NEWAYGO COUNTY, Michigan — A West Michigan couple is one step closer to opening their green cemetery in Newaygo County.
After years of work, the Quakenbushes decided to open their cemetery in Brooks Township, believing it would preserve the land in its natural state and serve as an alternative and cost-effective burial option.
Bodies buried in an ecological natural cemetery are not embalmed, but buried in non-metallic, biodegradable coffins.
However, the community decided that they did not want a green cemetery because they feared possible contamination of the water wells surrounding the site where the Quakenbushes Cemetery was to be built.
“Our concern has always been the potential for contamination or lack of data on the water wells in the immediate area and the Newaygo town well, which provides almost all of the town’s water,” Brooks Township Manager Cory Nelson told News Channel 3. “That well is less than 350 feet from the property. None of those issues have been addressed to date.”
One of the community’s biggest concerns, Nelson said, is that compared to “past times,” those buried in cemeteries today are subject to chemotherapy, radiation, blood pressure medications, metal joints or have other characteristics that would pose a threat to the Muskegon River basin and surrounding ponds with flowing streams.
“There has been no study of what could happen to the watershed in this area if it were allowed. Not by DHD #10 or by any private company,” Nelson said. “The regulations for cemeteries came from the state for exactly these reasons. And they have evolved into what they are today for good reason.”
According to officials, Brooks Township will ultimately pass an ordinance banning “green cemeteries, conservation cemeteries, burial forests or woodland cemeteries.”
However, the law was so far-reaching that it banned not only the Quakenbushes project, but all new cemeteries.
This led to the Quakenbushes and their attorney, Katrin Marquez, suing Brooks Township on the grounds that the township’s ban violated the Michigan Constitution.
“The municipality cannot simply ban a necessity of life like a cemetery,” Marquez said in a statement. “People will not stop dying just because the municipality does not want them buried there. Peter and Annica have a constitutional right to use their property to conduct a safe, productive and necessary business.”
On Thursday, the Newaygo County District Court denied Brooks Township’s motion for summary judgment to dismiss the lawsuit filed by the Quakenbushes.
It was also ruled that the municipality’s ban on building new cemeteries was unconstitutional, which, according to officials, “represented a victory in the matter for Peter and Annica.”
“We are thrilled and feel vindicated by this ruling,” the couple said. “We are pleased that the judge understood that Brooks Township’s ordinance violates our right to use our property and operate our cemetery.”
“This victory recognizes Peter and Annica’s constitutional right to start a business. The municipality cannot simply ban a necessity of life like a cemetery,” Marquez added. “People will not stop dying just because the municipality doesn’t want them to be buried there.”
The Newaygo County District Court’s next step is to issue a written order formalizing the judgment.
Brooks Township, on the other hand, plans to appeal the ruling and “continue to fight to protect the safety of our citizens.”
“We will take thought and care in protecting our citizens’ right to clean water,” Nelson said. “Everything we do legislatively is to protect the rural integrity of the master plan for the citizens of Brooks Township. Make no mistake, we will fight for what we believe is right as elected officials. It is our duty and is taken very seriously when neighbors ask us for help.”
