Weymouth funeral home brouhaha headed back to court. Here's why

WEYMOUTH − For the second time, a proposal to expand a Main Street funeral home has failed to win the approval of the board of zoning appeals.

While the board's vote at Wednesday night's meeting was 3-2 in favor of granting a special permit for the expansion of the McDonald Keohane Funeral Home, four votes were needed for approval.

It was the same as the vote in November, which led the funeral home to appeal the decision to the state Land Court. The court held mediation hearings between the funeral home and the town, and a proposed agreement was presented to the zoning board for approval.

Jonathan Moriarty, who chaired board during the discussion, said the case is still pending before the court.

The funeral home, which has been at 809 Main St. for more than six decades, was seeking approval for a 5,500-square-foot addition, which would 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.

Neighbors still oppose funeral home expansion plans

The proposal has drawn opposition from neighbors, who formed the Columbian Cypress Coalition and said the expanded funeral home would be a further intrusion on the neighborhood.

Moriarty said the conditions placed on the project through the mediation settlement resulted in a "better" proposal and one more favorable to the neighbors, with none of the building in the residential area.

Board alternate Jonathan Lynch noted the larger building would keep mourners inside.

"They won't hang out in the parking lot," Lynch said. "You get less noise by having this."

Board member Carsten Snow-Eikelberg said the changes created by the expansion would be "more detrimental to the surrounding neighborhood."

She and board member Nicole Chin voted against granting the special permit.

Town Solicitor Richard McLeod said at the board's Aug. 9 meeting that if the board rejects the mediation agreement, the case will go back to Land Court for a trial that will be decided by a judge. And if the decision is in favor of the funeral home, if would be for the original proposal without the mitigation measures.

Reach Fred Hanson at fhanson@patriotledger.com.

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This article originally appeared on The Patriot Ledger: Weymouth funeral home expansion bid falls one vote short a second time