“The facility is the first of its kind in Trotwood and is actually an adaptive reuse of the former Enterprise building,” Daugherty said.
In April, the Trotwood Planning Commission approved a conditional use approval request to establish a crematory or mortuary facility within an existing commercial building located within the Regional Business Salem Avenue Redevelopment Area Zoning District.
Pryor did not return phone calls placed by the Dayton Daily News.
Daugherty said Pryor has the option to purchase the Shiloh Springs Road property, which is currently owned by Fifth Third Bank, according to Montgomery County Auditor’s records.
“In 2012, the applicant pursued another site at 5134 Salem Ave. The Enterprise location, however, proved to be more suitable given its distant proximity to residential,” Daugherty said.
Last year, Pryor had proposed building a crematorium in the vacant building at 5134 Salem Ave., but the planning commission denied the request, citing that state law prohibited the city from rezoning property on Salem Avenue to allow a crematorium.
No crematorium can be built within 200 yards of a dwelling unless the owner of the dwelling consents, according to Ohio Law written in 1953. This law does not apply to crematoriums built as of April 3, 1900.
The vacant Salem Avenue building was within 300 feet of two senior buildings — Four Seasons of Dayton Nursing and Rehabilitation Center and Covenant Manor.
In May of last year, Larry Skolnick, executive vice president of the Jewish Federation of Greater Dayton, which owned but did not operate the two senior citizen buildings, told the Dayton Daily News that having a crematorium so close to those near the end of their lives would be an emotional drain on those individuals.
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