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Town of Union approves rezoning for Riverhurst crematorium after public hearing
Summary
After a public hearing with local objections, the Town of Union board approved rezoning 630 Scarborough Drive from Industrial to Open Space to allow Riverhurst Memorial Association to convert an existing warehouse into a crematorium; the board issued a SEQRA Negative Declaration and the resolution passed unanimously.
Supervisor Robert Mack opened the public hearing on the rezoning request for 630 Scarborough Drive and the board voted to approve the rezoning to Open Space to permit Riverhurst Memorial Association to convert an existing warehouse to a crematorium.
Resident Don Direnzo (2708 Williams Street) asked, “are you voting on this re-zone tonight?” and told the board he was "totally opposed to this crematorium," saying an existing crematorium he had heard about "stinks" and expressing concern about impacts on his property value. Supervisor Robert Mack said he did not believe the proposed facility would produce an odor. Councilman Joseph P. Nirchi, Sr. said from personal patrol experience he "never smelled an odor" near the Allen’s Funeral Home operation.
Matthew Rollo, who identified himself as an operator at Allen’s Funeral Home, defended crematorium operations, saying "there is no odor that comes from this operation" and that crematoriums are "regulated heavily by the state." Lisa Kline, executive director of Riverhurst Cemetery, said she has "been in this business for thirty five years," said Riverhurst does not cremate at night, described the planned equipment as "state of the art," and said the Division of Cemeteries had contacted them about adding a crematorium in the area.
The board made a Negative Declaration under SEQRA based on the submitted short Environmental Assessment Form and the Planning Board's advisory opinion, then adopted a resolution to rezone the property (Tax Map #157.08-9-47) from Industrial (I) to Open Space (OS) for the proposed conversion. The rezoning resolution was offered by Councilman David Kudgus, seconded by Councilman Thomas R. Augostini, and recorded as "Vote: All yes. The Resolution was adopted." Attorney Pope advised that after rezoning the project will return to the Planning Board for additional review and approvals.
Neighbors asked additional questions about site cleanup, hours of operation and potential noise; resident Robert Eller asked whether the property owner or the town would clean up vehicles and debris on the site. The town record shows public commenters raised concerns about proximity (Direnzo said the site is "less than one hundred yards" from his property), odors, property values and operational hours; proponents and town members repeatedly cited state regulation and modern equipment as mitigating factors.
Next steps: the rezoned property will proceed to the Planning Board for site-plan-level review and any required local approvals. The board signaled the rezoning vote completed the zoning step but not the full permitting and site review process.
