Crematorium decision headed to court

It appears that the dispute over a proposed crematorium in Bremerton’s Navy Yard City neighborhood is not over yet.

In a lawsuit filed in the Pierce County Superior Court on April 8, Kent and Mary Kass, owners of the Kass Funeral Home, are seeking to overturn the March 21 ruling by the Kitsap County Board of Commissioners that rescinded an earlier ruling by the county hearing examiner that would have allowed the Kasses to operate a crematorium at the corner of Charlotte Avenue and G Street.

In court documents the suit alleges that “the Board engaged in unlawful procedure and failed to follow a prescribed process and made a decision outside its authority and jurisdiction.”

The suit also takes issue with the Commissioners’ ruling that the building permit was revoked when the Kasses were notified that they would have to go through a site plan review before moving ahead with their project.

The suit maintains that the hearing examiner’s decision was correct and additionally requests that the court “grant such other and further relief as the Court deems just and equitable and requests that the Court award them their statutory attorneys’ fees and costs.”

Dennis Reynolds, the attorney representing the Kasses, said he expects the court to hear the case within six months.

In Pierce County, the hearing examiner is viewed as a public official, while commissioners are seen as lay people, Reynolds said.

“This is obviously a critical decision and it will be interesting to see what the court decides,” he said.

Since the Kasses still do not have a site plan approval, they are unable to utilize the property, Reynolds said.

“We’ve been authorized by the City

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