Kaaren Bell has rarely had a problem with the neighbours. That’s been one of the benefits of living next to Holy Cross Catholic cemetery in southern Markham for the few decades: little noise from next door, little threat of development, and green park-like space all around.

But Bell and local residents are aghast the city has approved a mausoleum design almost twice the height of what the city’s bylaw allows, which they say will tower over their homes and cast a “shadow of death” at all times of the day.

“When we moved here, we thought over time there would be large trees and green space, and it would really be quite lovely,” said Bell, who moved here 43 years ago. “We never thought there would be this gigantic structure — this monstrosity — to house bodies right in the middle of it,” she said. “This is not what we had in mind.”

Cemetery officials say they are simply planning for the future. As land across the GTA becomes scarce, there are increasing tensions between the preferences of the living and the needs of the dead. Holy Cross says it is looking for ways to ensure they the burial needs of the community can be met for the next few decades.

“The building is sized to accommodate the 100,000 Catholics living in the Markham area,” said Amy Profenna, manager of marketing and public relations for Catholic cemeteries. “We are at the situation where our existing mausoleum is becoming very full, and the supply of crypts available is very finite,” she said. This is the second and biggest of three planned mausoleums, and will have 6,320 crypts. A full-size crypt starts at $550, said Profenna.

That cemetery space is running out is an argument York Region has heard before. That’s why the municipality is currently doing a cemetery needs analysis, to see if concerns hold true that there is a “lack of opportunities to establish new or expanded cemetery uses in York Region, given provincial and regional land use policy direction, available land supply and economics.”

As part of its submissions to the province for the Greenbelt Review in May, the region has asked the province to consider removing the requirement that cemeteries be “small scale” on protected lands.

Local residents say they’re not opposed to a mausoleum, since it’s a cemetery land use allowed by law. Rather, they’re angry that Markham has approved a design that far surpasses normal city rules. The four-storey mausoleum, in a Greco-Roman style, will be more than 103 metres long and nearly 24 metres high once finished. The city’s bylaw allows for a maximum height of 40 feet, or 12 metres.

At a community meeting held in May by Councillor Valerie Burke, the cemetery was unwilling to compromise on the building design. “It was a resounding no,” said Burke. “Usually, there is a bit of give and take.”

But the cemetery recently sent local residents a letter inviting them for a tour and said they wanted to “open up a dialogue” to mitigate additional concerns around dust, noise and trash.

At a heated committee of adjustment meeting last month, appointed committee members voted to approve a “minor adjustment” to double the height of the building, after Markham planning staff said the building was far enough from the property line that it would not have any “negative impact” on nearby properties.

Resident Adam Clamen says such reasoning hardly makes sense.

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“The bylaws are there for a reason, and if they are to be skirted around, there at least has to be a strong rationale as to why,” said Clamen.

The residents’ fight isn’t over, says David Bell (Kaaren’s husband). They are considering appealing the city’s decision to the Ontario Municipal Board.

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