Months of opposition to a crematorium and funeral hall proposed for a neighbourhood in Surrey came to an end Monday with a city council vote that took only seconds.
The choice was between continuing the permit process for three memorial halls, two cremators, and a large parking lot on a parcel of land near Tynehead Regional Park, or closing the file and working with the applicant to find an alternative site for a future application.
Mayor and council chose the second option, forcing Five Rivers Community Services Society back to the drawing board.
Ahead of Monday’s council meeting, a group of Tynehead residents rallied outside, pushing for the proposal to be moved to what they considered a more appropriate location.
“They should find an industrial area,” said a resident named Jean. “Industrial needs are more than welcome in an industrial area, not a residential area. I’m not against building a crematorium. It’s totally fine because we need it, but it’s just the wrong location,” she told CityNews Vancouver sister station OMNI News.
That location was along 168 Street at 92A Street, near Tynehead Park, adjacent to the Serpentine River, prompting a months-long campaign opposing the proposed crematorium and what many feared would lead to added traffic and potential health and environmental impacts on the neighbourhood, green space, and river.
Five Rivers Community Services Society already operates a busy funeral home and crematorium in the Tilbury industrial neighbourhood near the Fraser River in Delta.
source: CityNews photo: City of Surrey
