West Hartford: Packed Cemetery Must Expand

WEST HARTFORD, CT — A large town cemetery is full of deceased folks, with local leaders seeking approval to expand to allow for more to have West Hartford as their final resting place.

The West Hartford Plan and Zoning Commission has a public hearing slated for next week on doing just that.

The hearing, unanimously scheduled earlier this month by the PZC, is slated for Wednesday, July 6, at 7:15 p.m. in Room 314 of West Hartford Town Hall, located at 50 S. Main St.

The Town of West Hartford is seekign land use approval to expand 52-acre Fairview Cemetery, located at 200 Whitman Ave., by 360 additional gravesites.

"The expansion would offer additional options to memorialize loved ones, while addressing the demand for monument lots," wrote West Hartford Department of Public Works Operations Manager Brooke Nelson to the commission.

For that to happen, the commission would have to OK special permit for the expansion and a formal vote on that could come as soon as July 6, after the public can weigh in.

A town-hired land-use consultant, BSC Group out of Boston, Mass., has recommended "the parcel located inside the cemetery, near its entrance, would best serve as the location for expansion," wrote Nelson.

For the minutes to the June 6 West Hartford Plan and Zoning Commission meeting, click on this link.

For the full text of West Hartford Department of Public Works Operation Manager Brooke Nelson's letter to the PZC, click on this link.

For cemetery project plans, click on this link.