Heated Debate Over Proposed Crematory Begins

The quickly became more of a courtroom-like setting Tuesday night as Shipley's Choice residents took turns questioning the owners of Maryland Crematory LLC about their application to build a crematory in their neighborhood.

The community of about 800 homes and an elementary school sits behind the proposed location at 408 Headquarters Dr.  The community of Shipley's Retreat,  along with a privately owned farm, are located within a half-mile radius.

"We are a little over a football field away," said John Pendergast, a homeowner from Shipley's Retreat, while holding an aerial photograph of the proposed site, provided by Maryland Cremation Services.  "The blue circle touches houses in our neighborhood."

"I have no formal presentation, I just come here to tell you who we are and what we are about," said Sean Marshall, husband of Dorota Marshall, the licensed funeral director and owner operator of the company also referred to as Maryland Cremation Services.

"We are not a fly-by-night company, we are fully recognized by the Board of Funeral Directors and Morticians," he said to the audience of more than 200 citizens.

Nolan Penney, an engineer with the Maryland Department of Environment (MDE) in charge of the technical review for approving the permit, answered a barrage of questions on air-quaility standards throughout the night.

Penney said he had not looked at the application in detail, but assured the audience that it would be scrutinized as any other. He also said this would be his first permit review for a crematory. "I know we are under the microscope," he said.

Currently operating in Woodbine, MD, Maryland Crematory LLC performed about 450 cremations last year. According to the Maryland Cremation Services website, www.marylandcremationservices.com/index.html, the business offers a "new direction in caring" with direct cremation services.

The current application for the MDE is written to operate at 4,800 hours, the maximum allowed under the MDE's air-quality standards. The application is for operating 16 hours a day, 365 days a year.

Also answering questions concerning equipment safety hazards, such as the possibility of a system failure, was Luis LLorens, a representative from the US Cremation Equipment Co., suppliers of the cremation equipment being purchased by the company.

On the minds of many in attendance was the alledged lack of public notice in the zoning approval by the county for the company to occupy the site on Headquarters Drive, which has already had dry wall, electrical and some plumbing installed at the location.

Hoping to dispell what he termed "rumors," Marshall provided some numbers and facts about the equipment that would be in operation.

"Compared to what other funeral homes do, we are very, very small," he said. "We average one or two [cremations] a day on weekdays and have no plans for working at night. We are going to be a simple small boutique. You won't even notice or realize we are there."

When asked about taking on business from other funeral homes, Marshall said  he wasn't planning to do so. An audience member then asked if he would put that in writing; he agreed.

"We won't take any other funeral home business," he said. "We don't need to."

The Marshall's said they are about to purchase a home in Anne Arundel County, about 20 minutes away from the proposed location. Sean Marshall works as a public relations officer at Fort George G. Meade.

"We are fully committed to Anne Arundel County," he said. "I think at the end of the day that nothing is going to be done to hurt the air quality or your families."

"I was disappointed that the MDE was ill-prepared," said Maryland Del. Cathy Vitale (R-Severna Park), former county council chairman. "The citizens were well-educated and did their research."

Among Vitale's concerns involving the MDE application, lies with the company Maryland Crematory LLC, applying as a licensed funeral home, which falls in the acceptable category for C4 zoning. Maryland Crematory won't be performing all tasks of a full-service funeral home, such as visitation and chapel services.

"There's a lot of prejudice against our business," Sean Marshall said. "We wanted something that is industrial. We looked at a map and toured other sites. We will try to make it right by you."

Shipley's resident and lawyer John Dougherty was continuous in voicing his concerns, circling the line of homeowners to step back up to pose another question.

"I was frustrated by the meeting and I think nothing was resolved," Dougherty said. "The application was misleading and incomplete. MDE doesn't seem to care about that. The applicant is trying to bull this thing past us with evasive answers that don't really address our concerns."

Dougherty cited the county code, stating that there is a difference between a crematory and a funeral home. He also said a number of Shipley's neighbors are planning to challenge the building permit, which was issued by the county this month.

"I think the zoning review is wrong," he said. "That is what the Board of Appeals is there for."

The next step is a public hearing, once the MDE permit is reviewed.

Helpful email addresses and links:

 Nolan Penney, MDE permit inspector: npenney@mde.state.md.us.

 "Numbers to Know":  http://www.mde.maryland.gov/aboutmde/contactus/numberstoknow/pages/contactus/numbers_to_know/index.aspx

For citizens who have further questions regarding the MDE permit, email BSummers@mde.state.md.us or sheafey@mde.state.md.us.