Cemetery Master Plan & Bylaw Update

September 5, 2020 - The consultation period for this project has concluded. City staff will be compiling the results and presenting to Council later this fall.

The City of Kamloops is looking to update its Cemetery Master Plan. Since the last plan was adopted in 2013, Hillside Cemetery has moved closer to reaching its capacity, demographics have changed, and new trends in the cemetery industry have emerged.

The City has hired Urban Systems Ltd. to assist in the development of the Cemetery Master Plan. The scope of work includes analysing the site in detail, comprehensively reviewing all of the background material, forecasting the Kamloops market and its future needs, incorporating current trends and best practices, and formulating a high-level concept plan.

The cemetery needs identified in the report were combined with the site inventory to formulate a high-level concept plan that can be used to estimate future capacity. Highlights of the plan include future road and path layouts, identification of areas suitable for full burials, cremation plots, double-sided columbarium, a green burial area, a scattering garden, mausoleum expansion, viewpoints, a stormwater pond, and landscaping. The concept plan has sufficient inventory for approximately another 30 years.

Concurrently, the City is updating the Cemetery Bylaw. The proposed amendments to the bylaw include:

• Restricting transfer of a right of interment to immediate family members only.
• Developing a more comprehensive list of required information for an interment/inurnment application.
• A 25% surcharge for digging winter graves from November 1 to March 1. This fee does not apply to pre-purchased plots.
• Expanding the conditions for dispersing cremated remains.
• Increasing the minimum and maximum fines for bylaw offences.

The proposed amendments to service fees include:

• Prior to this review, the Cemetery Bylaw’s service fees have not been amended since 2015. On average, Kamloops has 25% lower rates for interment and inurnment service fees (i.e. full burials, cremations, columbarium, and mausoleum) when compared with similarly sized municipalities. As a result, Administration is proposing a 25% increase for these services starting in 2021 and a 2.5% annual increase until 2030. Administration is also proposing a 5% increase starting in 2021 and a 2.5% annual increase until 2030 for all other services. The proposed rate increases do not apply to the services highlighted in yellow in the figure below.
• The draft Cemetery Master Plan recommends using price incentives to encourage greater uptake of double-depth plots vs. single-depth plots to conserve land. Therefore, it is recommended that all double-depth grave pricing be subject to a 5% (not 25%) increase in 2021 and then 2.5% annually until 2030.
• Increased cost to dig winter graves not pre-purchased prior to November 1 of the corresponding year.

The City is looking for feedback on the Draft Master Plan - residents are invited to participate in a short survey and/or quick poll below.

The feedback will be compiled and incorporated into a report to Council set for September.