A controversial green cemetery in middle Georgia now has the stamp of approval from local officials.
The Macon-Bibb County Zoning and Planning Commission voted 3-2 Monday to approve the natural burial project.
The cemetery has drawn some opposition from residents living nearby the proposed site. They worry body decomposition from simple burials--those without caskets or embalming--would contaminate ground water.
One neighborhood group says it has over 800 signatures on a petition against the project, and has threatened to sue the county. Jim Wood, president of the firm Summerland Group Incorporated which is developing the cemetery, doesn’t think the suit would get far.
"If that’s what they want to do, but I really don’t think they have a case. It’s their money, if that’s what they want to do...I really think it’s going to be a waste of time".
Wood says he expects the cemetery project to be completed and open in six months to a year, following certification from the state.
The Macon-Bibb County Zoning and Planning Commission voted 3-2 Monday to approve the natural burial project.
The cemetery has drawn some opposition from residents living nearby the proposed site. They worry body decomposition from simple burials--those without caskets or embalming--would contaminate ground water.
One neighborhood group says it has over 800 signatures on a petition against the project, and has threatened to sue the county. Jim Wood, president of the firm Summerland Group Incorporated which is developing the cemetery, doesn’t think the suit would get far.
"If that’s what they want to do, but I really don’t think they have a case. It’s their money, if that’s what they want to do...I really think it’s going to be a waste of time".
Wood says he expects the cemetery project to be completed and open in six months to a year, following certification from the state.
