Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Land Use Zoning Crematorium topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
DuPage County Board approves conditional use for funeral home with cremation services in R‑4 district amid local opposition
Summary
The County Board voted to allow a funeral home with cremation services at a site in an R‑4 single‑family residential district after public comment from nearby municipalities, school and park district representatives, and proponents. The approval follows unanimous recommendation from the Zoning Board of Appeals and the Development Committee.
The DuPage County Board approved a conditional use permit on Jan. 28 to allow a funeral home with ancillary cremation services at a property zoned R‑4, following public comment both opposing and supporting the proposal.
Local officials and residents argued the proposed facility — which opponents said would host about 200 events a year with capacity for more than 200 people — is an inappropriate intensity of commercial use adjacent to schools and a park district waterpark. Curtis Posgay, Director of Community and Economic Development for the Village of Bensenville, told the board the site is identified as residential in the county’s Route 83 Corridor Land Use Plan and said, “The proposed use is too intense a use for this site.” Kevin Quinn, village planner for Bensenville, told the board that the project’s site improvements would increase impervious area substantially, raise wetland concerns, and that “a traffic study has not been presented to the officials.”
Representatives of the petitioner and suppliers disputed the environmental and emissions concerns. Jacob Pardue, representing Cremation Systems, said the cremation equipment is registered with the state “under ROSS” and described third‑party visible emissions testing that he said showed no visible smoke. Pete Deciani, speaking for the Mashkam (Hindu) Funeral Home and Crematorium proposal, read a letter from former Oak Brook mayor Gopalan Malani urging support and said the proposal is a 501(c)(13) religious organization replacing a previous religious use on the site.
On the floor, Member K. Cahill (DuPage County Board) urged caution and noted the applicant’s 501(c)(13) status and that county code allows only a funeral home with an ancillary crematorium. Member J. Tornatore (DuPage County Board) spoke in favor of approval, noting wetland and stormwater remediation work and the unanimous prior votes in favor at the Zoning Board of Appeals and the Development Committee. Member Y. Yu (DuPage County Board) also said she voted for the project in Development Committee and described Hindu funeral rites she had observed in other communities.
Member Tonatore moved approval of the development committee recommendation (DCO2‑25, Zoning 2475). The motion passed on a roll call vote; the chair declared the conditional use approved. The zoning approval is a conditional use and therefore subject to the conditions recommended by the Zoning Board of Appeals and any permit or site plan requirements that follow.
Why it matters: the vote allows a use that opponents say is inconsistent with local residential planning and places the county’s conditional‑use process at the center of a dispute between neighborhood concerns and property‑owner rights. The board record shows the Zoning Board of Appeals and the Development Committee recommended approval before the full board vote.
Next steps: the conditional use carries conditions set by the Zoning Board of Appeals and will require the petitioner to meet county permitting, stormwater, wetland and building standards before construction or operations begin.
