Crematorium to be built at cemetery in E. Bruns.
BY VINCENT TODARO
Staff Writer

EAST BRUNSWICK — A 4,000-square-foot crematorium is expected to be built on the grounds of Holy Cross Burial Park, Cranbury Road.

The crematorium will be set back from the road on the 200-acre cemetery, which is owned by the Diocese of Metuchen. The burial park is mostly located in East Brunswick, though its entry point is on Cranbury Road in South Brunswick.

Planning Board Chairman Shawn Taylor said the application met all acceptability requirements and the crematorium is not expected to pose any hazards to the surrounding area.

“The board felt it was a reasonable request to keep competitive in this business,” Taylor said.

He noted that the crematorium is needed because of a change in practice.

“In my lifetime, Catholics were not allowed to be cremated,” he said. “That has changed, and there is a greater demand.”

Part of the applicant’s testimony centered on the need for the church to cater to requests for cremation.

Russell Demkovitz, director of the Diocese of Metuchen’s Office of Cemeteries, said there is a growing national demand for cremation.

“What prompted this is the rise in [the number of] cremations,” he said.

At present, 26 percent of deaths in New Jersey result in cremations, Demkovitz said, citing statistics from the Cremation Association of North Jersey. By 2010, that figure is expected to be 34 percent.

“And it’s only going to continue to rise,” he said.

In addition to Holy Cross Burial Park, the diocese operates Resurrection Cemetery in Piscataway, but neither has a crematorium.

The proposed brick building will have the appearance of a funeral parlor, and will include an area for services and an office. The actual cremations will take place in the rear section of the building.

Diocese representatives testified that the crematorium will have state-of-the-art technology, and the facility is not expected to create any odors.

Demkovitz said there will be “no pollution or smoke” or any other effects on the environment. He noted that a condition of the Planning Board approval requires the diocese to obtain air quality permits from the state Department of Environmental Protection before construction can begin.

Only a portion of Holy Cross Burial Park is currently used for graves and mausoleums, and much of the area remains vacant open space, leaving plenty of room for the crematorium. The building will be built at the rear of the property behind a wooded section.

“You’ll never be able to see it from Cranbury Road,” Demkovitz said.

Taylor noted that the area around the site is rural, and no residences will be affected.

No members of the public spoke on the crematorium at the Jan. 25 meeting, when the board formalized its approval of the application.