By Debby Woodin
dwoodin@joplinglobe.com
A Joplin mortuary, as the result of a court ruling, will proceed with plans to operate a crematory.
The Missouri Court of Appeals, Southern District, in Springfield has upheld a decision by the Joplin City Council to grant a special-use permit to Parker Mortuary to install the crematory at its location at 1502 S. Joplin Ave.
“I’m pleased,” mortuary owner Tom Keckley said Tuesday. “We’ll be able to move ahead now.”
A Jan. 7, 2008, decision by the City Council was opposed by several neighbors and business owners in the area where the mortuary is located.
Two of those residents, G.W. Jackson and his son, Ryan Jackson, ultimately filed suit against the city in circuit court, then appealed when the lower court ruled in the city’s favor.
The Jacksons were in meetings Tuesday afternoon, and messages left for them seeking comment were not returned.
Mayor Gary Shaw said, “I’m happy the matter is settled, but I do respect the other party’s right to do what they thought was right.”
The Jacksons and other opponents had contended that the crematory would emit foul odors and toxins that would pollute the neighborhood. They said the health of residents would be at risk, and that property values would be driven down.
The issue first arose with the city’s Planning and Zoning Commission.
According to court records, the mortuary applied for the permit on Nov. 6, 2007. On Dec. 2, 2007, the zoning commission published a notice that a hearing on the application would be held at a commission meeting Dec. 10, 2007.
Ryan Jackson attended the meeting to object to the permit. The commission split 3-2 on whether to recommend passage of the permit request, and the matter went to the City Council without a recommendation from the zoning panel.
In the court appeals, the Jacksons contended that under city ordinances, notices of hearings on zoning issues must be published at least 15 days in advance of a hearing. They said that by publishing the agenda only eight days before the hearing, the city violated its own rules and deprived the Jacksons of adequate time for preparation.
The city argued that letters were sent to all the neighbors to let them know about the permit application and the hearing, and that 16 of those letters went to properties owned by the Jacksons. The Jacksons and a number of other neighbors attended hearings, which meant that there was adequate notice, attorneys for the city and the mortuary argued.
The appellate court wrote that the notice requirement is intended to give people the opportunity to be heard, and that Ryan Jackson’s views were heard at both the commission and council meetings. There was no complaint at the time that not enough notice had been given, the court wrote.
The Jacksons’ attorney, Richard Schnake of Springfield, argued before the appellate court that the split vote of the zoning commission did not constitute a recommendation as required by the city’s rules, and that the commission should have made written findings “for the general safety and health of the neighborhood.”
Schnake argued that the “commission should have started over, but the council decided to act without a commission recommendation.”
The city argued that the zoning commission’s vote was, in effect, a recommendation to deny the permit because there was not a large enough majority vote to recommend that the council approve the request, and so the commission’s decision was actually favorable for the Jacksons.
The council is not obligated by city rules to follow the panel’s recommendations, the city said.
Another appeal?
City Attorney Brian Head said the crematory case could be appealed to the Missouri Supreme Court if the Jacksons chose to do so, but “we certainly hope it’s over. We hope that with two rulings, a local court ruling and the appeals court ruling, we can all move on.”
