Bob Hayes, past president of the Okanagan Historical Society and cemetery tour guide.

(BRIE WELTON / iNFOnews.ca)

The City of Kelowna is trying to free up space in its cemetery because others are dying to get in.

Plenty of unused plots in the Kelowna Memorial Park Cemetery have been sold but remain vacant for unknown reasons. Many were sold more than 50 years ago and the City of Kelowna is putting people on notice they will soon be re-claimed and sold again.

“The purpose of this reclamation project is to ensure the City is responsibly managing Cemetery land,” Cemetery Manager Tracey Hillis said in a news release. “Because these plots were sold 50 years ago, they often get forgotten about after so many years, or the owner has already been interred elsewhere. Without completing a project like this, cemeteries would have plots that go unused forever, leaving less space for those who may want to be buried in our local Cemetery.”

She said permits issued in 1973 and earlier did not include much identification of the lot holder or the information is so outdated it’s no longer valid.

The city is calling on residents who have or may have a plot that old to contact the city as soon as possible to inquire about its status by emailing cemeterypermits@kelowna.ca. They want to know if you intend to use the permit, transfer the permit to “an immediate family member” or surrender the permit.

If a family member has died and is interred elsewhere, immediate family may be eligible to reclaim it for a casket burial.

Hillis said the action is authorized by legislation if plots were sold more than 50 years earlier. Future residents have five months from today to reclaim the permits.

To contact a reporter for this story, email Marshall Jones or call 250-718-2724 or email the editor. You can also submit photos, videos or news tips to the newsroom and be entered to win a monthly prize draw.

We welcome your comments and opinions on our stories but play nice. We won't censor or delete comments unless they contain off-topic statements or links, unnecessary vulgarity, false facts, spam or obviously fake profiles. If you have any concerns about what you see in comments, email the editor in the link above. SUBSCRIBE to our awesome newsletter here.

News from © iNFOnews, 2024