A request by a business owner to relocate his animal crematorium was narrowly approved Tuesday by the Athens Planning Commission.

Chairman Gina Garth cast the tie-breaking vote after three members voted for and three voted against Billy Sickler’s request to move Paws Memorial Services from 1507 Quinn Road to 1500 U.S. 72. The location was formerly Tennessee Valley Wholesalers building, a former plumbing and electrical supply.

Commissioner Rick Johnson abstained because he was not at the Feb. 21 meeting, so he had not heard Sickler’s proposal nor residents’ concerns.

Sickler would continue to incinerate dead family pets as well as euthanized cats and dogs sent to Paws by animal shelters and veterinarians. If approved, Sickler would add an additional incinerator at the location, bringing the total number of incinerators to five.

Most of the commissioners had visited Sicker’s current operation and remarked about what a clean, well-run facility he operated. City Planner Mac Martin said he could not detect a perceptible odor nor any visible particulate matter being expelled from vents.

Those who voted against the request did so for different reasons. Commissioner Rod Huffman said he had revisited similar proposals where there was a perceived adverse affect on a neighborhood. Some of the residents in attendance quietly voiced agreement with Huffman. They were not given a chance to speak publicly because Sickler’s request fell under the category of old business.

“It seems very much like one application from 2008 in which we had a neighborhood that was very much against an application being approved. We had a member at the time who … was very eloquent on the subject,” Huffman said, while not naming the previous member. “He said, ‘I sincerely believe there are limits to cohabitation between traditional residential areas and commercial development.’ For that reason, I intend to vote against the application.”

Commissioner Robert Malone said he lives near where Sickler wants to put the business and had been satisfied with findings presented by Martin and by the Alabama Department of Environmental Management. He said, however, he had heard numerous complaints from neighbors and church members.

“I have to let it be known my vote will be no,” he said.

Another “no” vote was cast over the number of conditional uses put on the request, which was 10. Commissioner Vernard Hendrix said he couldn’t remember ever approving a project with that many conditions. He told the board he would be more comfortable if some of the issues addressed in the conditions already existed in the city’s zoning ordinance instead of the commission “putting stipulations” on Sickler.

The commission made a slight change to one of the conditions on Sickler’s request. Previously, the third condition said the following:

“Additional approval by the Planning Commission will be required for an expansion beyond eight incinerators (double the number of units observed in the field) to ensure what impact the facility does have on surrounding properties is not magnified to the point of being noxious.”

During a premeeting work session, the commission voted to change the number of incinerators from eight to six. Commissioner and Mayor Ronnie Marks also requested that a copy of a letter from ADEM addressing air quality standards be included with the commission’s 10 conditions.

Planning commissioners who voted yes were Jarold Blaxton, City Councilman Harold Wales and Mayor Ronnie Marks. Wales said he had wrestled with his decision a good bit, but added the only reason why some would be against the project is because of the location.

“People would rather not have this in their neighborhood, but this building meets the criteria for what he’s doing,” he said. “There are some people who don’t want a church next to them.”