BY LORNE ECKERSLEY
Advance Staff
Evolving public expectations are pressuring changes at Forest Lawn Cemetery, the Creston Valley’s largest interment site, Mayor Ron Toyota said last week.
A new development plan is now in place, the result of work done by a cemetery select committee that was struck in 2015.
“In 2012 the RDCK served notice to the Town of Creston that it would be withdrawing from the cemetery service,” Toyota said. “In 2015 a special cemetery select committee was created with representatives from the RDCK, Town of Creston and community. Since then, eight meetings have been held and a Forest Lawn Development Plan was requested.”
Forest Lawn is not the only cemetery in the Creston Valley and East Shore, of course. In Creston, there is Pioneer Cemetery, and another half dozen sites, maintained by volunteers (and funded by the RDCK) are sprinkled around various communities in the area.
But Forest Lawn, which has been operated by the Town of Creston for more than a century, is the focus for changes, in part because it is cared for by Town staff, but also because it has the space needed to meet changing market demand. Changes identified in the new development plan include improvements to the entrance, creation of a memorial walk, phased-in green burial sites, a gathering space, improvements to the cremation garden, an expanded burial area and a scattering ground for ashes.
“If all the recommendations were implemented immediately, about $1.3 million would be needed,” Toyota said. “Our committee feels very strongly that phasing in changes and encouraging local involvement is the best way to proceed. That will take several years.”
He added that public meetings are planned to inform the public about the proposed changes in detail, and to get feedback.
“My personal preference is to prioritize the memorial walk, “green” (no casket) burials and expansion of the in-ground burial space. A scattering area could be defined now as the costs are minimal.”
The development study and other reports in recent years have informed the select committee about changes in traditional burial practices.
“The future of our Forest Lawn Cemetery will see these changes implemented, and hopefully create a more pleasant experience for families and friends when they visit.”