Snellville is mounting opposition to a proposed crematory that would sit a few yards beyond the city's borders, setting the stage for another feud with a local funeral home operator.
The Snellville City Council unanimously approved a resolution Monday night that publicly declares "their strong opposition" to the facility.
"The proposed crematory would result in potentially harmful and dangerous environmental emissions," said the measure. Furthermore it "... would potentially adversely affect property values and resale values of homes and businesses."
City officials launched the preemptive objection after learning Gwinnett County received an application from Richard Warren on Nov. 1 for a funeral home with a crematory. The proposed site is a closed real estate office in the 1600 block of Athens Highway, next to a storage facility and across the street from the Summit Chase subdivision along the city's boundaries.
Gwinnett's Planning Commission will hear Warren's request Jan. 3 and the proposal will be presented to county commissioners Jan. 24.
Warren said Tuesday that he planned to go forward with his application despite Snellville's resistance.
"They have no jurisdiction to deal with it," Warren said. "They have no legitimate claim."
But Bryan Lackey, director of Gwinnett's Planning and Development Department, said Snellville can place a voting representative on the nine-member planning commission for that particular issue.. Since the proposed crematory is adjacent to the city, Lackey said Snellville has the right to vote on the proposal.
Lackey said the department's staff will make a recommendation on the proposal before the planning commission's meeting. Staff members are directed to consider only Gwinnett's existing land use policies, the county's development plan and any applicable precedent as criteria for the recommendation, but not public opinion.
Regardless, Snellville officials have alerted residents in nearby neighborhoods and reminded county commissioners of the city's previous opposition to a similar plan in 2008.
"There was significant public opposition to the crematory and it did not locate in the city," City Manager Russell Treadway said in a letter to the county. "I would expect similar concerns to be raised for this location as well."
Treadway was referring to the city's much-publicized legal battle three years ago, when the Cremation Society of the South opened at U.S. 78 and Abington Drive about a mile away from the new proposed site.
After efforts to stop the crematory from opening proved futile, the city revoked the crematory's operating license and closed the business a month later. The crematory's owner responded with a lawsuit for unspecified damages and the return of his licenses before eventually reaching a settlement.
The property has been empty since and remains up for sale.
"It's a red flag in the city," Councilman Tom Witts said. "You would hope the county would listen to a municipality, especially with the fact that it's so close to us."
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