TA 14-06
11/3/14 Staff Report
TA 14-06: Sam James Accessory Crematorium Amendment
PART 1: DESCRIPTION
Sam James, from the James Funeral Home has applied to amend Article 9.56 of the Huntersville
Zoning Ordinance in regard to the operation of crematoriums as an accessory use. The proposed
modification would remove the maximum number of cases an accessory crematorium may process in a
calendar year.
PART 2: BACKGROUND
In late 2011 the Raymer-Kepner Funeral Home applied to add a crematorium use at their facility as an
accessory to their funeral home. At that time, the Huntersville Ordinance was silent on the allowance of
crematoriums. Due to the fact that crematoriums were regulated by the North Carolina Department of
Air Quality (NCDAQ) and thus the potential environmental sensitivity that existed with the use, staff
interpreted that such a use should be categorized under the zoning category: “Environmentally
Sensitive Uses Not Expressly Permitted”. Such a use is and was only permitted in the Special Purpose
(SP) District.
Therefore Raymer-Kepner proposed a text amendment to allow crematoriums as an accessory to
funeral homes in the Highway Commercial (HC) district with the issuance of a Special Use Permit. At
that time the NCDAQ required that crematoriums obtain an air quality permit at 533 cases a year. Due
to an air quality permit being required at 533 cases, the mixed use nature of the HC district (including
residential), and the small setback the text amendment application proposed from adjacent properties,
staff recommended the amount of cases in HC be limited to 250 cases. That text was approved and
Raymer-Kepner received their Special Use Permit shortly thereafter.
In October of 2013 the James Funeral Home was also issued a Special Use Permit to operate a
crematorium as an accessory to a funeral home under the same conditions. However Sam James has
recently approached staff and indicated that their business is such that they would like the ability to
process more cases a year. Therefore the applicant has proposed the following amendment to the text
(strikethrough bold italics):
Article 9.56 Crematoriums, accessory
Crematoriums are permitted in the HC district subject to a Special use Permit, according
to the procedures of Section 11.4.10.
The Town Board shall issue a Special use Permit for the use in the HC District if, but not
unless the evidence presented at the Special use Permit hearing establishes:
1. Are accessory to an established Funeral Home.
2. That the proposed use will not endanger the public health and safety,
substantially reduce the value of nearby property, nor emit noticeable odors;
and
3. That the proposed use will not be in conflict with the objectives of the most
detailed plan adopted for the area; and
4. That the proposed use will be constructed and operated in compliance with all
applicable environmental regulations; and
5. That the proposed use will limit the number of cremations to under 250
cases within one calendar year; and
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6. That all storage, handling, incineration, and loading facilities will be located at
least 50 feet from any exterior property line; and
7. An Air Quality Dispersion Model is required to be conducted and submitted by
a professional engineer showing that all air quality parameters including odors
are below detectable limits at the outer most boundary point of the air
dispersion plume measured at ground level at any adjacent property line.
8. That active use portions of the site will be entirely enclosed in the principal
structure.
PART 3: PUBLIC HEARING COMMENTS
The public hearing for the application took place on Monday October 6, 2014. No one from the public
spoke for or against the application. A question was raised at the hearing on why the threshold for
obtaining an air quality permit was raised.
According to Mecklenburg County Air Quality (MCAQ), the Science Advisory Board for Toxic Air
Pollutants (NCSAB) recommended that the Acceptable Ambient level (AAL) for Arsenic emissions be
raised. The Environmental Management Commission (EMC) approved the change to go into effect
July 7, 2014. Therefore with the acceptable level of that key emission raised, the threshold for requiring
an air quality permit was also raised. According to MCAQ, that threshold is 1,497 cases per year for
crematoriums with horizontal stacks or ones that are obstructed; or 2,050 cases per year for ones that
are vertical with no obstruction.
PART 4: RELEVANT SECTIONS OF THE HUNTERSVILLE 2030 COMMUNITY PLAN AND
APPLICABLE LONG RANGE PLANS
Staff did not find any sections of the community plan that applied to crematorium use.
PART 5: STAFF RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends approval. After discussing the application with Mecklenburg County Air Quality
(MCAQ), it was relayed that the requirements for crematoriums have recently been modified. The
threshold for MCAQ permitting for crematoriums has been significantly increased from 533 cases to
1,497 cases; seemingly reducing the perceived environmental impact of the use.
In addition, the requirements of Article 9.56 still require that an “Air Quality Dispersion Model” be
submitted and reviewed with the applicant’s Special Use Permit application (Article 9.56.7). This
required analysis identifies all pollutant levels at the property line no matter how many cases are
proposed. Therefore during the Special Use Permit review, the effect on the environment and adjacent
properties can be reviewed in relation to Mecklenburg County standards on a case by case basis. For
instance even if this proposed text is approved, the James Funeral Home will still need to modify their
approved Special Use Permit and update their Air Quality Dispersion Model in order to increase their
proposed number of events. For the reasons above, staff is comfortable eliminating the limit to cases in
the zoning code.
