More than 200 residents crowded the Tiverton Middle School auditorium Tuesday evening for a planning board public hearing on a controversial proposal to build a crematorium in the north end of town.

But those who expected a resolution walked away visibly frustrated as the board, after lengthy deliberations, voted to continue the public hearing to May 2, at which time a final vote on the application by Fall River funeral home director Jonathon Ferreira is expected. Board members said the extension would allow time for further review and the anticipated receipt of necessary DEM permits.

Tiverton resident Ryan LePage, the organizer of a group fighting plans by Ferreira and his company, Sakonnet Partners LLC, to build the 2,960 square foot crematorium, said afterwards that he felt “incredibly discouraged” by what transpired at the meeting.

The planning board, he said, “could easily do the right thing but is more concerned with potential lawsuits than the safety of the people they supposedly represent.”

LePage’s 500-member group, Tiverton Citizens Against the Crematorium (TRAC), has raised more than $10,000 to cover legal fees and other expenses in connection with its mission to block the crematorium.

Speakers Tuesday described their fears of the project’s effects on public health and the environment, the negative impact on home values they believe will result, the plan's incompatibility with the town’s Comprehensive Plan, and Ferreira’s failure to clearly address questions relating to traffic, parking, septic capacity and hours of operation.

Hambly Road resident Rick St. Pierre expressed the sentiments of many critics as he pleaded with the board to deny the application.

“How can this business from out of state, that’s never paid a nickel in this town in taxes, come in here and ruin my life ... my family’s life ... and everybody else who lives close to it? How can that happen?”

His comments were met with applause and cheers of approval from the audience.

Development Plan Review versus Major Land Development

Attorney Steven Sypole, counsel for TRAC, said the board’s consideration of the application under development plan review guidelines is not appropriate, as those guidelines make it essentially a “rubber stamp process.” Major land development criteria should be used instead, he said, as that process would require far more scrutiny of the project, including a review of its negative environmental impacts.

“Under development plan review, you are not really considering the biggest concern that all the people in this room have, which is the emissions that will be coming out of this building and the way it will affect their health.” 

Sypole said that in 2021, the applicant submitted a major land development application, as recommended by the former town planner. But at the request of planning board chairman Stu Hardy, that application was subsequently withdrawn and was replaced with a development plan review application. The action, Sypole said, was made without the full board’s participation.

Sypole said the board should now require the applicant to withdraw its current application and resubmit it under the major land development process.

Hardy confirmed Sypole’s version of events and said his rationale at the time was that development plan review was warranted because of its emphasis on design standards.

“I thought we could get a higher standard of architectural quality and landscaping and lighting if we went development plan review ... Obviously I was wrong, but I was thinking of protecting the neighborhood from the kind of ugly development that we all know has happened in recent years in that neighborhood.”

Hardy said Sypole’s recommendation that the planning board ask the applicant to withdraw its current application and submit a new one would look “frivolous, capricious, and prejudicial” and would put the town at risk in any future lawsuit. 

When Hardy and other board members insisted that public safety, health and welfare would enter into the board’s deliberations, Sypole pushed back, saying the development plan review process is simply too narrow in scope for this project.

“I don’t see a single thing [in the guidelines] that talks about protecting the health of the people who live near the facility, or the environment, or the emissions that are coming out of the building ... It’s things like ‘Where are you going to plant your trees?’ Nobody cares. This is about people that are worried they are being poisoned.”

Attorney Jay Lynch, who represents Ferreira, said major land development review is not appropriate for the project, and the application is considered complete.

“What it comes down to is this is a legally permitted use under the Tiverton zoning ordinance. My client has every right to pursue that use on this site, subject to state approvals. DEM is going to have to issue an air quality permit. If they don’t, there won’t be any crematorium on this site. If they do, I don’t think there is anything this board can do to stop that use from continuing on this site.”