Garden Grove : Crystal Cathedral Plan for Cemetery Delayed

A $20-million plan by Crystal Cathedral to build a six-story family center and establish a church cemetery was continued for 60 days until a report is completed on the environmental impact the cemetery would have on the surounding neighborhood.

After more than three hours of testimony from neighbors opposed to the expansion and church officials and members who said it is necessary for the church’s growth, the City Council voted unanimously Monday to have the application studied further.

Council members excluded the family center from the environmental report, because they said they had received adequate information on the impact of the building.

The plan was denied by the city Planning Commission Dec. 12 after a group of about 100 neighbors packed the City Council chambers to express their opposition to the project.

Using guidelines defined by the California Environmental Quality Act, a private consultant will conduct a study on how the 1.7-acre cemetery would affect the neighborhood surounding the church at Chapman Avenue and Lewis Street, according to Planning Division Manager Jerry Blum. The church will be required to pay for the study.

Blum said that while he believes the city staff has addressed most of the neighbors’ concerns about the cemetery already--such as property value and drainage--the report will explore some of those issues more fully.

But he added that assessing the emotional impact of a cemetery on the neighborhood, one of the concerns repeated by neighbors at the public hearing, would be difficult.

He said, “It is the use they are concerned about. They just don’t want a cemetery.”

But according to the cemetery’s designer, Robert Levonian, of LCBN Associates in Glendale, the cemetery would be compatible with the neighborhood.

He said that only 50% of the cemetery would be used for crypts, while the remainder would be landscaped with lawns, gardens and features such as a fountain.