'Living next door to death': Neighbors oppose proposed Randallstown crematory

RANDALLSTOWN, Md. — A group of Randallstown neighbors is voicing opposition to a planned funeral home crematory on Liberty Road, with a key deadline to comment on the proposal set for this week.

Wylie Funeral Homes is looking to build a crematory on its Randallstown property; according to public documents, it would be capable of six cremations per day.

While the Maryland Department of the Environment has not made a "final" determination, it has made a "tentative" one: to issue the permit to construct the crematory, saying the proposal would comply with all applicable federal and state requirements.

Steve Smith, who has lived in Randallstown for 60 years, called WMAR-2 News with concerns about the plans.

Watch: Randallstown neighbors oppose proposed crematory

"The air quality is gonna change," he told WMAR-2 News. "I mean, Randallstown's trying to rebuild and look nice again, and I don't think this is one of the things that people of Randallstown would really appreciate in the middle of town, next to the elementary school, the church."

Some neighbors remain unconvinced that this is the right spot for the crematory, with Liberty Road as dense as it is with shops, homes and schools.

"It's fine for Wylie to have a crematory, but to put it in a place that's safe and away- there are appropriate places for him to put that crematory," Cynthia Laney said.

The funeral home did not return a request for comment on Monday. But at a public meeting on the project last November, CEO Brandon Wylie said cremation was in growing demand.

"Cremation is becoming more of an option, so in order to better serve the families that we serve on a daily basis, we're just trying to have a crematory that way we can control all of those items inside of our facilities as opposed to outsourcing them to other crematories," Wylie said in November 2025.

RELATED: Randallstown neighbors oppose proposed crematory

This Tuesday, October 20, is the last day neighbors can submit a comment to MDE. A spokesperson told me there's no particular timeframe for when it will make a final call, and they'd carefully consider the comments when making it.

Smith and Laney tell me not many neighbors knew about this; now they're trying to tell as many as possible, hopeful it's not a done deal just yet.

"In essence, we will be living next door to death, and this is not what the community wants," Laney said.

Anyone interested in commenting can submit their thoughts to shannon.heafey@maryland.gov.