New Burial Plots Expected to be in "High Demand" at Manassas Cemetery

The 124 new grave plots planned for Manassas Cemetery are expected to go quickly, so much that city officials are planning a lottery and a public drawing to determine who gets to be buried there.

City council voted Monday to approve a plan that calls for the expansion of the historic cemetery located just off Route 28 in Old Town Manassas.

The plots are $4,000 each and are about 3.5 feet wide and 10 feet long, city officials told council members.

The new plots will face East and will be in the southwestern portion of the cemetery, abutting the Harley Davidson dealership.

“There should be a really high demand, Mike Moon director of the city's public works and utilities said. “We think there may be more demand than we have plots available and we want to address that in an organized manner.”

City officials along with the cemetery advisory committee decided to organize a lottery to select who would get the available plots.

Only Manassas residents who turned 18 on or before Jan. 1 can enter the grave lottery.

The lottery will be advertised for 30 days and the public drawing will take place two weeks later.

Those selected can purchase up to two burial lots. The city is also taking requests for adjacent lots for people who want to be buried together.

Residents aren’t actually purchasing a lot, but rather are purchasing the right to bury someone there, Manassas City Attorney Martin Crim explained to council on Monday.

It can be thought of as a license and is—in theory— revocable, he added.

Once purchased, the rights to the lot can be sold or transferred with the permission of the city and with the proper paperwork, city officials said.

The high demand for the plots is expected because the cemetery is currently sold out. Rosehill, the other cemetery in Manassas is also sold out.

City staff pointed out that even though no space is available in either cemetery  they aren’t actually full because some of the plots are reserved for those who don’t need them yet.

The sale of the plot rights is expected to generate about $558,000.

That money will go into a Perpetual Care Fund.