet.
“They don’t want to look out their back windows and see cemetery activity,” town staff said.
The updated plan also places a “greater emphasis on preserving and enhancing existing woodland,” with increased commitments to planting evergreen trees and “large” shrubs in the buffer, according to the presentation.
Staff did not have an exact number of graves lost due to the increased buffer, but they said the change limited the new gravesites to extending the life of the cemetery for 15-18 years.
Mayor Keven LeBlanc noted it would be “a relatively substantial reduction.”
The Chestnut Grove Cemetery sits on previously undeveloped land that was transferred to the Town of Herndon as a gift in 1997. A master plan for the facility was approved in 1999.
While plans originally called for construction to begin this summer, the revised timeline in the staff report says the current schedule would complete designs and submit for final approval this summer, with advertisement of bids for the project in August-September.
