Using ground-penetrating radar and research, the White River Valley Museum has determined there are open spaces for new inurnments at Auburn’s Pioneer Cemetery.

Just how many there are remains an open question — for now, said Patricia Cosgrove, director of the WRVM.

“We have not opened it up to more burials yet until we get a few more details ironed out,” Cosgrove said.

For members of the Seattle and White River Buddhist Temple who want to continue using this cemetery, this is a big deal.

In the spring of 2016, the city of Auburn and the White River Valley Museum hired Penhall Technologies, more often employed for finding underground pipes and wiring for concrete work, to inventory Pioneer Cemetery with ground-penetrating radar.

A steering committee is already at work writing a master plan to clarify the steps for preservation and development of the cemetery-park, and has set a completion date for late summer of 2017.

The museum is writing a grant to pay for Hoshide Wanzer’s landscape architect to develop plans for parking, entries, irrigation, interpretive sign, plantings and placements of new inurnments.

If the grant application is successful, design work should happen this year, and some as yet-unknown elements of those plans could be built in 2017 and 2018, Cosgrove said.

“One major goal that has become clear at this early stage of the process of developing a master plan is that the cemetery is a very unique treasure and can function also as a park, but it needs to become more welcoming,” Cosgrove said,

Among the make-it-more-welcoming elements that must be created are access, walkways, benches and information.

“Details will be spelled out in the master plan. Once [it] is complete, the city and WRVM will begin working on improvements, one grant-funded or city-supported project at time. I expect we will see a much-developed cemetery-park in three or four years,” Cosgrove said.

The committee is composed of Cosgrove, Daryl Faber, director of Parks, Arts and Recreation, Craig Hudson, director of Auburn Mountain View Cemetery, Bob Hoshide, an architect from Hoshide Wanzer Architects, Charles Natsuhara, who represents the White River Buddhist Temple, and Calvin Terada, who represents the Seattle Buddhist Temple.