A vacant lot on Park Avenue is one step closer to becoming a funeral home after the Chardon Planning Commission approved a conditional use request last week.
A vacant lot on Park Avenue is one step closer to becoming a funeral home after the Chardon Planning Commission approved a conditional use request last week.
The commission voted Jan. 27 to grant Marc F. Burr, of Potti and Marc F. Burr Funeral Homes, a conditional use certification to operate a funeral home at 308 Park Ave.
Burr has three locations in Lake County and currently provides funeral services in Chardon, though not at a physical facility, he said.
“I am looking to expand into my hometown, where I have lived for 44, almost 45 years,” he said. “I purchased this parcel of property and feel it would be of great importance and positive impact to the City of Chardon.”
While there is a Burr Funeral Home and Cremation Service located on South Street, the business is operated by Marc H. and Nan Burr, according to the company’s website.
The Park Avenue property is currently vacant, Chardon Community Development Administrator Jonathan Holody said, adding the preliminary site plan calls for a 4,170-square-foot funeral home with 67 parking spaces.
“The building would include areas for office, garage, embalming, waiting and other associated uses,” he said. “The viewing hall measures roughly 1,000 square feet. The applicant has indicated that cremation will not occur onsite.”
Final development plans would still need to be presented to the planning commission at a future meeting following the approval, Holody added.
Architect Carter Edman, of Marous Brothers Construction, presented drawings to the commission but emphasized they were preliminary.
Neighbor Gretchen Wedge spoke in support of the proposal.
“I don’t have a problem with it,” she said. “I could think of worse things to be put there. They’ll be good neighbors.”
The commission unanimously approved the use certification, with Chair Andrew Blackley welcoming Burr back to the city as the vote passed.
In other business, the commission granted final development plan approval for construction of a Sheetz convenience store, drive-through and gas station at 501 Water St., the former site of Rite Aid.
The new building, intended to update Sheetz’s facilities, will replace the current location across the street.
