Howard Schoor Plans Pet Memorial
 Howard Schoor, retired founding partner of Schoor Depalma, is not
resting on his laurels since retiring from the firm a number of
years ago. In fact, according to Howard, he is busy as ever
and is not going away.
That’s what the Florida resident, who is the founder of Schoor DePalma, one of
New Jersey's leading engineering
and consulting firms, told reporters at a press last May.
Schoor made the
comment in reference to a Millstone-based nonprofit organization’s
appeal of the township zoning board’s unanimous vote to grant a
variance that would allow the construction of a pet memorial park on
Showplace Farms.
“I already have $150 [thousand] to $200,000
invested in this project,” Schoor said. “If the township overrides
the board’s decision, I’ll seek remedy in the courts.”
The
fate of Showplace Pet Memorial Park depends on the Township
Committee upholding its zoning board’s decision and the project
receiving final site plan approvals, Schoor said.
The
committee will hold a hearing on the matter at 6 p.m. May 18 at the
Millstone Municipal Building, Millstone Road.
Showplace Farms Location
If everything goes well, Schoor said, he and his partners —
Larry Nicola, a regional cemetery/crematorium operator, and Bix
DiMeo, who oversees the daily operations at Showplace Farms — would
invest more than $1 million in developing a pet cemetery and
crematorium on 16.5 acres of the 140-acre farm.
“We would
start construction in the fall,” Schoor said.
Showplace Farms
is currently used to stable horses that compete in races at the
Meadowlands, Schoor said. The facility also opens its horse pool to
dogs from the local area that have medical complications, according
to DiMeo.
“I can see the headline now: ‘Showplace Farms goes
to the dogs,’ ” Schoor said.
Schoor made the comment
referring to the current situation with the Millstone residents who
created a nonprofit organization through a Web site,
www.noincinerator.com, to garner support and funding for appealing
the zoning board’s decision to grant the variance for the pet
cemetery.
The nonprofit’s attorney, Lewis Goldshore, said the
group’s legal objections to the zoning board proceedings include
failure to properly notify residents; improper rezoning of a parcel
of land; failure to show that the project would be inherently
beneficial; and failure to prove the site suitable for a pet
cemetery/crematorium and without substantial detriment to the public
good.
A press release from www.noincinerator.com states that
not only do residents object to the land use, but also to the
potential pollution and traffic such a facility could produce.
“We take care of over 400 horses here,” Schoor said. “Eighty
percent of them race and are worth more than half a million dollars.
We would never do anything to harm these horses. Why would we put
something on 14 acres that would be a detriment to the other 125
acres?”
With regard to the potential pollution the
incinerator could produce, DiMeo said people are wrongly comparing
the animal crematorium to a municipal waste incinerator.
“There won’t be anything but organic material going into the
crematorium,” DiMeo said. “These animals are 98 percent water and
about 2 percent carbon. There’s nothing toxic going into the
crematorium.”
Schoor produced a statement from Lester
Jargowsky, director of the Monmouth County Health Department and a
Millstone resident.
“The relative health risks are extremely
small,” Jargowsky said in the press release. “There is more
environmental harm in a residential fireplace than in an animal
crematorium.”
With regard to possible traffic the pet
cemetery could create, Schoor said, “We’ll be lucky if we have half
a dozen cars a day. We’re located on the state highway, so traffic
won’t impact the local community.”
With regard to the
aesthetics of the property, Schoor said that the entrance to the
facility will be tree-lined. There would be meandering paths
throughout the property, and sitting areas among the ash-scattering
gardens. All of the existing farm buildings, once used for horse
auctions, would be renovated and covered with stucco.
“This
will be the most upscale facility in the country, if not the world,”
Schoor said.
Schoor said the proposed animal crematorium
would have two 15-foot smokestacks that stick out of a 30-by-50-foot
building. One of the facility’s three ovens would be big enough for
horses.
When asked if the facility would accept road kill
from local areas, DiMeo said, “It’s not in our business plan, but if
Monmouth County officials called us up and asked us to do them a
favor, we wouldn’t say no.”
For those who would like to
ensure the proper handling of their animals, Schoor said, the
facility will allow pet owners to watch cremations. The facility
will also have a chapel for services, along with a 30,000-plot
cemetery, a mausoleum and indoor niches for cremated remains, Schoor
said.
“We’re really going to make this a destination point
for people who love their animals, a real tourist attraction,” DiMeo
said.
Schoor said the state of New Jersey currently has two
licensed and operating crematoriums. Showplace Pet Memorial Park
would join them in the National Association of Pet Cemeteries,
Schoor said. The facility would also be subject to federal, state
and local environmental regulations.
“We will have to get a
clean-air permit,” Schoor said. “We’re already in the process of
applying for one.”
With regard to comments made on
www.noincinerator.com stating that an animal crematorium would
reduce property values, Schoor said, “If anyone had a vested
interest, it would be me. I’m the largest tax payer in the
township.”
DiMeo said, “When anyone hears the word
incinerator, red flags go up. But, the people who are giving out
wrong information about this kind of incinerator are the ones to
blame.”
Schoor said, “We think there is a tremendous need for
this. It doesn’t seem anyone is objecting to the pet cemetery, just
the crematorium, but that’s an intrinsic part of this kind of
facility.”
When asked if he is considering more than just
profits with this project, Schoor said, “Sure, I’m a developer, but
there are other things in life that motivate projects other than
profits. This really isn’t a project for us, but our children and
our grandchildren.”
Schoor, a civil engineer, founded the
design and engineering firm Schoor DePalma Inc. in 1968. His firm
handles more than 5,500 projects a year in areas that include
transportation services, land development planning, public works
services, environmental services and building services. The firm
provides engineering and consulting services to more than 500
commercial and government clients in New Jersey, New York and
Pennsylvania, according to the firm’s Web site.
“If Howard
Schoor wants something done, it gets done,” DiMeo said. “The pet
industry is growing in leaps and bounds, and having a pet cemetery
in Millstone could put it on the map. We could be in the forefront
of a billion-dollar industry.”
Anyone interested in finding
out more about Showplace Farms or its proposed pet cemetery can call
Bix DiMeo at (732) 446-3100.
Pet Memorial Information
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