A national trend in dealing with death that has been slow to come to Kentucky is making inroads in Bowling Green.

Cone Funeral Home on Campbell Lane received approval Thursday from the Warren County Board of Adjustments for a conditional-use permit that will allow the funeral home to operate a crematorium on property behind the funeral home.

The CUP application said Cone plans to build a 960-square-foot building at 1517 Westpark Drive to house the cremation device manufactured by Florida-based U.S. Cremation Equipment.

Cone Funeral Home owner Kenneth Cone said the cremation part of his business will be under a separate corporation and will provide cremation services to other funeral homes throughout the region.

“We are constantly expanding and renovating, trying to better serve the community,” Cone said. “We will be hiring some people for the crematorium, so it will be an addition to the labor force.”

Despite opposition from one neighboring resident concerned about odor, the application sailed through in a 5-0 vote.

It’s a logical addition to the funeral home in today’s environment, said U.S. Cremation Equipment Marketing Director Brian Gamage, who spoke in support of Cone’s application during the meeting held via Zoom teleconference.

“Nationally, the majority of deaths are now handled through cremation,” Gamage said. “You need to provide cremation services to remain relevant.”

Driven by financial and environmental concerns, cremation has become increasingly popular.

In the early 1970s, about 5% of those who died in the U.S. were cremated, according to the National Funeral Directors Association. That percentage has since risen steadily, topping 50% in 2016 and continuing to grow.

Kentucky hasn’t kept pace with that trend, and its cremation percentage of 33.4 for 2018 was among the nation’s lowest.

That resistance to the cremation trend was evident at Thursday’s meeting. Phil Warren, speaking on behalf of the Auburndale Gary Limited Partnership that owns commercial properties on Westpark Drive and the nearby Gary Farms Boulevard, spoke against Cone’s application.

“There seem to be complaints about crematoriums across the country,” Warren said. “People have issues with the smell. We’re concerned about the ash from the smokestack. It’s our desire that cremations remain in industrial areas where you don’t have customers and businesses trying to attract customers.”

Gamage responded that, because of federal regulations that must be met, “all gas is burned off internally. There are emissions, but they’re well below the threshold set by the state. There is no fly ash.”

Responding to another concern raised by Warren, Cone said: “The building will have a large door, and our vehicles will drive inside. The bodies will be in a vehicle. Nothing will be viewable by anybody driving by.”

Cone said the crematorium will be the third human crematorium in Bowling Green, joining one on Kenton Street and another off Louisville Road.

He said the crematorium behind his funeral home should be completed by the end of the year.