In response to vocal opposition to a proposed crematory in Navy Yard City, a public hearing has been scheduled for 10 a.m., Thursday at the West Side Improvemen

In response to vocal opposition to a proposed crematory in Navy Yard City, a public hearing has been scheduled for 10 a.m., Thursday at the West Side Improvement Club, 4109 E Street.

From there the Kitsap County Hearing Examiner will survey the property at G and Charlotte streets and determine if the project will receive a land use permit. A decision would then be issued in a few weeks, said Rick McNicholas senior planner for the county.

Kass Funeral Homes of Bainbridge Island got the go ahead from McNicholas to renovate and open a crematory in Navy Yard City. A pre-application hearing was held in April and because the building seemed “made-to-order” for the crematory, a land use permit was not issued, McNicholas said.

“If there’s an existing building that usually helps a lot,” he said. A crematory is allowed under the land’s current zoning.

But the location is also in a residential neighborhood, within feet from homes and one block away from West Hills Elementary. Residents there are concerned about emissions, the emotional impact a crematory would have on their children and that they received no notification from the county about the planned business.

The Navy Yard City Neighbors have been joined by Mayor Cary Bozeman and the Bremerton School Board in their fight.

School board members were expected Thursday night to pass a resolution that would authorize Superintendent Bette Hyde to take legal action if needed.

In a Sept. 10 letter to Kent and Mary Kass, the funeral home owners, Bozeman requested they withdraw their application and locate their crematory on Bainbridge Island. He also sent the letter to county commissioners and the hearing examiner.

“I should think that a Bainbridge Island business of this type should locate on the Island. Your use is one that is associated with the Island’s population – Bremerton should not be the site for a need created by Bainbridge residents,” he wrote.

“We already have two such facilities to address our own community’s needs. Please, look for a more appropriate location on the Island. If one cannot be found, there are non-residential areas throughout the county that surely would accommodate your crematory as a good neighbor,” Bozeman continued.

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