Oakwood Cemetery expansion planned in DeKalb

DeKALB – Oakwood Cemetery, 611 to 615 N. First St. in DeKalb Township, could be getting ready for an expansion thanks to a local church.

The petitioner, DeKalb Township, submitted an application to the city seeking a special use permit to expand the cemetery with 0.82 acres of vacant land adjacent to First Congregational United Church of Christ, 615 N. First St.

A DeKalb commission this week voted 5-0 to put its initial support behind the petitioner’s request to allow the cemetery’s expansion. Commissioner Maria Pena-Graham was absent.

“We believe they meet all the standards for a special use permit,” City Planner Dan Olson said.

The DeKalb City Council still needs to have its say on the matter.

The proposed improvements to the added land may provide a number of new amenities to the cemetery, including an eight-car parking lot with one accessible parking space, a concrete walk, a memorial plaza with donor brick pavers, columbaria, woodland trail, remembrance pollinator garden and stormwater, and more.

The expansion is anticipated to be completed in two phases, officials said.

Commissioner Jerry Wright sought to clarify the petitioners’ plans.

“Did you say there were no plots for this new development?” Wright said.

DeKalb Township Supervisor Mary Hess said the expanded cemetery will not have space to accommodate any more burials.

“There will be no burial plots,” Hess said. “What we’re going to be doing is putting in above ground columbarium. Cremations are on the rise. ... To start with, we’re going to have one columbarium with probably 48 niches. And then there’s something called an ossuary. That’s an even more affordable burial option. People are put together in an area. These will be more affordable burial options.”

Under phase two of the cemetery improvements, the township is looking to start a scattering garden.

“The state allows for remains to be scattered, but there’s a process to it,” Hess said. “Those individuals are memorialized and they’re captured in state records. So, that’s what we’d like to do with that path in the back.”