UPDATE 10/21/14: After subsequently reviewing the proposed amended special use permit
application for the James Funeral Home, a conflict arose with the proposed text. The application is to
only remove the limit of cases allowed per year. With Article 9.56.7 still in place, a revised air
dispersion model would still be required as discussed above. An air dispersion model output however
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is based on a certain number of cases per year. Thus even though the specific 250 cases a year limit
would be removed from the zoning code, a self-imposed limit would still be required “by default” due to
the requirement of an air dispersion model submission that is based on a certain amount of cases.
The applicant does not desire to limit himself to an amount of cases below the new threshold for
Mecklenburg County permitting.
Therefore after discussion with Mecklenburg County Air Quality and the applicant, staff recommends
further amending Article 9.56 to remove the air dispersion model requirement and replacing it with a
limit to the number of cases allowed to below Mecklenburg County permitting thresholds. This
recommendation is made for the following reasons:
1. The threshold of cases for crematorium permitting by Mecklenburg County is calculated by
estimating when the Acceptable Ambient Levels (AAL) of pollutants may be reached. If the
crematorium does not conduct more cases than the Mecklenburg County threshold (1,497 or
2,050), it means the ambient levels of all pollutants will not be exceeded and there are thus no
environmental concerns at the property line. With that being the case the air dispersion model
is unnecessary.
2. Article 9.56.2 of the ordinance already states that crematoriums cannot “emit noticeable odors”.
Therefore the air dispersion model is not needed to prohibit odors.
3. The air dispersion model is a very scientific and technical document that is costly to produce.
Staff would rather rely on North Carolina and Mecklenburg County engineers and their data for
the regulation of air quality parameters.
4. Staff is not aware of any other town or municipality in the country whose zoning requires an air
dispersion model for crematorium permitting.
Therefore staff recommends approval of the text proposed by the applicant as well as the following
revision to Article 9.56.7:
7
An Air Quality Dispersion Model is required to be conducted and submitted by a
professional engineer showing that all air quality parameters including odors are below
detectable limits at the outer most boundary point of the air dispersion plume measured at
ground level at any adjacent property line. The number of cremations shall be below that
requiring an air quality permit by Mecklenburg County per current calendar year.
PART 6: PLANNING BOARD RECOMMENDATION
The Planning Board reviewed the application at their October 28, 2014 meeting. After discussion, the
Board unanimously recommended the application be approved; including the added staff
recommended change of replacing the air dispersion model requirement with the Mecklenburg County
case limit. The Board also recommended the change from “one calendar year” to “per current
calendar year” in the staff language.
PART 7: ATTACHMENTS AND ENCLOSURES
Attachments: A – Proposed Ordinance by Applicant
B – Proposed Ordinance by Staff
C – Approved Air Dispersion Analysis from SUP13-01
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PART 8: STATEMENT OF CONSISTENCY FOR TA 14-06
Planning Department
APPROVAL: In considering TA
14-06, amending Article 9.56 of
the Zoning Ordinance, Town
Staff recommends approval of
TA14-06 based on the reasons
described in the staff report and
finds the amendment is
consistent with the policies of
the Town of Huntersville 2030
Community Plan. It is
reasonable and in the public
interest to amend the ordinance
because the NCDAQ has
significantly raised the threshold
for Air Quality permitting for
crematoriums, and…
1. The air dispersion
modeling requirement
ensures compliance with
all air quality standards.
OR;
2. Limiting the amount of
cases to under
Mecklenburg County
permitting thresholds
ensures air quality
standards are being met.
DENIAL: N/A
Planning Board
APPROVAL: In considering TA
14-06, amending Article 9.56 of
the Zoning Ordinance, the
Planning Board recommends
approval based on the reasons
described in the staff report and
finds the amendment is
consistent with the Town of
Huntersville 2030 Community
Plan. It is reasonable and in the
public interest to amend the
ordinance because the NCDAQ
has significant raised the
threshold for Air Quality
permitting for crematoriums, and
limiting the amount of cases to
under those thresholds ensures
air quality standards are being
met.
Board of Commissioners
APPROVAL: In considering TA
14-06, amending Article 9.56 of
the Zoning Ordinance, the Town
Board recommends approval
based on the reasons described
in the staff report and finds the
amendment is consistent with
(Insert applicable Policies and
Actions here) of the Town of
Huntersville 2030 Community
Plan. It is reasonable and in the
public interest to amend the
ordinance because… (Explain).
DENIAL: N/A
DENIAL: In considering TA 1406, amending Article 9.56 of the
Zoning Ordinance, the Town
Board finds the amendments are
not consistent with (Insert
applicable Policies and Actions
here) of the Town of Huntersville
Community Plan. We
recommend denial of
amendment TA 14-06. It is not
reasonable and not in the public
interest to amend this ordinance
because…… (Explain)
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