They lost at the city zoning board, the state legislature and in their appeals to the courts. But opponents of a human crematorium in Baltimore’s Govans neighborhood are now hoping to thwart the proposal by persuading the City Council to tighten zoning restrictions for these facilities.

As the residents and their allies see it, their losses were due in part to a flaw in the way Baltimore classifies crematoriums that exposes local communities to health-harming emissions.

Currently, crematoriums are considered part of funeral homes and cemeteries, which are permitted in zoning designations near populated neighborhoods.

These C-2 “community commercial districts” are intended for areas of small to medium-scale commercial use along urban corridors, but can include homes and schools.

The place where Vaughn Greene Funeral Services wants to operate a crematory – 4905 York Road – is in one of those C-2 zones, along a commercial corridor but also within 200 feet from residences.

Under a bill introduced last night by 4th District Councilman Mark Conway, crematoriums would be removed from the funeral home and cemetery category and given a separate designation.

The facilities could continue to be operated in less residential parts of the city, but would be barred from C-2 districts going forward.

It was the Govans community’s nearly five-year battle with Vaughn Greene Funeral Services that exposed this gap in the zoning code, Conway said.

“Right now, everywhere there is a funeral home or a cemetery we can see a crematorium [potentially] being put up,” Conway said, at a City Hall press conference. “And that was something that we didn’t realize until we went through multiple court cases.”

“That just does not make sense, especially in the city that has the highest asthma rates in the state and some of the highest asthma rates in the country,” he asserted, flanked by about 30 bill supporters, most of them from the Radnor-Winston, Winston-Govans and Richnor Springs neighborhoods.

Resident Cindy Camp, who lives less than 200 feet from the proposed Vaughn Greene crematorium, held up a sign that said “My family needs protection.”

“Not only my family, but every family in my community has the right to breathe clean air,” Camp said.

Lisa Polyak, an environmental engineer who advises the residents, ran down the list of harmful substances released into the air by incinerators, including crematoriums that burn human and animal remains.

“Incinerators are the source of some of the worst environmental pollutants, things like metals, acid, gasses, dioxin and tiny particles that scientific and medical experts tell us are the source of life-threatening respiratory and heart problems,” Polyak said, addressing the gathering.

Pollution and Climate Change

Conway stressed that his proposal  (council bill 24-0599) would apply only to new crematoriums.

But would the legislation, if approved, halt the Vaughn Greene proposal, which was approved by the Board of Municipal and Zoning Appeals in 2021?

(A Circuit Court judge upheld the board’s decision. A subsequent appeal to the Appellate Court of Maryland also failed, as did an effort this year to pass statewide legislation to require setbacks for crematoriums.)

Conway said he wasn’t sure whether his bill would actually stop the York Road project, saying, “That’s not under the City Council’s control.”

“I hope that it does,” he added.

Reached yesterday, Vaughn Greene has not provided a response to The Brew’s query.

Polyak said there are over 110 crematory incinerators operating in Maryland, including six in three locations permitted by the state in Baltimore.

She and other speakers pointed to the increasing popularity of cremation and the need for jurisdictions to protect people from these operations’ health effects, especially amid the escalating climate crisis.

“Public health risks are heightened when both air pollution and high temperatures are giving a one-two punch, affecting individuals’ heart health, lungs, kidney function and even mental health,” said Brittney Baker, state director of the Chesapeake Climate Action Network.

“We cannot let children’s lungs serve as the air filters for our smokestacks”  – Brittney Baker, Chesapeake Climate Action Network.

“We must listen to communities when they say ‘no’ to additional environmental burdens. We cannot let children’s lungs serve as the air filters for our smokestacks,” she urged, noting that Baltimore had four consecutive days of 100 degree weather in July.

“Studies show that by 2050, people in Baltimore are projected to experience an average of 35 days of intense heat per year, and many of these days will be back to back,” Baker continued.

Environmental Justice

Opponents of the York Road crematorium, speaking with The Brew yesterday, also assailed the state of Maryland for its stance on the facility which it has said will comply with all applicable air quality control requirements.

Polyak questioned that assessment, asserting that the Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE) has never asked a crematory incinerator to measure its emissions to determine whether it complies with regulations.

She said Maryland issues permits using “an empty process,” allowing operators to annually certify their compliance by using “an arithmetic exercise – never a measurement of any kind.”

“Some crematories were installed over 40 years ago and continue to get their permit with no quantification on what is coming out of the stack,” Polyak added.

Another issue riling the residents is MDE’s failure to take “environmental justice” standards into account.

• MDE tells York Road crematorium opponents their environmental justice argument lacks scientific basis (12/14/23)

Since 2022, Maryland law requires a person applying for a permit from the Department of the Environment to include the project’s Environmental Justice or EJ score, which quantifies ongoing pollution burdens together with health and demographic characteristics that make it more vulnerable than other areas.

But according to Polyak, “MDE appears to have issued no interpretive guidance or meaningful effectuation of EJ scores as a tool in decision-making related to new or existing pollution sources.”

Opponents have raised these and other issues in their lengthy written response to MDE’s draft permit for the Vaughn Greene facility.

They also have taken note of the success of the residents of suburban White Marsh in convincing Baltimore County lawmakers to effectively block a proposed crematorium through the county-wide rezoning process.

The proposal at 11543 Philadelphia Road received an EJ score of 41 from MDE, while the York Road project’s score was 95, indicating a much greater disproportionate impact.

Asked about the parallels, Conway said Baltimore County’s handling of the issue “was one that we looked into to to see if there were legislative options for us to do the same.”

Polyak was more blunt.

“Ours is a textbook example of where the environmental justice score demands a retreat from business as usual,” she said.

The City Council’s Ways and Means Committee will hold a hearing on Conway’s bill on October 29, its chairman, Councilman Eric Costello, announced at last night’s meeting.

Mayor Brandon Scott, whose signature is required for the bill to become law, has not taken a position on the Vaughn Greene crematorium project and has not responded to a request for comment on Conway’s bill.

“We would love to have his support,” Conway exclaimed.