Huntley to consider expanding village cemetery

The cemetery has not been expanded in over a century

Welcome to Huntley city sign

Huntley trustees will consider adding to the village’s cemetery for the first time in over a century at Thursday’s Village Board meeting.

The expansion would be the fifth addition in the cemetery’s history, with the other four additions dating back to the late 1800s after the cemetery was first established, according to village documents. A need for more burial spaces has recently developed, with existing spaces filling up.

The cemetery, which is located on Dean Street, was founded in 1861, according to the village website.

The village said it is seeing an increase in sales because the St. Mary’s cemetery, which is located next to the village cemetery, has also begun running out of spaces to sell. The last open plot in the Huntley Cemetery currently has 80 spaces available. The village has sold 49 other spaces in the plot this year, according to documents.

The proposed fifth addition to the cemetery would add 460 new spaces. Village staff hopes to open the section next spring and previously committed funding for the expansion in the fiscal year 2021 budget.

The addition is being proposed for the east side of Dean Street, which has 4.6 of the cemetery’s 7.2 acres. Like previous additions to the cemetery, the fifth addition would be accessible on a road through the section.

The cemetery is the final resting place for many of the village’s early leaders, including the village’s founder, Thomas Huntley, according to the village website.

Last month, leaders from St. Mary Catholic Church submitted a proposal to the Huntley Village Board asking for approval to build an expansion to their Dean Street cemetery at the church. Church officials said their existing space on Dean Street was also nearing capacity. They are hoping to receive approval from the village to build a cemetery at the church with 2,102 spaces.

St. Mary’s proposed expansion still requires additional approval from the village in the form of a permit to run the cemetery and an amendment to the parish’s development agreement with the village.