Saint-Bruno-de-Montarville residents worry what planned crematoria will mean for air quality
Residents in Saint-Bruno-de-Montarville are pushing back against a planned funeral centre that would be located near a residential area.
The site on Parent Street would include two crematoria, which people are concerned will impact air quality.
That's why they launched a petition last week, and attended a city council meeting — an information session on the planned funeral centre — Tuesday.
"This is a residential neighbourhood, and it's the effects of what the crematoriums will have — we don't know the environmental impact," said Anna-Marie Blyth as she canvassed for signatures Saturday.
She and other residents are worried about effects on local traffic and property values, but especially about the effect on air quality.
The petition, which calls for the city to study the impacts on air quality and traffic, had garnered 250 signatures as of Tuesday evening.
The planned location is already zoned for commercial use, but the project is still subject to the Site Planning and Agriculture Integration bylaw, according to the city. That means council must approve architectural landscaping plans.
Council voted unanimously not to make the decision at Tuesday night's council meeting, as was originally planned, so members could hear residents' concerns and make a decision based on them.
Further studies will be done and the city said it will work with a small citizens group to keep them updated of the development on the town's side.
But the city's planning advisory committee reviewed the project based on the criteria for integrating the bylaw and recommended council approve it.
"We do have a Tim Hortons, we do have a Petro Canada, and it's fine," said one resident who canvassed for petitions, Alissa El-Hachem. "But a crematorium feels like another story — on another level. It feels more industrial than commercial to us."
