By Lexi McFarlane, Times Chronicle
Changes could be coming soon to the Town of Oliver’s cemetery bylaw covering cremains and dogs on the grounds, following recent discussion by Council.
At the November 17 Committee of the Whole (CoW) meeting, a draft Amendment Bylaw was brought forward by Town staff which would replace the existing bylaw with the featured amendments as well as updated language.
The draft has been discussed at Council meetings earlier in the year, initially centering on the rules surrounding dogs at the Oliver Cemetery. At the April 22 CoW meeting, the section on internment of cremains was discussed, and referred to staff for more information.
Under the amended bylaw, dogs would now be allowed into cemeteries, “as long as they are leashed and any excrement is immediately removed and disposed of in a sanitary manner”, matching what was proposed back in February.
Additionally, cremains would be permitted into standard-size plots of land in the cemetery if they are of a buried family member, and if a full burial has taken place. In the case of pre-reserved spaces, cremains could be interred before the full burial of a relative, but there would be a “premium fee” to disinter the cremains at a later date. There would also no longer be a fee to return the standard-size plot in favour of a cremation-size plot.
Cemetery bylaws and regulations in several other British Columbia municipalities were studied as references for the proposed bylaw amendments. The changes offered would bring Oliver more in line with other municipalities in the South Okanagan, it was added.
The case that spurred the changes surrounding cremains was brought up by Councillor Dave Mattes, to clarify the specific changes in the Amendment Bylaw and why they were being implemented.
“(A lady) was not able to inter her cremains next to her husband because of the old rule, that someone has to be in there first,” he explained. “They had no heirs to give the plot to, so that meant she would have been placed somewhere else in the cemetery, far away from her husband.”
Councillor Aimee Grice appreciated that the edit about returning previously-reserved plots of cemetery land without additional charges was included.
“I wouldn’t agree with it costing money to return a plot to the Town,” Grice said. “If that was in the bylaw somewhere, it should be revised.”
The portion of the bylaw on allowing dogs into the cemetery saw no further edits at the November 17 CoW meeting.
Following unanimous approval by the CoW, the draft Amendment Bylaw will now go forward to a future Regular Council Meeting.
