Jackson Planning and Zoning sets public hearing about McCombs Funeral Home's proposed crematorium

Residents of Jackson with something to say about a proposal to build a crematorium at McCombs Funeral Home will get their chance next month.

The Jackson Planning and Zoning Commission on Wednesday evening set a public hearing for Oct. 8 on the request for a special-use permit that would allow construction of the crematorium. Bruce Dockins, owner of McCombs, pitched his idea to the commissioners, assuring them it would be well-maintained and there would be no noticeable emissions.

Dockins wants to add the crematorium to his business because cremation is a rapidly increasing segment of the funeral business. The 102-year-old business must now rely on a crematorium operated by a burial vault supplier, Dockins said.

By having the crematorium as part of the business, he said the company can avoid any possible legal complications and give more complete and appropriate services. About year ago, he said, a family wanted to cremate the remains of a young person and too late he learned that "not only did this family want their loved one cremated, they wanted to be present and observe the cremation."

It can take up to five days to complete a cremation request, Dockins said. The closest funeral home-operated crematorium is in Dexter, Mo., he said.

A final decision about which type of cremation oven and where the best location for the building to house it on the company's four-acre lot has not been made, Dockins said. McCombs is looking at a model built by a West Coast manufacturer, he said, and expects the building to be erected near the main funeral home building on Route D, or Independence Street, across from Jackson City Park.

Final decisions will be made after the commission, and later the Jackson Board of Aldermen, give their approval for the special-use permit, he said.

"Cremation is nothing more than an extension of the business we are in now," Dockins said.

McCombs must obtain the special-use permit because Jackson zoning codes are silent on whether a crematorium is allowed on the funeral home property. McCombs also operates a funeral home in Cape Girardeau, where the codes already allow a crematorium on a funeral home property, but Dockins said he prefers to build in Jackson.

The building to house the crematorium would be about 1,200 square feet and the total investment would amount to about $250,000, Dockins said.

Janet Sanders, building and planning superintendent for the city, said she expects that any special use permit would include conditions that McCombs abide by all EPA guidelines for operating the crematorium as well as additional conditions on the type of building to be constructed.

If the commission approves the request after the public hearing, the Jackson Board of Aldermen will consider the request and a second public hearing is part of that process, she said.

The commission Wednesday evening also approved hiring Houseal Lavigne & Associates of Chicago to draft an update to the city's comprehensive plan. Sanders said the firm has set a price of $85,000 — $5,000 less than budgeted for the work — and she and other members of the committee selecting a consultant were impressed with the company's work for cities of similar size and that the firm is not too large for the Jackson project to get lost in the shuffle of work.

rkeller@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 126