Eatery near cemetery opposed

The Craig Road Pet Cemetery has been open since 1979.

With its green grass and shade provided by mature trees, it still manages to provide a relatively tranquil resting place, despite having a busy road out front and commercial developments across the street.

A plan to put in a fast-food restaurant right next door, however, has people crying foul.

It would bring the noise and traffic too close, they say, as well as bring commercial development into an area zoned for residences.

"During a service, having a moment of silence, nobody wants to hear, 'Do you want a combo meal? Do you want a large drink?' " said Curt Weiman, who manages the cemetery. "Nobody wants that."

CT-1 LLC, which owns a one-acre parcel on the east side of the cemetery, has asked that the land be rezoned from residential to limited commercial to allow a 2,700-square-foot fast-food restaurant to be built.

It also wants the landscape buffer requirements waived for the south side of the property, fronting on Craig Road.

Company representatives could not be reached for comment Tuesday.

Las Vegas City Councilman Stavros Anthony represents that area. Through a city spokesman, he said he would wait to comment until the proposal has received more scrutiny. The proposal is scheduled to be before the Las Vegas Planning Commission on Oct. 22.

The cemetery's defenders have seen all they need to see.

"I don't think there is a need," said Marilyn Biggs, who was at the cemetery to drop off Becky, an "undersized greyhound" who lived to be 17 years old. It would be a distraction, she said, and she has a personal stake: She plans to be buried there with her pets.

There are about 6,000 pets buried at the four-acre cemetery, along with about 150 humans, Weiman said.

Sandra Lee Mara visited the cemetery Tuesday to tend to the graves of Smoke Dog, a departed pit bull, and Lil' Miss, a chocolate lab. She, too, thought a fast-food restaurant would impinge on the grounds.

"That's their little resting place. People come here to sit and think, and regroup," Mara said. "Pets are a part of your life. They're family."

The cemetery is actually part of unincorporated Clark County and is surrounded by property that has been annexed into the city of Las Vegas.

One of several such pockets in that area, it sits just to the west of Tenaya Way. The surrounding development is residential, except for a school to the northwest.

There is commercial development on the east side of Tenaya Way at Craig Road, occupying space between Tenaya and the highway.

And that's the way it should stay, Weiman said. If there is to be development on the parcel next to the cemetery, he suggested office space, perhaps for a veterinary practice.

"It's not like we're all over the place," Weiman said of the cemetery. "We have one here in Las Vegas. We want to keep it the way it is out here."

Contact reporter Alan Choate at achoate@reviewjournal.com or 702-229-6435.