Objections can't stop Stockton Crematorium
David Siders
STOCKTON - A plan to build a crematorium in a southeast Stockton industrial park was approved Tuesday by the City Council, which rejected an appeal by nearby business owners and residents who said burning bodies would upset them and foul the air.
The crematorium, to be built on Station Drive, will be the city's only one. There are four others licensed by the state in San Joaquin County: two in Lodi and one each in Manteca and Tracy.
The council's 7-0 decision on Tuesday upheld the Planning Commission's 6-0 vote last year to approve the crematorium plan.
Jerry Carrol, an owner of the nearby T.H.E. Office City, said mercury emitted from the crematorium - the product of incinerating dental fillings - would be harmful.
And he said its presence would trouble his employees and reduce the value of his property.
Environmental regulators have dismissed concerns about the environmental impact of cremation.
They have found mercury, which can harm the nervous system in small children, is produced in such small quantities that it is not dangerous.
In its decision to permit the crematorium, the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District found it would not emit black smoke or hazardous gas and that it would have no more effect on the environment than that of two small water heaters.
Clinton Love, president of Bay Area Cremation & Funeral Services, said the crematorium likely will open by summer.
It will be built in an unmarked building and will not serve the public; it will cremate bodies for the company's storefront offices, which are planned to be built in or near Stockton, he said.
Councilwoman Rebecca Nabors said the crematorium would offer residents a local alternative to burial.
And Councilman Clem Lee said it was appropriate to approve a project that met emissions standards and was not in a residential area.
Two nearby business owners said they supported the project, claiming the 24-hour operation and staffing could deter crime. Brian Vargas, the owner of a commercial and industrial plumbing company in the south Stockton complex, said the crematorium would not bother him. He said he has worked near one before and found it so innocuous he did not know it was there until someone told him that it even existed.
Contact reporter David Siders at (209) 943-8580 or dsiders@recordnet.com. Visit his blog.