Council OKs zoning change for crematorium

McCOOK, Neb. -- City leaders approved a zoning ordinance modification earlier this week after receiving assurances a new crematorium on West C Street wouldn't have a negative impact on the neighborhood.

"There was a question at one point in time, as far as whether or not, there could be some particulates. I don't know, that's probably the nice way to put it, whether there'd be any particulates that might escape during the utilization of a crematorium in this area," said City Manager Nate Schneider Monday evening.

Schneider said a representative from the Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality indicated it was rare for the state to receive phone calls related to crematorium particulate concerns.

"Since the stacks are situated in a way that their high, anything that actually were to escape or be released, it's warm it goes up, it doesn't go down. So he said as long as the stacks that would be utilized are high enough there shouldn't be any issues for any neighbors," said Schneider. He also indicated the state set height requirements for the smokestacks and was responsible for the crematorium permitting process.

City Council members subsequently approved the ordinance modification on its third and final reading without further comment.

The need for the modification was discovered when Carpenter Breland Funeral Home approached the city with interest in expanding its property at 305 West C Street with the addition of a crematorium. The funeral service would relocate a crematorium from its current location on West 17th Street, according to the City Council agenda.

A city staff review of the request discovered changes to zoning regulations implemented in 2013 expanded the boundary of McCook's Commercial Business District to include the Carpenter Breland property, as well as a Herrmann Jones Funeral Chapel on Norris Avenue. Funeral homes, funeral chapels and funeral services are not included among the permitted principal uses in a Commercial Business District, which meant those operations would be considered non-conforming properties and prohibited from expanding or modifying existing structures.

The 2013 zoning changes were approved by City Council on three-readings in a broad-based format and drew little discussion. They were described at the time as being intended to make the city more business-friendly.

The City Council agenda released in November and including the first reading for the zoning modification incorrectly identified the address for the proposed crematorium as East C Street. The error was corrected prior to the second and third readings for the modification.