LAPEL — The Lapel Planning Board conducted a special meeting recently to discuss giving a second look to plans for a crematorium in town after a local business owner said he would move the proposed site from downtown to one on State Road 13 away from restaurants.

The board didn’t change its mind on the matter.

Board President Gary Shuck and members Trefin Luker and Lindsay Washmuth voted to deny the special use permit Keller was seeking after hearing several negative comments on the issue from the crowd.

The planning board also agreed to make an unfavorable rezoning recommendation to the Lapel town council.

The town council is expected to take up the issue and vote on the request to rezone at regular meeting at 7 p.m. today, Thursday, Sept. 6.

A crowd showed up to voice opinions on the possible crematorium proposed by Mike Keller of Keller Mortuary, 801 Main St.

Keller was looking for approval from the planning board to locate a crematorium in a building on State Road 13, while he would continue to operate his mortuary from the current location he rents on Main Street.

Keller hoped his idea would ease concerns the board and some local business owners expressed about a crematorium on Main Street, especially regarding possible odors and the proximity to restaurants.

A number of people spoke against the request to either grant a variance for permitted use or rezoning the property for the crematorium.

Betsy Hampton said her home is directly across from the SR 13 proposed site which raised a number of issues in her view.

Her main concern was with health issue noting what a person can’t see, or smell can hurt them.

While some states regulate crematories and prevent them from being operational from within 1,000 to 3,000 feet of a school or home, Indiana is not one of those states, Hampton said.

Nor does the environmental protection agency regulate them, she added. While crematory owners are expected to self-report negative incidents to the Indiana Department of Environmental Management, whose to say they will, she wondered.

“A crematory is not right for my neighborhood or the Town of Lapel, and why would I want something like that next door to me,” Hampton said.

Some didn’t have a problem with a new crematorium if it were operational out of town limits and away from residents and businesses, they said.

Some residents suggested Keller buy farm land and build the crematorium away from residents.

Brent Embrey, Keller’s attorney, said all that is expelled from the process now is hot air because of the way the scrubbers work.

Nate Wood, an employee of Keller Mortuary, spoke in favor of the crematorium.

As a licensed funeral director and embalmer who has worked previously for a funeral home in Fort Wayne located near houses and close to the downtown district, he said they cremated both pets and people.

Most of the odor from cremation comes from pets because of the fur, he said; there’s not much odor or smoke from human remains.

“You may see some smoke when the box the body is transported in is first consumed by fire, but the scrubbers in the chimney reduce the smoke,” he said.

He also noted the type of structure of the building will determine the amount of noise and that a concrete block building will have less noise than some other types of construction.

Keller said, he has no plans to perform pet cremations, which would require different machinery.

Keller said the crematorium is needed to cremate about 425 bodies per year as part of an Indiana University medical contract.