HOWELL – A proposed cemetery on the Farmingdale border has ignited significant opposition among local residents over fears primarily related to environmental safety.
The application, submitted to the local zoning board by Third Avenue Associates, seeks approval to establish a 10-acre cemetery along Adelphia-Farmingdale Road. The site is currently surrounded by residential homes that rely heavily on well water and septic systems.
Less than a quarter mile west of the proposed site, the Evergreen Cemetery employs what some consider traditional burial methods that include embalmment of the body and lowering it into the earth in a casket and vault.
Arthur Schwartz, a member of Third Avenue Associates appeared at a recent zoning board hearing and provided details about the customs observed at a Jewish cemetery. He said the body is first cleansed and put into a simple pine box and dressed in plain burial shrouds made of linen.
“It’s the most natural form of burial,” said Schwartz. “There’s no embalming. They don’t put any chemicals in the body.”
Schwartz reiterated that a pine box is used and that there are no metal or other materials used as part of the burial process. The shrouds themselves disintegrate in time. He said because there is no embalming, there are no chemicals that seep into the soil.
Cemetery Proposal
Attorney John Jackson III appeared before the Howell Zoning Board on July 8 on behalf of Third Avenue Associates. He explained to the board that cemeteries are not listed as a permitted use in any zones and require a use variance.
“What’s interesting in this case, as required by statute,” said Jackson. “An applicant must require the consent of the municipality by resolution.”
Jackson said that the local governing body had already considered the resolution and had no objections to its development as a licensed cemetery.
The site in question, identified as Block 219, Tax Lot 13, is located along the southeast side of Adelphia-Farmingdale Road, near the boundary with Farmingdale. The land is currently undeveloped and heavily wooded, featuring wetlands and buffers. The Marsh Bog Brook lies to the east of the property.
The proposal outlines plans for approximately 5,500 burial plots, accessed via a 30-foot entrance driveway leading to a 10-12 foot wide, one-way internal road. The cemetery would not include buildings, mausoleums, or other structures, focusing on a natural landscape with no artificial lighting and minimal infrastructure, reflecting a “green burial” approach.
Pine boxes would be lowered six feet into the earth and there would be no stacking of bodies. A separate section of the cemetery would be reserved for children who usually do not have a full-size graves.
Robert Sive, a professional engineer retained by the applicant provided some context to the site’s history. He said the site received approvals for a concrete contractor’s facility sometime in the 1980s. At that time, a driveway was partially constructed, and some drainage installed as part of that site plan, but it never got built past that point.
“In 2005 a five-lot residential subdivision was approved, but again, never got built,” said Sive. “And then a third approval was granted in 2009 for a house of worship, multipurpose building, which again was approved but never constructed. That house of worship was for 600 seats, approximately 32,000 square feet, and had about 220 parking stalls… but as it stands today, is basically undeveloped and wooded.”
The latter representation coincides with property ownership records which show that the United Fellowship Baptist Church in Asbury Park purchased the property on June 17, 2009 for $525,000 and continues to hold the deed to the property according to records maintained by Monmouth County.
Schwartz testified before the board as a member of Third Avenue Associates in support of its application. He said that he has lived in Lakewood for 48 years and maintained a law office in Howell for 35. As he’s started to get a little older, he’s noticed the need for a Jewish cemetery in the area.
“The population is growing, and we have an elderly population, and the plan is to ultimately donate the plot to a Title 16 religious corporation that would operate the cemetery,” said Schwartz. “It would be a Jewish cemetery.”
Ultimately, Schwartz would like to dedicate time to holding records and meetings for the cemetery. He considers it his way of giving back to the community.
Christine Nazzaro Cofone, a certified planner retained by the applicant, gave her professional opinion during the hearing. She found that the use variance is justified because it should be recognized as an inherently beneficial use and promoting the public welfare.
The NJ Department of Environmental Protection shows no documentation that the applicant has applied for permits. There is no guarantee that the DEP will grant approvals even if local authorities give the go-ahead for the cemetery.
Residents Opposed
A number of local residents voiced their opposition to the proposed new cemetery. Some raised concerns about potential impacts on water quality, traffic, and property values in the area. Others were displeased with the aesthetics of seeing a graveyard instead of the heavily wooded area.
Stephen Meier, who lives across the street from the proposed site, raised serious concerns about potential groundwater contamination. “I and my neighbors are all on wells,” Meier said. “Our big concern is due to the fact that there are no vaults in this type of burial.”
“The breakdown of the body produces certain chemicals,” asserted Meier. “We need some type of an assurance that we won’t start seeing contamination in our wells two years down the road.”
Meier said that in the past when cemeteries were in the proximity of residential areas, they were built near homes that had water and sewer, so it was never an issue. He sees the proposal as a serious health issue.
Other residents pointed out that water from the area washes into the Marsh Bog Brook and ultimately winds up in the Manasquan Reservoir. They expressed concerns that contaminants could pollute the drinking water. They also shared problems with flooding and its impact on the Farmingdale Gardens, an apartment complex in Farmingdale directly downhill and east of the proposed site.
Richard Buck, whose property is 93 feet adjacent to the proposed cemetery, said he had no objection to the proposed use but was concerned about the water contamination. He read into the record a 2015 article published by Journal of Water and Health that studied the impact of cemeteries on groundwater contamination by bacteria and viruses.
“If it was a regular cemetery where they were embalmed, put into a casket and a sealed vault, it’s not going to hurt anything really,” contended Buck. “Maybe you might not like the looks of it or whatever, but it’s not going to hurt anything.”
The study offered by Buck does not discuss the way bodies were buried in the cemetery but confirms the adverse impact of cemeteries on bacterial contamination of the groundwater. The same was true in some studies in Europe though the authors also did not exclude a possible impact of septic tanks which were in use in the vicinity of the cemetery.
Schwartz said he’d done some research himself and also consulted with the Jewish Federation of New Jersey regarding the contamination of water by the natural process. He said the issue has not come up in any of the 18 cemeteries run by the federation.
Contacted for comment, Schwartz said resources he found would be presented when the zoning board continues its hearing on August 26. His attorney did not return a request for comment.
“If there ever is a concern, it’s when they put chemicals in the body,” Schwartz added. “To the contrary, the body is washed and cleansed before it’s put into the wooden casket with the shrouds. It’s the most natural way. Animals die on the field; it’s always been like that.”
Krista Regan, a recent widow, said she fears what the impact of the cemetery itself will have on her high functioning autistic son. She said he is already traumatized by the loss of his stepfather.
“I don’t want to look at headstones,” Regan shared. “I am traumatized… My son should be able to sit in the living room without looking at headstones.”
Regan reiterated concerns about the water and said she is the one who is in the basement when levels reach in excess of two feet.
“My water right now is still coming through in this heat,” said Regan. “There’s still water coming through my wells through the house in the basement. To this day, I open the doors every day and I check it, and it’s still bubbling through the walls. These bodies are going to be down there. They’re going to be floating. I’m going to be stepping through that.”
The Howell Zoning Board will hear a continuation of the application on August 26, at 7 p.m.
