Zoning pushes back crematory services for further review

A proposal by Borja Funeral Home to use its building in Chalan Kanoa for both a funeral home and crematory service has been put on hold by the Saipan Zoning board for further review of the project’s overall impact and other concerns raised during the public hearing on Friday at the Multi-Purpose Center in Susupe.

After nearly three hours of hearing the comments of business owners and local residents, Zoning Board chair Dave Blanco said they will push back the application for further review.

Another reason for putting off a decision on the application was due to the failure of the applicant to notify some residents and businesses within 300 feet of the site about the project.

“Because we have neighbors who have not received notification—14 days in advance—and who just submitted new information today, the Zoning board does not have all the information it would have otherwise had if actual notification had occurred and so the Zoning board needs to recess to digest these information and make sure there is a complete assessment of the project before a decision can be made,” Zoning legal counsel Kate Fuller said.

At the hearing, Borja Funeral Home president Frances LG Borja said they were there to present their case to the public about wanting to relocate back to their original location in Chalan Kanoa.

Support

Borja noted that when their business was founded as Pacifica Funeral Service in Chalan Kanoa during the early 1980s, it was tied to the growing economic activity of the island, before CK became the center of commerce for a lot of businesses. During that time, a lot of businesses followed suit and started setting up in the area.

“All these developments came after Pacifica Funeral Service was established and, most importantly, these businesses continue to flourish right along the funeral services in the CK area,” Borja said.

She said that having a crematory next to Mt. Carmel Cathedral and the CK cemetery will further strengthen their commitment to the village’s residents and families.

“Our investment in a cremation facility is just an addition to our service that has been here for more than 30 years now. With today’s economic difficulties, one can understand that having a less cumbersome and less costly access to services, such as the cremation services, are much needed,” Borja said.

Borja noted that the CK cemetery has grown beyond capacity noting that records from Diocese of CK’s Rectory Office show there are more or less about 7,000 burials that are entombed at the cemetery.

“This number is compounded by the fact that there are no more additional space or lots for new plots. Please note that there is a standard lot size of 8 feet long by 3 feet wide and 6 feet deep. Instead, by what has been practiced all plots are recycled over a 10-year period,” she said.

Records from the diocese show that there are already over 150 burials so far from January to November this year alone. In the last two years, Borja Funeral Home sent 10 cases to Guam for cremation.

The proposed project site—in close proximity to both the church and cemetery—makes the area a suitable and ideal location for compatibility, Borja said.

Borja Funeral Home consultant Vicente R. Ada, who is the owner of Ada’s Mortuary in Guam, stated that his business in Guam is one of four certified crematory operators.

Ada said that Ada’s Mortuary explored many possibilities in expanding their facilities and decided to open up the crematorium in 1993—21 years ago.

“Ada’s Mortuary is similarly situated as that of the proposed Borja Funeral Home facility. The front of our building is located along a major road and the back of the building faces a residential neighborhood, and because we have a duty of care to the community we serve, we also took into consideration our neighbors,” Ada said.

Ada said they have taken extra steps to ensure that their crematory not only meets all environmental requirements and regulations but the need of wanting to be good neighbors to nearby residents.

“In the more than two decades of operating a crematory, not once have we received a complaint about any smell, smoke, or noise nor has the operation prevented our children from playing in the streets, families from having parties, people from mowing grass, washing their cars, walking their pets, or to go with their daily lives, or simply enjoying other family activities,” he said.

He assured that a crematory in Chalan Kanoa is safe and will not endanger the community.

One resident, Rita Chong, said she supports the idea because the burial cost of more than $10,000 is too costly and that she too wants an option to get cremated.

Her opinion was echoed by Education Commissioner Dr. Rita Sablan, Joeten Kiyu Public Library executive director John Gonzales, former lawmaker Stanley Torres, architect Herman Cabrera and other residents in the area.

Opposition

Juan C. Benitez, president of Marianas EB-5 Regional Center, doesn’t like the fact that there would be a crematorium in the area.

“It’s not that we don’t want the crematory services. I believe that everyone here present can all agree that a crematory service is needed, but the location itself, that is the problem,” Benitez said.

He fears an accumulation of dangerous and harmful substances in the area that could endanger the environment in the future.

“Listen to the experts and get a federal entity such as the Environmental Protection Agency from the U.S. and have them do a full analysis on whether or not if it can impact [the surroundings]. I have collected data and have seen how bad a crematorium can be,” he said.

Another resident, Ray Bermudes, also opposed putting the crematorium in the area, saying it could also impact them psychologically.

Sen. Sixto Igisomar (R-Saipan) said he doesn’t oppose the area nor the business but Borja Funeral Home needs to regularly monitor for any emission of harmful materials that could come out of the crematorium.

“I don’t oppose the crematorium, just really have it checked consistently because those little tiny substances that we cannot see can eventually enter your body and endanger the health of residents,” Igisomar said.

Zoning’s Blanco recommended that they should have a federal authority check out the environmental impact of crematoriums and also recommended that they should at least visit the Ada Mortuary area and see its impact on the neighborhood.