Cadavers already stored at Carlsborg warehouse
By Jim Casey, Peninsula Daily News
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Jason Linde of Linde Family Funeral Services in Sequim said Wednesday he has used 108-B Industrial Loop to hold human remains before they are transferred to a crematory in Seattle.
Linde says he wants to eliminate those trips by installing a crematory in the storage building.
An Olympia attorney said he has affidavits from two refrigeration technicians who reported seeing two bodies in the building before the cooling equipment was installed.
However, Linde said it would not have been unusual for bodies to be at the building briefly after one of his two vans delivered them there, before a second van took them to Seattle.
A refrigeration unit has operated in the building for the past three to four months, Linde said.
Linde said that using the building for storage purposes met Clallam County's zoning code.
County Building Official Leon Smith said the building could be used for storage — whatever might be stored there.
Steve Gray, county planning director, agreed.
"From a building standpoint, storage would be appropriate," he said, under a permit sought in 2003 but that has since expired.
But Gerald Steel, the attorney representing Citizens for Carlsborg which opposes the crematory, said keeping bodies at 108-B Industrial Loop violated the zoning code.
"We are looking at filing code complaints," he said from his office in Olympia.
He added that his clients claim there are no free-standing crematories in the state, save one at the University of Washington.
All the others are part of memorial parks.
As for the question of bodies, Steel identified one of the installers as Robert Klink of Sequim, who signed an affidavit stating that he had seen bodies in the building when he installed its refrigeration equipment in October 2007.
Linde said Klink could be correct — but that the cadavers could not be kept there more than 24 hours, as required by state law.
Regardless of legality, Steel said that the allegation that bodies were inside the non-refrigerated building could help turn public opinion against the crematory.
Linde said he will perform low-cost cremations for the 11,000 people on the North Olympic Peninsula who belong to the People's Memorial Association and who want their loved ones cremated close to home.
Citizens for Carslborg say a crematory would create health hazards and unpleasant odors and detract from residential property values.
Approved permit
County Hearing Examiner Chris Melly held a public hearing April 23 on Linde's request.
On May 5 he approved a conditional use permit for the crematory provided that building and clean air requirements are met.
Citizens for Carlsborg have until Monday to decide if they will ask Melly to reconsider his decision, based on new evidence they could not have presented at the hearing.
They also have until next Wednesday to appeal it to the county's three commissioners.
Commissioners could hear only an appeal based solely on the record — not including new information — but they still could be swayed by public opinion, Steel said.
"If we go to the county commissioners, we're going to want them to look at the laws and codes very carefully," Steel said.
"That's the effect that public outcry has: It encourages the decision-makers to give a closer look than they might otherwise do than if there were no public outcry."
In addition, Steel said Citizens for Carlsborg could challenge the existing zoning in the Carlsborg Urban Growth Area.
The UGA has been declared invalid by the Western Washington Growth Management Hearings Board, and Steel said the area's zoning was invalidated with it.
Gray has denied that claim.
Finally, another regulatory organization — the Olympic Region Clean Air Agency — must sign off on the crematory.
It has 60 days to make a decision after Linde applies for a permit, and 30 days in which to receive public comment and hold a hearing.
________
Reporter Jim Casey can be reached at 360-417-3538 or at jim.casey@peninsuladailynews.com.
Last modified: May 14. 2008 9:00PM