Corner Brook approves crematorium application

Not all councillors agree controversial facility should be located in residential area

CORNER BROOK — The City of Corner Brook has approved a controversial application to construct a crematorium.

It's the second time Country Haven Funeral Home owner Dwayne Parsons sought permission to do so at his property at 167 Country Rd.

Much like the first time he did so in 2017, not everyone on council wanted to grant the request. But this time the number of councillors who supported the application was enough to secure an approval.

The funeral home is located in a community service zone, where a crematorium would be considered a discretionary use under the city's development regulations.

The public consultation held on the application resulted in nine submissions in support of the crematorium and 86 submissions against it. There was also a petition against the facility signed by 250 people. Main areas of concern dealt with emissions and property values.

An analysis of an emissions report on the same unit the funeral home is proposing to use from the provincial environment department concluded it would be compliant with the ambient air quality standards for Newfoundland and Labrador.

City staff recommended approving the application subject to conditions that the funeral home follow best practices, industry standards and Occupational Health and Safety programs, and have a preventive maintenance program and annual inspections.

These would not be regulated by the city, but it would request reports to ensure the conditions are met.

AGAINST THE MOTION

Councillors Vaughan Granter, Linda Chaisson and Josh Carey voted against the application.

The fact it is not a regulated industry was one of the factors Granter said he considered in his opposition.

“Should we have regulations in place first before we approve a crematorium or do we approve a crematorium and then put regulations in after?” he asked while commenting on the motion.

Granter said the city needs a crematorium, and the city needs to work with the proponent to ensure that happens, but he did not support it in that location based on the opposition of residents and the lack of regulations.

Chaisson said she agreed the city needs a crematorium, but not in that location.

She said people are upset because they didn't buy a house next door to a crematorium and are afraid of the unknowns about the facility.

Carey said the points being raised during the discussion were similar to those raised when the previous council considered Parsons' 2017 application. He said the issue can't be addressed through zoning because it's not zoned for any particular type of development.

“The hands are somewhat tied when you're into a discretionary use zone area, because it's there for that purpose, for council to exercise discretion over it.”

APPLICATION SUPPORT

Mayor Jim Parsons, Deputy Mayor Bill Griffin and councillors Tony Buckle and Bernd Staeben voted in favour of the application.

Staeben said he was glad to see information on air-quality standards from the province, noting council didn't have access to that information in 2017.

Buckle said he felt confident enough to make a decision after seeing the emissions and air-quality data, and the conditions that have to be met by the funeral home.

“And yes, the unknown is frightening ... but I think in order to move ahead, sometimes we've got to not worry about the unknown, keep moving forward.”

Griffin said if the zoning of the area had been fixed the last time, then the application would not have come up again.

“We shouldn't be putting the people of Country Road through this, and we shouldn't be putting that business through this just to turn it down.

“If it meets, it meets. If it don't, it don't. We should go with the facts and make decisions based on the facts.”

Mayor Parsons said air quality appears to be the main issue and he's not sure if the previous application addressed that. He said the province does not see air-quality issues with the proposal, and assessing the quality of the air is the responsibility of the province.

He also said there is no evidence to prove the development would affect property values.