The San Marcos Planning Commission has unanimously approved a permit allowing Manuel Villanueva to reopen a pet crematorium at 120 N. Pacific Street, the same building where cleanup crews discovered nearly 4,000 pounds of decomposing animal remains after the site's previous operator lost his utilities and his environmental permit. Villanueva, who founded the crematorium in 2005 and sold the business to Christopher Settle in 2010, stayed on as landlord and was the one who ultimately had to clear the biohazard left behind when Settle's operation collapsed.
According to The Coast News Group, which first reported on the commission vote, Villanueva found the remains of more than 100 pets inside the building and said the biohazard was so severe that he refused volunteer help from former Angel Paws customers who wanted to assist. San Diego Gas & Electric had cut power to the business in 2025 over nonpayment, and Angel Paws Pet Cremation closed shortly after. Villanueva told the commission that once the remains were discovered, they could no longer be kept, and he returned some pets to their owners based on identification tags found with the bodies.
How the Crisis Unfolded Under the Previous Owner
The scale of the collapse became clear through a separate criminal case. The San Diego County District Attorney's Office charged Settle on December 11, 2025, with one felony count of grand theft after identifying 20 pet owners who paid more than $4,700 combined for cremation services that were never completed between July and September 2025, according to the San Diego County District Attorney's Office. Prosecutors said at least three pet owners received ashes falsely presented as their pets' cremains while the animals' intact bodies were actually still stored inside the facility.
The DA's office also disclosed that Settle's permit from the San Diego County Air Pollution Control District to operate an incinerator had expired in March 2024 and was formally retired in September 2024 — months before the power was ever shut off, leaving him without legal authority to cremate animals during that stretch. Under Settle, the business lost that air district permit and had its utility power disconnected for nonpayment in the summer of 2025, even as he kept accepting animals and payments, according to the same office. Between September 24 and December 1, 2025, 46 former Angel Paws customers submitted formal complaints to the San Marcos Sheriff's Station over missing remains or unfulfilled services, though not all of those complainants were listed as direct theft victims since some payments had gone through veterinary clinics rather than Settle directly.
City Stepped In With an Abatement Warrant
The City of San Marcos secured a municipal court abatement warrant on September 19, 2025, allowing code enforcement officers and contractors to legally enter the Pacific Street property to address the public health hazard caused by decomposing remains, per The Coast News Group's earlier reporting, with neighboring tenants in the business park having reported nauseating odors for weeks beforehand. After Settle's eviction, cleanup crews in November 2025 uncovered nearly 4,000 pounds of animal remains left inside the building, according to CBS 8. During the investigation and abatement period, Sorrento Valley Pet Cemetery stepped in to accept dozens of deceased pets from the site to ensure they received proper handling, the outlet's report noted.
Settle was arrested outside his Temecula home on December 2, 2025, and booked into the Vista Detention Facility. He pleaded not guilty to the felony grand theft charge. Regional veterinary clinics — including ABC Veterinary Hospital, Julian Pet Clinic, Pets Place Animal Hospital and Santa Fe Pet Clinic — had contracted with Angel Paws to collect deceased animals during the period the business was not functioning properly, the DA's office said, and those clinics faced significant client distress when the arrangement failed.
Regulatory Gaps in Pet Cremation Oversight
The scandal has also drawn attention to oversight of standalone pet crematories, with calls for statewide oversight following crematory scandals.
At the San Marcos hearing, commissioners weighed how the new permit would function going forward. Any pet crematorium operator must obtain a permit from the San Diego Air Pollution Control District before operating, and commissioner Kevin Norris asked whether a conditional use permit is tied to the business itself or to the land parcel; staff confirmed the permit runs with the parcel. Norris said he believed there were good safeguards in place, while commissioner Mike Barnett said who specifically runs a business is beyond the commission's scope to regulate.
Support From Vets and Law Enforcement
Local veterinarians and law enforcement canine officers voiced support for Villanueva's application, and the city received 18 letters backing his request. Multiple speakers addressed the commission, with some speaking in favor and others opposed to issuing the permit. San Marcos received no complaints during the five years Villanueva originally operated the business before selling it to Settle.
Commissioner Christopher Carroll asked whether a one-year compliance review was a standard condition; staff clarified it was a precautionary measure rather than a typical requirement, since conditional use permits are usually issued for 10 years with no compliance checkpoints built in. The approved permit for Villanueva includes a five-year administrative review, after which the operator can request another five-year extension, for a potential total term of 10 years. Pet cremation use is consistent with the business park zoning at 120 N. Pacific Street, and the commission voted unanimously to approve the permit.
Separate Item: Video Studio Permit Extension
In a separate matter at the same meeting, the commission also unanimously approved a conditional use permit extension for a sports training video studio located in the former recycling plant off San Elijo Road. That extension requires the studio operator to install a traffic signal at its driveway on 1601 San Elijo Road.
