Winter Park nixes funeral home plans after traffic uproar
Met with overwhelming opposition from neighbors, Winter Park commissioners unanimously denied a private cemetery’s request late Monday for a zoning code change that would have allowed a funeral home on the property.
Two dozen residents stuck around for the issue to come up during a marathon meeting with a packed agenda to voice concerns about the proposed funeral home’s impact on traffic and property values.
Glen Haven Memorial Park, part of the Baldwin Fairchild group of funeral homes and cemeteries, wanted a conditional-use permit to allow its current 4,500-square-foot office building to be replaced with a two-story, 9,100-square-foot building for a combined use of cemetery and funeral operations, including visitation.
“The cemetery is located in the middle of our neighborhood, there’s going to be an increase in traffic,” said Melissa Frye, who lives across the street from the 44-acre cemetery. “Our streets are full of kids, dogs, pedestrians, bikers, it is going to increase problems.”
But the cemetery’s lawyer, James Johnston, argued that the addition of a funeral home would cause minimal disruption in the neighborhood.
“There’s no cremation on the site. No preparation facility. It’s strictly a place where you can have the [funeral] services,” Johnston told commissioners before the vote, which took place about 11 p.m. after 2 ½ hours of discussion.
Glen Haven officials faced jumping through two hoops to gain approval. First, they would need the city to amend zoning regulations for the land, which sits on a parks and recreation
district, to allow funeral service facilities on the property. If that cleared, then a conditional-use permit for the construction of the funeral home would be considered.
The Planning and Zoning Board had recommended approval to both of the cemetery’s requests with several conditions, including stormwater improvements, installation of crosswalks and stop signs at Glen Haven’s expense and that all funeral home services end by 8 p.m.
City planning staffers noted that giving a nod to Glen Haven’s application wouldn’t set a precedent because it is the only private cemetery in the city. Palm Cemetery and Pineywood Cemetery are city-owned and managed.
Lisa Coney, Baldwin Fairchild director of cemetery compliance, said having the funeral home on site at the 64-year-old cemetery would make the burial process easier on grieving families.
“We truly believe that a beautiful funeral home to better serve families, especially when half of them are already coming to the cemetery, is completely and totally appropriate,” Coney said. “This is a $2.5 million structure replacing a dumpy 50-year-old building.”
The crux of resident objections is that the entrance, which is on the west side of the property, can only be accessed from Chantilly Avenue or Temple Drive through Place Vendome, which are surrounded by dozens of homes.
A traffic study of the area concluded that the average daily traffic volume would increase less than 5%, or about an extra 30 cars a day, with the addition of a funeral home.
But many residents said they weren’t buying that cemetery officials would spend millions of dollars for a funeral home without an expectation of increased business, creating an influx of traffic.
“Nobody invests $2.5 million for the status quo,” Temple Drive resident Dinos Constantine said. “You’re looking for a rate of return on that.”
Cayce Hurley, whose home on Lafayette Avenue is up for sale, told commissioners three prospective buyers were discouraged by the expected traffic a funeral home would bring.
“They’re talking about this increase on two blocks,” Hurley said. “It’s not 30 cars over 4 ½ miles, it’s a very, very short [distance], no sidewalks, no anything.”
Cemetery officials tried to rebut arguments by residents, telling commissioners that simply choosing not to believe information like a traffic study doesn’t make it untrue.
“That’s the Winter Park way of how you fight development,” Johnston said. “This is a very reasonable request despite what neighbors say.”
Coney presented documents to commissioners containing signatures from 122 households in the area that showed support of the cemetery’s plans. However, only Chantilly Avenue resident Darlene Glassinger stood up at the meeting to speak.
Glassinger put a picture she took of the entrance to the cemetery property on an overhead projector and said most people don’t notice the existing building until they’re inside the gates and the view likely wouldn’t be obstructed by the proposed building either.
“It’s 44 acres and all the way back is a long ways,” Glassinger said. “You won’t see it from the road.”
Commissioners said they were torn over the request and wished cemetery officials and neighbors could find a way to compromise. At one point, there was a brief discussion of tabling the issue for another meeting before Mayor Steve Leary squashed the idea and called for a vote.
“I think this is a great use for the property,” Leary said, “however, I don’t believe that’s what the people who signed up for that neighborhood bought into.”
With the code change denial, there was no need for commissioners to consider the second request at a meeting that lasted nearly eight hours.