WEYMOUTH − The board of zoning appeals will for the third time take up a proposal to expand a Main Street funeral home after it failed to gain approval two previous times.

The board has twice voted 3-2 in favor of granting a special permit for the expansion of the McDonald Keohane Funeral Home, but four votes are needed for the approval. The second vote took place after the funeral home appealed the first decision to the state Land Court, leading to mediation between the funeral home and the town.

The proposal went back to Land Court after the board's second denial, leading to more mediation.

The funeral home and the town last month filed a joint motion for remand, or a rehearing by the zoning board. According to the motion, "During the course of discovery, an issue came to light related to the proposed retention and use of the existing Main Street (Route 18) entrance of the funeral home. ... The issue may have led to the confusion by at least one of the two board members that voted to deny McDonald Keohane’s application for a special permit."

The zoning board will reconsider the proposal at a special meeting at 7 p.m. Wednesday, March 27.

The funeral home, which has been at 809 Main St. for more than six decades, is seeking approval for a 5,500-square-foot addition, which would nearly double the size of the business. The addition would include a hall with a seating capacity of 200 people that could be used for funerals or celebrations of life.

The plan would also add 16 exterior parking spaces, 11 of which would be in a residential zone, and four garage spaces, as well as an entrance on the south side of the property near adjacent homes.

McDonald Keohane Funeral Home sought approval from the town to combine 809 Main St. with two adjoining lots behind it on Cypress Street to make the expansion possible.

Neighbors who formed the Columbian Cypress Coalition remain steadfast in their opposition to the project.

"We remain strongly committed to preventing this development from taking place as we all are the ones who live here and will have to deal with whatever aftermath takes place," neighbor Marybeth Bernard said in an email. "It is wrong that a proposal for such a large building, parking area and garage located on residential land even be considered never mind approved."

In 2021, the town council and the planning board both unanimously supported a citizens' petition to prohibit funeral homes in neighborhoods. Instead, funeral homes are now allowed to open in certain business districts with a special permit from the zoning board of appeals. 

While existing neighborhood funeral homes are allowed as a pre-existing use, the zoning change prevents these businesses from acquiring more land in residential areas to expand.

News Source : https://www.patriotledger.com/story/news/2024/03/26/weymouth-ma-funeral-home-expansion-zoning-board-appeals/73030589007/