Mausoleums, chapel planned at Crown Hill Cemetery in Twinsburg

Ken Lahmers
·2 min read
The red star toward the upper right corner shows the location of the planned new mausoleum/chapel at Crown Hill Cemetery. Darrow Road is at right.
The red star toward the upper right corner shows the location of the planned new mausoleum/chapel at Crown Hill Cemetery. Darrow Road is at right.

TWINSBURG – One replacement mausoleum and a new mausoleum/chapel will be coming to Crown Hill Cemetery in 2023 after the planning commission and City Council favored site plans recently.

The 242-acre Crown Hill Cemetery is in a public facilities zoning district, which provides for the proper functioning of public facilities, including governmental, civil, welfare and recreational uses. The mausoleums are permitted accessory buildings.

Tim Gorgas of Pittsburgh-based Matthews Gibraltar Mausoleums said since the facade of an existing mausoleum near the Highland Road frontage is failing; it will be demolished and a 2,921-square-foot building will replace it.

City planner Lynn Muter said the replacement mausoleum will be a one-story structure about 11 feet high. The site is not visible from Darrow Road and the new structure is about 99 feet from the Highland Road right-of-way.

Access to the cemetery complex is from Darrow Road, and no additional access or off-street parking isrequired or proposed. Less than one acre of disturbance will be involved, with construction and stormwater review not required by Summit Soil and Water.

The city’s engineering department has required the addition of a trench drain to prevent stormwater runoff directly onto Route 91 from the existing driveway.

The red star toward the upper right corner shows the location of the planned new mausoleum/chapel at Crown Hill Cemetery. Darrow Road is at right.
The red star toward the upper right corner shows the location of the planned new mausoleum/chapel at Crown Hill Cemetery. Darrow Road is at right.

Meanwhile, the new 6,606-square-foot mausoleum/chapel will be constructed along the Darrow Road frontage near the northeast corner of the property. The chapel portion will total about 2,000 square feet.

In addition to the existing Darrow Road driveway, access will be provided from the cemetery road that circulates throughout the property. A dilapidated house at the site has been razed.

According to Muter, the proposed mausoleum/chapel is roughly 130 feet from the variable Darrow Road right-of-way and 75 feet from the side property boundary, which is in compliance with the zoning code.

The height of the roof peak is about 28 feet, which complies with the code’s 50-foot maximum for public and semi-public buildings. Six parking spaces, including one that is ADA-compliant, will be provided.

The next planning panel session will be Dec. 19, and Muter said there looks to be at least a couple of items on the agenda.

Contact the newspaper at twinsburgbulletin@recordpub.com.

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Mausoleums, chapel planned at Crown Hill Cemetery in Twinsburg