Proposal to expand cemetery under fire

  ANGIE LEVINE/Daily Bruin Westwood Village Memorial Park
may add more than 2,000 above-ground crypts along the cemetery’s
side. Local residents have sought city council support to prevent
this from happening.

By Dexter Gauntlett
Daily Bruin Staff

Marilyn Monroe and Roy Orbison may have something in common with
UCLA students caught in a housing crunch if a proposal to expand
the Westwood Village Memorial Park cemetery is approved.

Owners of the Pierce Brothers’ cemetery on 1218 Glendon
Ave. recently submitted a proposal to the City Planner for a
two-building expansion project of the city’s celebrity crypt
that would triple residence to nearly 3,000.

The move has sparked a fierce retort from homeowners and Fifth
District Councilman Jack Weiss, who have taken measures to try and
halt the project.

“It would be the Wal-Mart of death,” said cemetery
neighbor Leila Rioth.

Rioth, an architect, said the design would be a “big block
architecture” that is the result of lack of available
space.

The proposed addition to the mausoleum would stand 20 feet tall
and come within 10 feet of neighbors’ backyards, which is the
main source of conflict for Elliot Lewis, who lives next to the
cemetery.

“Who wants to have 2,000 dead (people) at the end of your
backyard? … It takes away your view and ambience and will be the
first thing people are going to ask about,” Lewis said.

West Los Angeles performance standards require the expansion of
the mausoleum to be 300 feet away from residential property.
However, the Texas company is asking the city to provide a waiver
that would allow construction as far as property lines by deeming
the proposal a “public benefit project.”

The company said in a written statement that it has been in
contact with Westwood homeowners to assure that “construction
will have no adverse impact on the surrounding area.”

But many homeowners remain skeptical of the company’s
claim and brought their concerns to the Westwood Homeowners’
Association.

The association has taken its case to Weiss and City Planner Jon
Foreman, who will play a significant role in determining whether
the waiver is accepted.

Weiss said in a letter to Foreman on April 15 that the proposal
is too large for the area and neglects landscape buffers, height
and front and backyard set backs.

“Without these standards, this project will create
significant impacts on the adjacent community,” Weiss said in
the letter. “I would urge you to deny this application as it
is currently proposed.”

According to Lisa Hansen, communications director for Weiss, the
councilman could take jurisdiction with support from two-thirds of
City Council.

Some neighbors have cited the cemetary’s historical
significance and uniqueness as other reasons to preserve the
property without expansion.

Tamar Hoffs, a screenwriter/ director whose property already
borders the cemetery, considers the proposal a condominium of
caskets.

“People come from all over the world, people knock on our
doors to ask where the cemetery is, people are here to visit Los
Angeles and they go to this little cemetery,” she said.

“We are so friendly with the cemetery, it’s a little
island of serenity and quiet, especially being in the busy Westwood
area, you could go have a picnic in there,” she added.

The expansion project is under review by the West L.A. planning
department. A decision will be reached by May 20.