Zoning board hears more about online funeral, crematory service
Testimony continued Thursday before a Lake Villa advisory panel regarding a proposal for an online funeral and crematory service that has drawn opposition from would-be neighbors.
Tadd Linderman intends to operate the business in a 1,400-square-foot space at Park Place Business Center, off Route 83. The Lake Villa zoning board of appeals will recommend to the village board, which will have the final word, whether Linderman should receive a conditional use permit for the proposed operation.
At the first public hearing session last month, opponents cited concerns including the potential for toxic emissions from charred remains and bodily fluid disposal near existing businesses.
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.
Under his proposal, Linderman would have an office area, a walk-in refrigerator, a preparation room and a 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 below Lake Villa's maximum of 1.06 pounds per hour, according to cremation equipment manufacturer Facultatieve Technologies The Americas Inc.
Facultatieve Technologies national sales manager Ernie Kassof testified Thursday that heat does not escape from his company's cremation units. He said it's unlike modified incinerators used by many companies in the cremation business.
"We use the body as our fuel source," Kassof said at the zoning board session attended by roughly 40 spectators.
Kassof also noted a crematory cannot operate without receiving an Illinois Environmental Protection Agency permit.
Earlier in the night, Dan Wagener, whose family owns a nearby commercial building, contended Linderman's crematory would be too big for its 1,400-square-foot space.
"You've got a nice idea, but you're in the wrong building," Wagener told Linderman. "You should be in a different building."
Linderman addressed concerns from Archana Dave, who said she'd be worried about heat escaping though a wall and affecting production at her Healy's Winery next door.
He said Dave's heat-sensitive wine would not be affected by his crematory because his unit would be air-conditioned. He said he found the vacant space to be in the 90s when he visited in the summer.