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Righting a Sinking Ship - Transforming Municipal Cemeteries
1. Righting a Sinking Ship—
Transforming Municipal Cemeteries
Kim McKnight AICP, CNU-A | Environmental Conservation Program Manager
Cultural Resource Management | Historic Preservation Planning
Park Planning Division | Austin Parks and Recreation Dept.
2. Overview of Session
• The Reckoning—In 2012, Austin PARD
acknowledged that a major problem existed with
the management and care of our cemeteries
• Where to begin?—The process of identifying the
issues and possible solutions
• Earning the trust of the community—How to
rebuild relationships through a planning process
• Time for action—Transforming cemeteries
through investment and activation
3. Oakwood Cemetery, 1839
Earliest recorded burial in
1841
Oldest grave marker, 1842
Oakwood Chapel, 1914
National Register Property
and City of Austin Historic
Landmark
40 acres
23,000 burials
Receives approximately 40
burials a year
Lots sold by early 20th
century
4. Oakwood Cemetery Annex, 1914
• 1914 purchase of
additional land for
Oakwood Annex
• National Register
Property and City of
Austin Historic Landmark
• 22 acres
• 13,000 burials
• Receives approximately 70
burials a year
• All lots sold by 1940s
5. Evergreen Cemetery, 1926
Established in 1926 as a 30 acre parcel with 12,000+
burials.
Receives approximately 230 burials annually
Final resting place of many Austin leaders
6. Plummers Cemetery, 1923
Acquired by City of Austin in 1957
8 acres
Acquired by City of Austin in
1957 as a condition of
purchase of land for Givens
Park
7. 2012: State of our Cemeteries
• Concerns with long-term contract that outsourced
cemetery operations
• Did not incentivize preventative maintenance
• Contract was not monitored consistently by the dept.
• Dept. did not prioritize capital projects in cemeteries leading
to deteriorated conditions
• Tree care was not a priority and in time of intense drought,
cemeteries lost vast amount of trees
• Vandalism and theft destroying the cemeteries
• Poor relationship with community
• No mechanism for community with descendant
communities
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13. Where to begin?
• How does an agency understand the problem?
• Hold community meetings to determine the multitude of issues
• Categorize the issues
• Determine the possible solutions for each issue
• How to get buy-in and trust from the community when master
planning?
• Spend time scoping
• Opportunity to broaden constituency
• Opportunity to educate community—community engagement is
a two way street
• How to blaze new territory to find solution?
• What if there is no precedent for your process and plan?
• Research and community buy-in
15. Developing the process
• How do you engage a diverse constituency? How is a
cemetery planning process different from a typical park
planning process?
• Seniors and youth
• Ethnicity and race
• Different capacity and comfort zones with technology
• Descendant community
• Nonprofit involvement
• Historic Preservation Community
• 5 cemeteries all throughout the city
• Neighborhoods
16. Community Engagement
• 6 Scope of Work development meetings
• 5 public meetings
• Board and Commission process
• Media releases
• Monthly newsletters throughout entire process
placed in libraries and recreation centers
• Email notices
• City website and project website
• Signage in Cemeteries
• Extensive outreach through more than 70 social
media outlets
• Interviews with 25 Stakeholders
• Outreach targeted to Community Registry, Austin
Neighborhoods Council, Save Austin’s Cemeteries,
Preservation Austin, African-American Cultural
Heritage District
17.
18. The draft Master Plan
Part I: Introduction
1. Introduction
2. Natural, Historical, and
Cultural Contexts
19. The draft Master Plan
Part II: Cemetery Management Guidelines
3. General Management Guidelines
4. Oakwood Cemetery
5. Oakwood Cemetery Annex
6. Plummers Cemetery
7. Evergreen Cemetery
8. Austin Memorial Park
Cemetery
20. General Management Guidelines
Rehabilitation
•Document, document,
document!
•Repair before replace
•Replace in-kind
•New work complements
historic character
•Differentiated from old
•Compatible in material,
size, scale, proportion, and
massing
•Subordinate to historic
features
49. The draft Master Plan
Part III: Policy and Funding Recommendations
9. Regulations and Laws
10. Cemetery Oversight
11. Emergency Preparedness
12. Historic Designations
13. Grave Ornamentation
14. Funding and Revenue
15. Partnerships and Programs
50. Programming Basics
• Educational
• For children and adults
• Cemeteries as a lens through which people can understand
Austin’s history
• Opportunities to study decorative arts (sculpture, photography)
• Exploration of different cultural traditions in a diverse community
• Based on best practices and proven successful programs from
around the United States
• Recreation = leisure; something you do in your spare time
• Primarily for adults
• Only activities that are respectful of the cemeteries
• Nothing that would damage the natural or built environment
51. Programming: Findings
1. We have two types of city cemeteries. A one-
size-fits-all programming plan will not work.
2. Any decisions about programming must be
made fairly and objectively.
3. The community largely supports programming
in the three “inactive” cemeteries.
52. Programming Recommendations
Classify Oakwood Cemetery, Oakwood Cemetery Annex, and
Plummers Cemetery as “historic sites” and move their
management into PARD Museums and Cultural Centers
53. • Add one full-time PARD staff person to manage
programming
• Require community groups to apply for
permission to hold events at cemeteries.
• Create a Cemeteries Committee to evaluate
potential programming.
• Will include a diverse group of residents.
• Takes the decision-making out of the hands of a single person.
• Will includes regular public meetings, where members of sponsoring
organizations and the public can speak for or against a proposed
program/event.
54. Establish criteria for evaluating potential
programs/events.
• Programs/events should engage visitors and enhance their
experience and understanding of the City of Austin and its
historic cemeteries.
• Programs/events should highlight or draw attention to a
particular aspect of the cemetery (history, art, culture, or
nature).
• Presentations should be based on credible information, gathered
and documented through research.
• Programs/events will occur within the cemeteries and be temporary
in nature (one year or less), with the exception of projects designed
to be more permanent, such as the development of interpretive
materials, self-guided walking tours, etc.
55. Establish criteria for evaluating potential
programs/events.
• Programs/events should have little or no impact on historical,
cultural, or natural resources.
• Programs/events should be sensitive to accessibility and safety
issues for both visitors and staff.
• Programs/events should include contingency planning in order to
respect the privacy of any persons visiting the graves of loved ones
or mourners who may be present in the cemetery.
• The proposal must explain how the sponsoring organization will:
• Provide participants with a copy of PARD cemetery etiquette
guidelines;
• require participants to behave appropriately during the
program/event; and
• remove participants whose behavior is inappropriate or could
damage historical, cultural, or natural resources in the cemetery.
56. Selection Criteria
• Ability to increase awareness and appreciation of
Austin’s historic city cemeteries
• Potential to engage a diverse group of residents
• Potential to benefit the cemetery in some way
• Quality of program content
• Projected attendance and ability of sponsoring
organization to manage expected number of
participants
• Ability to ensure safety, accessibility, and security
