Tyrone’s vision for a new downtown does not include a funeral home.

That was the message sent last week when the Town Council unanimously rejected a request by Samuel Stein to convert the old Mundy’s Pharmacy into a funeral home.

Stein wanted to downgrade the zoning from C-2, General Commercial to Limited Use Commercial to build a funeral home featuring Old South architecture.

Stein said the building would look far better after he restored it and added architectural touches to make it fit with Tyrone’s master downtown plan.

But the council sharply disagreed.

“This doesn’t fit my vision for Tyrone,” said Councilman Paul Letourneau.

Councilman Mike Smola agreed and said that funeral homes cause slow-moving traffic, which could cause some headaches on Senoia Road.

Former Planning Commissioner David Nebergall said he didn’t want a funeral home on the town’s main street, but suggested maybe the town could swap properties with Stein.

“This building has a history as a church, so that might work,” he said.

The Town Council agreed, but Stein has the last word. At the end of the meeting, Stein warned officials that it costs a lot of money to get proposals before the Town Council, and that it should try to encourage “young entrepreneurs” to locate in the town.

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