Texas crematory coming under fire
A permitted crematory under construction in the Dallas, Texas, suburb of Frisco is coming under scrutiny by neighbors who are not happy with it being located in a residential neighborhood. However, according to this article “Frisco City officials insist that the crematorium’s approval predates the nearby neighborhood development, with plans available publicly since its approval. Frisco Mayor Jeff Cheney explained that the site plan was approved before the development of the adjacent neighborhood.”
And, noted in the same article, “according to Frisco City Attorney Richard Abernathy, the city cannot interfere with the project due to state laws. The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, which oversees emissions, has deemed the crematorium’s emissions non-hazardous.”
That’s not stopping residents though who have garnered over 800 signatures against the crematory and have put this petition notice on Change.org. The residential community also claims they are “only now learning of the crematory and are concerned about mercury emissions from cremated dental amalgams. “What is not being shared is that 80% of people who are cremated have mercury in their mouth, and that mercury is incinerated and goes up into the air, said Richard Bird, President of the Frisco Springs neighborhood home owner’s association according to the above linked article.
Even though the crematory has been permitted, the group is still attending council meetings “to request a reconsideration of the crematorium’s placement”.
Related Article — Hundreds of Frisco residents pushing back against the building of a new crematorium. CBS Texas (TX)
Related Article — Controversy over new crematorium in Frisco. Video story and print article. NBC TV-5 Dallas-Ft. Worth (TX)
Funeral Director Daily take: This will continue to happen more and more in this era of “Not in my back-yard”. The sad thing in this case is the crematory was successfully permitted by the funeral home prior to a housing development coming in. It is unfortunate that the funeral home will have at least some confrontational and dis-approving neighbors going forward.
More news from the world of Death Care:
- Setting a new trend in the funeral home industry. Trendsetters (ND)
- Mount Union Funeral Home has a new supervisor. The Daily News (PA)
- Cemetery asks county for funding. The Inter-Mountain (WV)
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In 1996 the firm I worked with proposed the same thing: a crematory in a residential area. With the help of the crematory provider, we literally canvassed the neighborhood. In the end, we had no trouble at all, and in the end the neighborhood had no trouble, either. And that was quite a while ago.