Mausoleum Proposal Opposed : Controversy: Neighbors claim two-story structures will obstruct views and attract graffiti. Catholic archdiocese says it just wants to make the best use of burial lands.

Monterey Park resident Edward Flores used to consider Resurrection Cemetery in Montebello a good neighbor.

The cemetery wasn’t exactly a park, he said, but when he moved to the neighborhood 33 years ago, it looked like one. And Flores knew the inhabitants would always be quiet.

But now the cemetery’s owner, the Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles, wants to build the first of nine two-story mausoleums in the cemetery near the borders of Montebello, Monterey Park and South San Gabriel. And about 200 residents in the three communities are upset.

They believe the mausoleum walls will block their views of the green hillside and invite graffiti.

“Who wants this huge monstrosity in front of their house?” said Flores, who is organizing opposition to the proposed mausoleum.

The proposal has also touched off an inter-city spat between Montebello and Monterey Park. At the residents’ request, the Monterey Park City Council last month passed a resolution opposing the mausoleum. The Montebello City Council last week postponed a hearing on the plan until Jan. 18, after Monterey Park officials sent a letter to Montebello demanding that an environmental study be conducted.

The mausoleum, which would sit about 20 feet from Potrero Grande Drive, would provide a stark contrast to the simple ground-level plaques at burial sites throughout the cemetery. The structure would be 35 feet high and have space for about 8,300 crypts. Church officials said they might build eight more mausoleums over the next 40 years if demand for burial plots continues. Although there are already mausoleums at the cemetery, they are smaller and not visible from neighboring homes.

The 98-acre cemetery opened in 1949 at Arroyo and Potrero Grande drives, when there were no residential areas in the vicinity. In 1968, the cemetery was annexed by Montebello, and homes soon began to spring up nearby.

Today, Resurrection Cemetery, which serves the Southeast area’s growing Catholic parish, is the fourth-largest of 11 cemeteries owned by the archdiocese, said Jerry McAdams, property development director.

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About 2,400 people are interred at the cemetery every year. There are about 80,000 graves, many for poor residents whose families could not afford burial costs.

With land values rising, the church is trying to make the best use of cemetery land, McAdams said.

In its fight to have the project built, supporters collected 3,200 signatures from Catholic parishioners. About 1,500 spaces have already been sold in the unbuilt mausoleum, church officials said.

“There are two sacred places in the church. One is the cemetery, the other would be the church itself,” McAdams said. “With us it’s not a business. It really is not only a community service, but a place of reverence.”

But some residents contend the church is only interested in multiplying the plots they can sell.

“When they’re pleading to the council, it’s a matter of humanity and the church,” said resident Rod Abe, whose back yard overlooks the cemetery. “I think it’s a matter of dollars.”

Monterey Park Mayor Marie T. Purvis contends the austere mausoleum walls would be a magnet for graffiti. Purvis’ mother is buried at one of Resurrection Cemetery’s older mausoleums, located on a hill away from the homes.

“I hope when I go, my kids can afford to put me in (a mausoleum), but not at the expense of residents,” she said.

Monterey Park Councilman Samuel Kiang said Montebello has ignored the concerns of neighboring residents. “Those people are not accountable to Monterey Park residents,” he said. “That’s evident in their attitude.”

Montebello officials deny they have been unfair.

Mayor Edward C. Pizzorno said he believes some residents oppose the proposed mausoleum for other reasons besides the loss of their views.

“Death is a sensitive thing. The concept of death offends some people. You put a mausoleum building there and it tells people it’s a cemetery. It brings reality closer to home,” said Pizzorno, whose father and two aunts are buried at the cemetery.

Pizzorno said he believes the mausoleum, if built, will eventually be accepted by neighbors from all the communities.

“This is the only cemetery in Montebello. When it comes time to be buried, they get buried here,” he said.