There will be a second public hearing on a bylaw that would make way for a crematorium in Smithers due to a mistake in the wording of the bylaw.
At its March 9 meeting, Smithers council heard from staff that Bylaw No. 1902, which had previously gone to public hearing and passed third reading at the Feb. 23 meeting should have listed crematoria as a “permitted principle use” rather than a “permitted auxiliary use.”
If the bylaw were to proceed to adoption, it would have prevented establishment of a crematorium as a standalone facility.
In order to make the change, council had to rescind third reading, therefore requiring another public hearing.
At the original public hearing council received 13 letters from potential neighbours of a crematorium largely concerned about air quality issues.
At the March 9 meeting, council also received a report titled Field Inquiry: Crematoria Emissions and Air Quality Impacts prepared by the National Collaborating Centre for Environmental Health, which council voted to include in package for the public hearing and third reading of the amended bylaw.
The report concluded that if done correctly, there should be no adverse health impacts from crematoria.
