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29 EXHIBIT B SPECIAL USE PERMIT APPLICATION FOR ADDITIONAL GRAVE SITES AT THE JUDEA REFORM CONGREGATION CEMETERY Applicant's Narrative of Proposed Land Use The applicant seeks approval to develop additional grave sites at the existing Judea Reform Congregation Cemetery, 2560 Jones Ferry Road, Chapel Hill, NC 27516. The Cemetery has provided a final resting place of sanctity, peace, and beauty to members of the Judea Reform Congregation and others in the community since 1983. As of mid-February, 2024, the Cemetery contains 514 burial plots, of which 329 are occupied and 93 are assigned to specific owners but not yet occupied. Prepaid burial rights have been sold for another 203 plots that will not be assigned until the purchasers' time of need. Because only a limited number of burial plots now remain available for use, the Cemetery requests approval to develop an additional portion of its property to sustain its ongoing operation. Proposed improvements will include a limited amount of clearing and grading for the extension of an existing all-weather gravel access driveway and the creation of new grave sites in carefully designed wooded and lawn areas. The Owner does not propose any new structures, changes of use, character, or operation;but requests only the ability to continue the historically low impact/low intensity use of its existing facility. As shown in the drawings, the SUP area includes a portion of the original (1983) Cemetery property plus a portion of additional land acquired in 2017. The Cemetery has become an inherent element of its rural Orange County neighborhood as characterized by its natural setting, simple elegant design, mature trees, and large natural buffers. All gravestones are flush with the ground, rather than upright tablets, which contribute to the peaceful experience of a secluded park, rather than a traditional graveyard. As proposed, the additional grave sites will be developed in areas designated as either "lawn" or "wooded." The lawn areas will resemble portions of the existing cemetery, where land has been cleared, graded, planted with turf, and maintained as managed lawns. Wooded grave sites will be located in ungraded areas that have been selectively cleared and thinned to retain specimen oak, hickory, and pine trees. The final landscape surface for the wooded grave areas will be finished with a natural leaf litter mulch or double-shredded hardwood bark mulch to give the area a cleaner appearance while still retaining its natural character. Please refer to Exhibit C-5 for photographs showing selected portions of the existing cemetery. Of the 10.27 acres of land that comprise the Cemetery, it is notable that 9.05 acres (88 percent) are currently wooded. The proposed project will require selectively clearing and thinning (but not grading) approximately 0.98 acres for new wooded grave sites as described above; clearing and grading approximately 0.44 acres for new lawn area graves; clearing and grading approximately 0.69 acres for new impervious surfaces (extension of the existing gravel driveway); and approximately 1.37 acres of other disturbed areas for driveway shoulders and swales, a temporary access driveway, temporary erosion control measures, and other incidental areas. The completed project will therefore retain approximately 72 percent of the currently uncleared wooded areas onsite. 1