A Change.org petition, Facebook page and yard signs are asking citizens to voice opposition to a proposed funeral home and crematorium on Walton Road in Plymouth Township. The issue will be before Plymouth Township’s Zoning Hearing Board on Monday, January 19th at 7:00 p.m. The hearing will take place at the township building at 700 Belvoir Road. Below is the formal zoning notice:

CARMENICO FUNERAL HOME, INC. (JOHN K. PUDLINSKI, JR.): On an application for Variances from Plymouth Township Zoning Ordinance No. 342, as amended, Article V, Sections 500, 502.D, 502.F, 502.G, Article XVII, Sections 1706.A, 1707.A, & 1707.B, & Article XIX, Section 1908.C. The Variances requested are as follows: To permit a funeral home and crematorium; to permit a rear yard setback of 6.2 feet, where a minimum of 30 feet is required; to permit 60% impervious coverage, where a maximum of 25% is required; to permit 40% green space, where a minimum of 75% is required; to eliminate the requirement for berming and buffering along public or private roads and property lines abutting residential zoning; to permit impervious surfaces closer than the required 4 feet from the side lot line. The properties are located at 3023 and 3025 Walton Road in the “A Residential” and “Campus Industrial” Zoning Districts. Any citizen of Plymouth Township or person of interest may attend the public hearing and have an opportunity to be heard. PLYMOUTH TOWNSHIP ZONING HEARING BOARD David Conroy, Zoning Officer NTH 1/2, 1/9 1-a

Based on the petition and the Facebook page, the opposition centers around the fact that the property falls partially within a residential zoning district, traffic, home values, and health concerns/proximity to schools.

The petitioner, Caramenico Funeral Home, Inc., has an existing funeral home in Norristown.

We attended the public meetings when a crematorium was approved on Fayette Street in Conshohocken. Based on what we learned during those meetings, funeral homes are adding crematoriums due to the growing demand for cremation.