New plan in the works for crematorium at Woodbine Cemetery owner proposes using existing building

New plan in the works for
crematorium at Woodbine
Cemetery owner
proposes using
existing building

Having seen the last plan go up in smoke, officials of Woodbine Cemetery in Oceanport have come up with a new plan for putting a crematorium on its grounds.

And this one will not require getting approvals from anyone in the borough, according to Greg Kunkowski, president of Woodbine Cemetery Inc.

But borough officials don’t see things quite the same way.

The new plan calls for converting an existing building at the cemetery for use as a crematorium, which Kunkowski said removes the need for site plan approval or any other approval from the municipality.

While a formal hearing may not be necessary, the borough must still sign off on permits so the necessary utility lines can run to the crematorium, and it is not ready to do that.

"I have directed the building department not to issue the permits pending review by the Planning Board," said Pasquale Menna, the borough’s Planning Board attorney.

Because of some unanswered questions, Menna noted that he has advised the board to review the cemetery’s original site plan, the existing structure’s use and the possibility that gas lines would violate existing easements.

"We just can’t blindly give approval," said Menna. "We need to be fair to the public. Without reviewing any original documents, we have no way of knowing if, for example, the existing building’s use is substantially different from that of its proposed use."

Kunkowski has said he has all the approvals he needs from the state.

Having scrapped the idea of construction of a new building, Kunkowski said he will use an existing 1,250-square-foot structure located on the north side of the property that will accommodate up to three retorts, the ovens used for cremation.

"Initially we will have only two retorts in operation," he said.

Kunkowski is expecting the delivery of the retorts, each costing $60,000, in mid December.

He said he has dragged his feet on the decision to begin cremation services for several years, but funeral homes are calling for the services locally. Currently the nearest crematory is in Linden. He said that once the crematory is operational in Oceanport, he expects to cremate 300 to 500 bodies per year initially and 1,000 per year within the next five years.

Kunkowski said he expects to spend approximately $250,000 to implement the operation and that little profit will be seen initially.

"I should have done this (used the existing building) in the first place, but I wanted to placate residents, which didn’t work in the end," he said.

Although a structure or its placement on the 23 acres is no longer an issue, having the utilities to run the retorts is, according to the borough.

"The borough will not issue permits for a gas and an electrical line which are needed to operate the facility," Kunkowski said.

Knowing that past negotiations with the borough have been difficult and costly, Kunkowski has hired a new attorney, George Dougherty of Katz and Dougherty of Lawrenceville, to help him acquire the needed utilities to run the crematory.

"A change of use doesn’t matter," said Kunkowski, who is converting the garage used for storage into a crematorium, "because state approvals cover the facilities for any cemetery operation."

As for easements, the property only has one, which is a sewer easement located on the south side of the property running along the stream. Kunkowski said it will not create any violations since the existing building is on the opposite side of the property.

Kunkowski sees this as an advantage because the north side of the property is closer to the gas lines which means he will no longer have to bring in propane as fuel.

Dougherty said that this is not an unusual case; most cemeteries which are close to a town or within a residential area face this type of opposition. "People don’t like to think of this process of cremation, but it is a part of our existence," the attorney said.

Recognizing the concerns of residents, Dougherty noted that "environmental concerns are valid, although cremation is the cleanest type of all forms of final disposition."

Menna, the Planning Board attorney, noted that this matter will not be dragged out and that the board will render a decision at its next meeting in November.

Mayor Gordon Gemma said, "The board will probably recommend [that the proposal needs] a site plan approval, which can then be appealed by Woodbine Cemetery."

Kunkowski said that he is prepared to take this matter to the state Supreme Court.

Having already spent more than $50,000 on trying to get his previous plan approved, Kunkowski said, "I tried to be a good neighbor and build an attractive structure away from residential property lines, but it became too costly a battle."

Late last month the cemetery’s operators withdrew an application for site plan approval for a new building to house a crematorium after months of hearings before the borough’s Planning Board.

The cemetery faced staunch opposition to its crematorium proposal from its neighbors, and while the hearings dragged on, an early misstep by the cemetery invalidated the whole process.

Under state law any major site plan hearing before a municipal planning or zoning board requires the applicant to send certified letters to everyone within 200 feet of the property for which an approval is sought, notifying them of the upcoming hearings. It was determined last month that the cemetery failed to properly notify some neighbors.