LAKE BUTLER, Fla. (WCJB) -Residents in one Lake Butler neighborhood say they’re concerned about a crematorium being built on their quiet street.
“Has nothing to do with building something there and everything to do with what they’re building,” shared resident Stephen Heslar.
Residents like Heslar are concerned about a crematorium being built right next to their homes. These concerns come after Union County commissioners approved a zoning change for their neighborhood on Little Springs Road in Lake Butler on Monday night.
The change is from single-family and mobile home residential to residential rural which was approved on a 4-1 vote. This now allows Garrett Milton, current owner of the Archer-Milton Funeral Home in Lake Butler to fill out a permit to build the crematorium on a piece of land which is surrounded by homes.
“It’s definitely a health factor for the people around it, not to mention we farm chickens, this guy does cows, so if it seeps into the ground and they eat it and then we eat the animals, it’s just another way it gets into our systems,” Heslar said.
Along with concerns about health, people who live in this neighborhood say they don’t want their kids around it, and they don’t want their property values to decrease.
“I’ve actually replaced a few machines because of degrading and not meeting EPA standards, so I mean it’s only a matter of time before some of those health concerns come up,” shared resident Michael Thornton.
Last year, we reported on a Gainesville crematorium which was way above normal emission limits.
RELATED: ‘I’m speechless’: Gainesville crematorium fails carbon monoxide emission tests
Milton says they’re doing what they feel is right for the county and families they serve and sent us this statement:
From day one, we’ve made decisions to do what we feel is right for the county. We never dreamed of ever owning a crematory. But now the county’s current cremation rate is over 50%. Therefore, since over half the county chooses cremation, we have a responsibility, as funeral service providers, to provide the best possible service to families we serve.
At the rezoning board meeting Monday night, we heard the concerns from the public and addressed them. We also showed a willingness to work with the neighbors and agreed to push the building even further back off the road. The county commission decided to vote in favor of the rezoning.
We love this county deeply and are only doing what we feel is right to the county and most importantly, to the families we serve.
The next step is for Milton to fill out a permit which will have to be approved by commissioners. That date is not yet set.
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