A landmark deli, community college, credit union, coffee shops and a pet crematorium.

Area residents and shop owners scream something in that mix doesn't fit. Concerned about smell, hair and profits going up in smoke, they argue it's obvious.

Yet the new owners of an historic cottage just south of downtown want Salt Lake City to rezone their quiet alley for a pet cremation service at the 115-year-old home. If the Planning Commission agrees, crematoriums for pets and people could crank their ovens for the first time in commercial patches across the city.

Joni Sorensen, the 25-year owner of neighboring Joni's Deli, is clawing back. She started a petition against Major Street Pet Services that is now signed by 76 business owners and residents. With apologies to the Ramones, Sorensen doesn't want her business "buried" by a pet cemetery.

"It's really a sad situation," she said as a lunch rush swooped in for the deli's signature Dagwoods and Philly Cheese Steak. "If it was a veterinarian, a beauty salon, anything but, I wouldn't care. But an incinerator smelling of pet ...It makes people sick to even think that it's here."

Christine Smith, who works at an ad agency across the street from the house, is equally disturbed. "It's not appropriate, especially for the area," she said of the 1700 South commercial strip sandwiched between State and Main streets. "It's just really bizarre."

But the proprietors, who bought the craftsman cottage at 1727 S. Major Street earlier this year, have done their homework. Anticipating the backlash, they mailed neighbors a pre-emptive packet in June complete with cremation facts, an analysis of emission levels, and a spec sheet extolling the "remains removal system."

Property owner Earl Tate and his son, Jake Tate, told the commission Wednesday their crematory is odorless and less intrusive than most restaurants, emitting only water vapor and carbon dioxide.

"The main issue is perception," Jake Tate said in an interview before the meeting. "When most people hear the word crematorium they think of a smoke stack spewing ash. That's just not the case with modern technology. Most people walking down the street would never know it's taking place."

Surrounded by a grove of towering trees, flowers, period lamps and a decorative iron fence, the cottage also features a covered back porch the owners picture as a final memorial space. For $100 to $200, pet owners could bring their deceased cat or dog to what would be a pet funeral home, with the crematory in the back. It would include a mourning room for family and sale displays of urns and pet figurines.

"We're hoping this would be a service people would appreciate as an alternative to the landfill," Tate adds. "A more respectful alternative."

City planner Ray Milliner notes the request is "definitely different." And it has prompted City Hall to review its rules for all crematories. With few exceptions, current mortuaries cannot operate a crematory in the capital, which executives from downtown's Russon Brothers hope to change.

A Russon spokesman said that in Salt Lake City, 30 percent of people who die are cremated and that the number is rising due to cremation's lower cost and the recession. Commissioners also noted the alternative to burial is becoming more popular because it is "green."

"Human beings and animals are dying for these services," commissioner Tim Chambless joked.

The pet-business petition would change the city definition of a "funeral home" and allow crematories in the commercial corridor zone citywide. So why didn't the funeral operators push for the rule change? "The pet services guys beat them to the punch," Milliner says.

In coming weeks, the commission must vote on both issues: Whether to update the city's zoning to allow crematories at funeral homes, and whether to allow the pet crematorium. Members signaled they are open to both, which drew a response from Sorensen, the deli owner.

"I've called the health department," she warns.

djensen@sltrib.com