Politics & Government

In the Face of Opposition, Clarksville Funeral Home Proposal Approved

'Zoning is not and cannot be a popularity contest.' - Sang Oh, attorney for funeral home owners.

Update - 4:36 p.m. - correction appended.

After years of controversy, owners were given the right to build a new funeral home near a residential area in Clarksville, despite protests from an organized group of residents that the home would cause traffic, environmental and quality of life issues. 

The Howard County Board of Appeals approved a proposal to build the funeral home on Route 108 in Clarksville during a hearing attended by more than 200 people on Tuesday night at the George Howard Building in Ellicott City.

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The issue pitted a united group of Clarksville residents against Donaldson Funeral Home, which wants to build a 17,000 square foot funeral home at a location between St. Louis Catholic Church and Christ Lutheran Church on Route 108.

The hearing was the conclusion of more than 25 conditional use hearings in front of the Board of Appeals, the first of which was held in 2010.

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The Board granted the conditional use by a vote of 4-1, with Henry Eigles the lone board member voting against it. 

In an attempt to satisfy residents' concerns, the Board mandated that the site include dedicated bypass lanes to help with traffic, a stream buffer of no less than 100 feet to protect a stream behind the site and a double walled septic tank be installed on the property.

"It's a relief to have it over," said Jay Donaldson, the owner of the proposed funeral home, who is also a resident of Clarksville. "I look forward to serving the people of Howard County."

Katherine Taylor, a lawyer representing a coalition of residents who coined themselves CRAM (Clarksville Residents Against the Mortuary), testified that residents' concerns were not "not in my backyard" issues.

"Here the conditional use requested is an over 17,000 square foot mortuary facility with an embalming facility and a large garage with hearses going in and out," said Taylor, who described a scene where residents could see septic trucks coming weekly to the funeral home to empty septic tanks "filled with human waste."

"This isn't NIMBYism," argued Taylor.

The opposition to the funeral home cited environmental, traffic and quality of life concerns as the reason the building should be denied. 

At one point, Alan Schneider, a resident who would live close to the proposed site, testified, "You have people in high value homes looking out their backyards right at this property."

Sang Oh, the attorney for Donaldson, argued that the proposal meets the requirements of the Department of Planning and Zoning.

"Zoning is not and cannot be a popularity contest," said Oh. "It's an undeniable fact it's permitted."

In its most recent technical staff report on the funeral home, released in February of 2012, the zoning board recommended approval of the conditional use.

When asked if Oh expects more opposition during the next phases of approval—including the site development plan process—Oh said, "I hope not."

Now that the Board of Appeals has made its decision, those with concerns have 30 days to appeal the decision.

Related Articles

  • Clarksville Residents Protest Proposed Funeral Home
  • Poll: Should the Clarksville Funeral Home Be Approved?
  • Comment Roundup: "Clarksville DOES NOT Need a Funeral Home"

Correction: The original version of this story stated that the vote was unanimous. In fact, Henry Eigles voted against the proposal. The article has been corrected, we regret the error.


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