MJ’s burial on his birthday

GLENDALE — Michael Jackson will be buried Aug. 29, his birthday, at Glendale Forest Lawn Memorial Park, city officials said Tuesday.

The late pop star’s family released media statements confirming plans to inter Jackson at Holly Terrace in the Great Mausoleum on what would have been his 51st birthday.

Media vans had already begun staking out their spots Tuesday at the South Glendale Avenue entrance to a cemetery that already claims the likes of Gene Autry, George Burns and Humphrey Bogart.

Still, Mayor Frank Quintero said he did not anticipate the sort of crowds seen at the Staples Center downtown Los Angeles last month for Jackson’s public memorial. City officials there caught flak for the roughly $1.4-million tab for police protection, traffic control and other services.

Glendale police services will likely be needed to close down streets around the cemetery to allow for media access and the family’s caravan. The exact cost was unknown because the cemetery was still in the process of applying for permits, police Sgt. Tom Lorenz said.

As media attention turned to Glendale, and with memory of eager crowds still fresh, officials on Tuesday began the task of managing public expectations for the event.

“The big public [memorial] at the Staples Center has passed,” Lorenz said. “If you think about coming down, don’t bother, because not only will not be able to get inside the park, you won’t be able to get close to the park.”

The private cemetery was closed to the media Tuesday, and some intrepid reporters had already been asked to leave the grounds, officials said.

Shirley Darling, a community ambassador for Forest Lawn, said administrators were still finalizing plans for the burial.

But the decision to close the mausoleum to all but its property shareholders after Jackson’s internment had already been made, she added. Forest Lawn was expected to cover the cost of extra police protection through permitting fees, a process that, in light of the Los Angeles debacle, would be monitored closely, Quintero said.

But the announcement of Jackson’s burial in a local cemetery raised the need for planning beyond that of Aug. 29, with his final resting place expected to draw legions of fans from around the world for years to come.

Despite the cemetery’s far south location — far from any major walkable business hub or district — the potential for some tourism-based impact to Glendale businesses seemed inevitable, said Judee Kendall, executive director of the Glendale Chamber of Commerce.