The proposed bill could change zoning regulations for new crematoria in Baltimore City

BALTIMORE — Vaughn Greene Funeral Services is working to build a crematorium just off York Road, but Councilman Mark Conway has introduced a bill that he says will change the areas where crematoriums are allowed.

“Everywhere there’s a funeral home or a cemetery (where) you could see a crematorium,” says Mark Conway.

In 2020, Vaughn Greene Funeral Services applied to the Maryland Department of the Environment for an air quality permit in hopes of building a human crematorium.

Many people who live near a funeral home are now concerned about how having a crematorium so close to their homes will affect air quality.

“We are not opposed to the well-regulated operation of crematorium incinerators. We oppose locating them within 200 feet of our children’s yards,” says Lisa Polyak

Sidney Chance lives in the Richnor Springs neighborhood and says that while she doesn’t mind cremation, she doesn’t feel comfortable with the idea of ​​human remains being burned near her home.

“Every family in my community has the right to breathe free, clean air,” Chance says

At Monday’s city council meeting, Councilor Mark Conway presented the bill to the council. The goal is to create a new zoning plan that will prevent crematoriums from being located near schools or areas where a lot of people live.

“As we start to look at the impact of decisions like this on environmental justice and realize the industry changes we’re seeing in funeral services, knowing that more and more people want to be cremated, we want to make sure that it happens safely in places that they are not densely populated neighborhoods,” Conway says.

This bill has no impact on current crematoria, it will only ensure that future crematoria are located in areas with minimal impact on the community.

Councilman Conway also hopes that if the legislation is passed before Vaughn Greene Funeral Services receives MDOE approval, it could prevent the funeral home from placing a crematorium right next to the Govans neighborhood.

“That’s why I’m asking that the mayor, all city councilors and all elected officials support Mark’s bill,” Chance said.

During Monday night’s city council meeting, several council members raised their hands to become co-sponsors of Mark Conway’s bill: Councilman Ryan Dorsey, Antonio Glover, Zeke Cohen and Councilwoman Odette Ramos.

The Baltimore City Council will have to vote on the bill, and the mayor will have to sign it, to prevent an influx of new crematoriums into Baltimore City.