Posted on 08/01/2014 4:50:42 AM PDT by BenLurkin
LOMITA (CBSLA.com) Residents of the Vista Verde condos in Lomita are seething about a nearby memorial parks rooftop mausoleum.
The rooftop services, say the residents, are deadly on their property values, views and downright depressing.
Were sitting there eating brunch on the weekends, and we have people right outside our window crying their eyes out, one condo owner told the Daily Breeze.
Residents told KCAL9s Rachel Kim theyre dying for the funerals to move.
I had an ocean view, which I dont have anymore, and I used to see the lights, condo resident Lane Mayhew told Kim.
For 26 years, Mayhew says shes enjoyed the view from her balcony at Vista Verde. But she told Kim that all changed when Green Hills Memorial Park began holding funerals on the rooftop of their new mausoleum about 50 feet from her balcony.
Ive seen many funerals. Theyve brought the caskets up this way so everything comes up and down the ramp. Its sad, its upsetting, its frustrating, its my home, she says.
Green Hills President and CEO Ray Frew told Kim they began the rooftop internments at the end of August after plans were approved by the city. Frew says theyre trying to be good neighbors but says some residents at Vista Verde have been acting childish and churlish.
People coming on to their balconies and have done things like banging pots and pans, apparently setting off intentionally their car alarms during services, which I find difficult to comprehend, said Frew.
Residents Kim talked to denied Frews claims.
Meanwhile, Green Hills says they will be sending the Vista Verde Homeowners Association a cease-and-desist letter asking them to stop disrupting the funerals.
Both sides have lawyered up and will have a chance to voice their concerns before the next Rancho Palos Verdes Planning Commission meeting on Aug. 12.
Our goal here is try to see if theres some way to work out a resolution that would satisfy them and allow us to continue serving the families that come to us, Frew said.
No matter what they really do, theyll never be able to give me my home back, says Mayhew.
I understand the frustration, but I would not want to be the guy quoted in a newspaper saying that someone's funeral and the family's crying is ruining my day or my view.
I probably shouldn’t think this is funny, but I do.
When one lives next to a cemetery and a funeral home what do you expect?
I had a former manager who, when she learned that my dad was dying of cancer and I would be visiting him daily after work, asked "how long is this going to take"?
She also shrugged and said "it happens to everyone".
Nice bit of compassion there...
Angelenos are some of the most callous people you will ever meet.
It’s probably about time to wind down the whole death/funeral thing anyway. Cremation, a nice memorial service a few weeks after the passing. Open up a lot of space.
So, they're imprisoning them there? A body is interred, a person is interned.
Good catch!
I like those jazz funerals like at the beginning of Live And Let Die.
Yes, sans the knifing (was it a knifing, been a while).
Didn’t the condo owners know that they would be living next to a cemetery when they bought their units and that they would be seeing the routine business going on there? However the city dropped the ball when they approved the roof top services without seeking input from the HOA next door.
Rooftop interments mausoleums? Are they burying bodies on top of the roof? Are they simply holding services on the roof? I’m confused. I’d be pissed if the cemetery across the street was putting bodies to rest elevated above ground.
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