Last fall I wrote a blog entry about our new venture at our Fruitport, MI location called Sunset Celebrations. I told you that we were converting our existing funeral home into a facility that was capable of hosting different kinds of family oriented events like Graduation Open Houses, Birthday Parties, Retirement celebrations, baby showers and other similar events in addition to the Funerals and Memorial Services and Celebrations of Life. I used the words Event Center to describe the facility, because that’s what’s it’s purpose was now. A place to hold family events.
wedding reception
Since we re-opened in September we have hosted a wedding reception, a Retirement Party, a Company Christmas party, an Anniversary party, two Memorial Services, two Funerals, several business meetings and a Vendor party where local Tupperware/Avon/Amway type folks displayed their products. They were all very successful events and everyone was very happy with the facility and we were receiving new calls every week to reserve the facility for events in the spring and summer.
Then in January we got a letter from the Village of Fruitport Building Inspector telling us to cease and desist from hosting events other than “funerals” because we were zoned as a funeral home and not as a Banquet Hall. The only major difference between the two zoning rules was that a Banquet Hall required 2 acres of land and a funeral home only requires one acre. Plus there is nothing in the funeral home zoning rule that prohibited us from hosting other family events. But in an effort to be good neighbors we stopped taking further reservations and started efforts to resolve this issue with the Village Council so we could continue to serve the demands of the public.
Now we have run into some major challenges with definitions and words.
What is the definition of a Funeral? What is the definition of a Memorial Service? What is a Celebration of Life. What is a Home Going Celebration? What is a Farewell Party? The fact is each one of the events I just listed are family gatherings recognizing a marker moment in someone’s life. Each one of those events is a gathering of people in a building where there are tables and chairs for people to sit around. Food and beverages are typically served. There are photographs displayed and videos shown on TV’s. There is often a microphone so everyone can hear the stories that people want to share with each other and there is music for all to hear. There is a parking lot for cars and restroom facilities for our human needs. Those are the basic elements and activities of every one of those events.
Now, let’s think about retirement parties and graduation open houses and anniversary parties and baby showers and wedding receptions. The fact is each one of the events I just listed are family gatherings recognizing a marker moment in someone’s life. Each one of those events is a gathering of people in a building where there are tables and chairs for people to sit around. Food and beverages are typically served. There are photographs displayed and videos shown on TV’s. There is often a microphone so everyone can hear the stories that people want to share with each other and there is music for all to hear. There is a parking lot for cars and restroom facilities for our human needs. Those are the basic elements and activities of every one of those events.
I hope you noticed that the italicized words describing all of those events are exactly the same. The exact same thing happens at each and every one of those events.
I ask this rhetorical question. So…Is my newly remodeled facility a Funeral Home that also hosts Family Events or is it an Event Center that specializes in Funerals and Celebrations of Life? And does it really matter?
The fact is that the business of funerals has changed dramatically over the last 10 years. Today 70% of the 450 families that we serve annually choose cremation. So where funerals were usually associated with a dead body being displayed in a casket, now that happens less than 30% of the time. The vast majority of the events we help plan and coordinate are not much different than a graduation open house. (Except that we a capable of planning and producing our events in just 3 days where most mothers take months to plan their senior’s open house)
I feel that if the Council of the Village of Fruitport wants to continue to have a local funeral facility to serve their community they need to seriously consider changing their rules to adapt to the future realities of funeral service. Nearly every Funeral establishment in our area now offers some type of reception services. It’s what the public wants. It only makes sense to allow us to host other family events too.
I’d love to hear what the rest of you out there think of this issue.
I’m Dale Clock. Thanks for Listening.
Dale-Time 
As Roseanne Rosanadana used to say, “It’s always something”. It is experiences like this that helped me decide to sell my businesses back in 2011. I remember getting a letter from the city, advising me that the light tubes in my funeral home sign were a few lumens too bright according to the downtown zoning and that I had 30 days to replace them. I wish you well with your saga, but it looks as if the banquet hall people of the village are making some campaign donations…..
Hi Ray, the thing is there are no banquet halls in the village anymore. The place across the street that could handle 300 folks closed a few years ago. I was hoping to fill that void just a little. My place can only hold 94 people. It’s not meant for big functions. But I think some folks hear “banquet hall” and all they can envision is some place with long rows of tables and chairs, a couple kegs of beer behind the bar and a DJ blasting RAP music till 1:00am. Oh Yeah…And a bingo machine covered with a tarp in the corner.
Hi Dale,
Rules can and will be experienced as arbitrary when circumstances change, and then comes the arduous process of either changing the rules or adapting to the rules.
We live in a society of rules and laws and for the purposes of maintaining a stable society, rule making and rule changing is purposefully complex and time consuming. If it was too easy, then every other week a business could find itself either in or out of compliance—not good.
Ultimately for you, the challenge becomes the usual business-person’s dilemma of risk/reward. Is it worth the effort to either get the acreage requirement diminished (which could encourage more competition for all general purpose facilities in the area, which could diminish then everyone’s profitability), or is it worth the expense of adding an acre or moving to a new site that has the extra acre, or do you stand pat and try to make the best of a more limited number of purely “memorial” events which zoning allows.
I suppose you also have the Ernie Heffner option of bringing a law suit. But $2,000,000 later, Ernie now knows that lawsuits can be very expensive and completely non-productive.
Good luck with your decision making. There’s no question that being in business can be very challenging.
BT
William “BT” Hathaway http://www.hathawayfunerals.com 508-889-6124
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BT, there are several routes to go on this one. But I’m leaning more towards changing the rules to allow funeral establishments to also host other family type events. That way I still am governed by all the rules that apply to funeral homes plus any rules for other events. It will be interesting to see how the discussions go.
What a shame that the City Fathers are not more understanding of your intended result. You have always had the right idea of gathering families and sharing stories, regardless of the situation. I always try the most simple solutions first (before I get belligerent!). Any chance of sweet talking the Zoning Committee of the City Council into changing the rule for Banquet Halls to one acre?
I usually work backward to see who actually is the obstacle and then try to shower them with kindness….. my two cents worth….
Keep up the good work, buddy- as always, you are on the right track….
See you soon…..
Thanks Joe,
Already tried that. I requested a variance from the Zoning Board of Appeals and they denied my request. I’m not giving up yet. I just have to try a different avenue.
Gee, you don’t suppose it has anything to do with the fact that you are across the street from Braun’s Auditorium and giving them competition? I think it’s very petty of them. In the words of the song, “Fight for your right to party”. lol Good luck!!
Actually Marcia, Braun’s Auditorium closed several years ago and is now a storage facility. That’s part of the reason we want to do this because there is a need for it in Fruitport. An interesting side note though is Mr. Braun showed up at the zoning meeting we had for this and was the only public member that voiced his disapproval.
I think as times changes, so should the rules. Your facility is a great place for family events of all kinds and provides such a service the the surrounding community and communities beyond. It’s such a shame when we, as a community, can sometimes stand in our own way. In the way of progress and things that bring commerce and jobs to our communities. I hope that they will see their way through letting this location served the much needed purpose of the community.