Carrboro municipal cemeteries running out of space

At Tuesday night’s work session, the town council voted to move forward with improvements to the existing cemeteries, repairing fencing and adding benches.

There are no plots available in the Old Carrboro Cemetery, and only 100 left in the developed portion of the Westwood Cemetery.

Carrboro Town Councilors are discussing options for the 100 remaining spaces, as well as the future of municipal cemetery operations.

The remaining plots in Westwood Ceemtery are projected to run out by 2024.

The Town discussed different prioritization options for those at Tuesday night’s work session.

"Do we want to reserve spaces for Carrboro residents, do we want to have a sliding scale in terms of income, or do we want to have one price for Carrboro residents and another for other residents," Mayor Damon Seils explained.

At the Westwood Cemetery, Zone 1 is full, Zone 2 has one remaining plot, and Zone 3 has 100 remaining plots. The entire site is about eight acres; Zone 4 comprises about 6 acres, and is entirely undeveloped.

While that means the cemetery has space remaining, some are hoping it can be a park instead.

Mayor Seils wants to find a middle ground.

"I think it would be good to find a way that honors both the interest and making some additional plots available, while also recognizing tht there are community members, especially those living on that side of town, in having some additional green space or park space," Seils said.

Council Member Barbara Foushee agrees.

"It is a cemetery. It does serve a purpose in the community. But I also understand and respect the interests of the neighbors who live adjacent to the cemetery for that green space that they’ve been able to access and use," Foushee said. "I feel like a middle of the road solution would probably be best because we have two competing interests here."

Carrboro Town Council is considering three main paths: purchasing new cemetery space, expanding the Westwood Cemetery into Zone 4, and getting out of the cemetery business altogether.

"Does the town, once we use our remaining spaces, does the town want to continue to be in the cemetery service provision business, or do we want to do what many other towns have done, which is once we reach capacity, do we want to not do that anymore," Seils said.

Foushee believes Zone 4 should be utilized before the town purchases any other land.

A plot in the municipal cemetery is considerably cheaper than some private cemetery options.

She also hopes the town can continue providing a service that has always been available.

"If people have life, there will be death at some point. And that as I said in the meeting is a very sensitive time for family and friends when they have to consider burial options," Foushee said.

The Town Council will have another work session on this issue, and they want to hear from the public as well.