Crematory proposal creates controversy in Lake Villa

An online funeral and crematory proposal is drawing opposition from several tenants of a Lake Villa business park.

Tadd Linderman said his business in a 1,400-square-foot space at Park Place Business Center would be discreet and feature state-of-the-art equipment for cremations.

But Peggy Wagener, whose family owns a nearby commercial building, and others in the complex off Route 83 say Linderman's proposal would not be a good fit. Wagener and the other opponents say they are concerned about the potential for toxic emissions from charred remains and bodily fluid disposal near existing businesses.

While he understands the criticism, Linderman said he wants to fill what he believes will be a consumer demand for less expensive funeral and cremation services with his online business.

"The critics may be speaking from outdated technology," the former funeral home executive said, "and I think, probably, are speaking a little bit out of fear of something new and unfamiliar to them. It's just expected."

Caskets for a funeral elsewhere or a cremation in his building would be sold online, Linderman said. He'd pass on savings to consumers because the online business would have less overhead than traditional bricks-and-mortar funeral homes, he said.

At least 56 people from Park Place Business Center have signed a petition against Linderman's plan, which will go before the Lake Villa zoning board of appeals for a continued hearing at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 3, at village hall, 65 Cedar Ave.

Opened to the first phase of tenants in 1996, Park Place is a mix of office and warehouse industrial condominiums. Among the tenants are a Durham School Services bus facility and C & F Packing Co., an independent producer of custom-cooked meat products in a 120,000- square-foot plant on 16 acres.

Under his proposal, Linderman would have an office area, walk-in refrigerator, preparation room and cremation unit in the suite at 473 Park Ave. He said the facility would have a strict odor-control system.

His business would have a 28-foot exhaust stack producing particulate matter "far below" Lake Villa's maximum of 1.06 pounds per hour, according to cremation equipment manufacturer Facultative Technologies The Americas Inc. In addition, a crematory cannot operate without receiving an Illinois Environmental Protection Agency permit.

However, Wagener said she is not convinced about the safety of the emissions. She also said another crematory operating in the complex is not adjacent to other businesses, unlike Linderman's proposal.

"We're concerned about the tenants in our building," Wagener said.

Archana Dave said she'd be worried about heat escaping though a wall from the next-door crematory and affecting production at her Healy's Winery. Healy's produces wine sold at retailers in Wisconsin and Illinois.

"My wine is a very specific temperature," Dave said. "It is very sensitive to temperature."

Cremation is gaining in popularity in the United States, according to a national industry association. In a report issued in August by the Wheeling-based Cremation Association of North America, the cremation rate rose to 48.6 percent last year, from 47 percent in 2014. The association projects U.S. cremations will reach 54.3 percent by 2020.

Linderman said he hopes to open his online funeral and crematory business by January. He said there won't be a name on the suite he would occupy in an effort to be discreet.