Ross commissioner says no development planned for Cemetery Lane property

A social media post calling on Ross residents to oppose a housing development on a 16-acre tract of land along Cemetery Lane prompted a township commissioner to issue a response on Wednesday clarifying that no such use is planned for the property.

“I and other township officials have received a number of telephone calls from residents saying that they are against the township allowing the property to be developed for housing,” said Commissioner Pat Mullin, who represents Ward 7, where the property is located.

“We’ve sent a letter to residents near the property informing them that the proposal has nothing to do with housing,” Mullin said. “It’s property owned by North Side Catholic Cemetery, which needs to subdivide the land in order to use it for burial plots.”

The area along Cemetery Lane is near the township’s public works garage and the entrance to Short Line Hollow Park.

The township’s letter, which also was posted on social media, states that the cemetery’s management has indicated that “at some point in the future (5 to 10 years) an additional mausoleum may be constructed.”

“The cemetery will not be creating a residential development and they have stated there are no plans to do so in the future,” according to the letter.

The call to action that was posted on social media urges residents to attend the March 28 planning commission meeting to speak out about the development and to contact township officials to lodge their opposition to future development in the area.

“Residents are always welcome to attend our meetings and to contact us with their concerns,” Mullin said. “But this is a case where somebody misunderstood what is happening and sort of jumped the gun because there are no plans to put housing up at that site.”