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CORPORATION OF THE CITY OF NEW WESTMINSTER
CEMETERY BYLAW NO. 7068, 2006
EFFECTIVE DATE: February 6, 2006
CONSOLIDATED FOR CONVENIENCE ONLY
(March 20, 2019)
This is a consolidation of the bylaws listed below. The amendment bylaws have been
combined with the original bylaw for convenience only. This consolidation is not a legal
document. Certified copies of the original bylaws should be consulted for all
interpretations and applications of the bylaws on this subject.
AMENDMENT BYLAW
EFFECTIVE DATE
No. 7363, 2009 (Sch B)
December 14, 2009
No. 7434, 2010 (Sch B)
November 29, 2010
No. 7561, 2012 (Sch B)
November 13, 2012
No. 7582, 2013
March 4, 2013
No. 8102, 2019 (changes to Section 3)
March 11, 2019
The bylaw numbers highlighted in this consolidation refer to the bylaws that amended the
principal Bylaw No. 7068, 2006. The number of any amending bylaw that has been repealed is
not referred to in this consolidation.
Obtainable from the Legislative Services Department
Doc#123149
CORPORATION OF THE CITY OF NEW WESTMINSTER
BYLAW NO. 7068, 2006
A Bylaw to regulate the maintenance and operation of the Cemeteries owned by the
City of New Westminster; to regulate the interment or other disposition of the dead
therein; to prohibit the violation of such cemeteries and the vault, monuments,
gravestones and graves contained therein; to establish the terms and conditions under
which and the fees for which persons may acquire the right to make use of lots therein;
and to establish, set aside and maintain a Care Fund all in pursuance of section 8(3)(f)
of the Community Charter.
The Council of the City of New Westminster, in open meeting assembled,
ENACTS AS FOLLOWS:
PART I - INTERPRETATION
1.
Interpretation
1.1
Bylaw No. 7068, 2005 may be cited as "Cemetery Bylaw 7068, 2006".
1.2
Words or phrases defined in the British Columbia Interpretation Act, the
Cremation, Interment and Funeral Services Act and its regulations, the
Business Practices and Consumer Protection Act and its regulations, the
Community Charter or Local Government Act or any successor legislation,
shall have the same meaning when used in this Bylaw unless otherwise
defined in this Bylaw.
1.3
In this Bylaw:
"Administrator" means the Manager of Engineering Operations of the
City of New Westminster who shall be the Cemetery Administrator and the
person duly appointed from time to time to fill that position;
"Board" means the Board of Cemetery Trustees established in
accordance with the provisions of section 37 of the Cremation, Interment
and Funeral Services Act, whereby Council establishes itself as a board of
cemetery trustees to own and operate the Cemetery with all such power
and authority as is necessary to permit the Board to own and operate the
Cemetery, including, without limitation, the power from time to time to
appoint the Administrator and to do all other acts necessary to give effect
to this Bylaw;
"Board of Health" means the Board of Health of the Council, duly
appointed from time to time as such by the Council;
"Care Fund" means the fund established and maintained by the City for
the care and maintenance of the Cemetery;
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"Caretaker" means the person or persons duly appointed from time to
time as caretaker or caretakers of the Cemetery;
"Cemetery" means those lands known as the Fraser Cemetery and
legally
described
as:
Parcel
Identifier:
013-208-110
Parcel
"A"
(Explanatory Plan 4430) of the North Half of Lot 17 Suburban Block 3 Plan
2620; Parcel Identifier: 013-208-098 North Half of the North Half of Lot 17
Suburban Block 3 Plan 2620 being 165.975 feet on Western Boundary
and 165.975 feet on the Eastern Boundary of Lot; Lot 18 PT, NWD Group
1 Plan 2620; Parcel Identifier 013-208-136 Parcel "B" (Reference Plan
5439) Lots 17 and 18 Except: Parcel "One" (Reference Plan 6275),
Suburban Block 3 Plan 2620; NWD Group 1, Plan 2620; LT 1, NWD
Group 1, Plan 2620 and any land hereafter acquired by the City and set
apart for use as a place of burial of human remains or cremated remains;
"City" means the Corporation of the City of New Westminster;
"City Clerk" means the person duly appointed as such from time to time
by the Council, or their delegate;
"Columbarium" means an above ground structure for the inurnment of
cremated remains;
"Council" means the Council of the City;
"Director of Engineering" means the person duly appointed as the
Director of Engineering of the City from time to time, or his delegate;
"Director of Finance and Information Technology" means the person
duly appointed as the Director of Finance and Information Technology for
the City from time to time by the Council or their delegate;
"Inurnment" means the interment of cremated remains in a columbaria
niche;
"Lawn Sections" means the following portions of the Cemetery:
(a)
the West Half (W1/2) of the South Half (S1/2) of Lot Nineteen (19),
Suburban Block Three (3);
(b)
the South Half (S1/2) of the North Half (N1/2) of Lot Seventeen
(17), Suburban Block Three (3); and
(c)
Parcel "B" of Lots Seventeen (17) and Eighteen (18), Suburban
Block Three (3);
"License" means a license issued by the City granting the right of
interment in a grave space subject to the issuance of an interment permit;
"Lot" means a space that is
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(a)
in a place of interment, and
(b)
intended to be used for the interment of human remains or
cremated remains under an Interment Right and Preneed Services
Contract, as prescribed by the City, or used for the interment of
human remains or cremated remains
and includes a grave, crypt, niche, full burial plot or cremation plot;
"Medical Health Officer" means the person duly appointed from time to
time by the Council to act as Medical Health Officer for the City;
"Memorial" means:
(a)
a tombstone, monument, memorial tablet, plaque or other marker
on a lot, or
(b)
an inscription or ornamentation on a crypt or niche front, used to
identify a lot or memorialize a deceased person or stillborn child;
"Monument" means a Memorial which extends vertically above the
surface of the surrounding ground;
"Niche" means a space in a columbarium for the inurnment of cremated
remains defined or designated by means of a number for single
columbaria or a small letter of the alphabet in a family columbaria;
"Resident" means a resident of the City of New Westminster for the
preceding 3 months;
"Urn" means any receptacle used for or intended to be used to contain
the cremated remains of one person
Bylaw No. 7582, 2013
"Fees and Rates Bylaw" means the current City Fees and Rates Bylaw
No. 7552, 2013 as amended by Council from time to time.
1.4
In this Bylaw, unless the context otherwise requires, the singular shall
include the plural and the masculine includes the feminine gender.
1.5
The headings contained in this Bylaw are for convenience only and are
not to be construed as defining, or in any way limiting, the scope or the
intent of the provisions of this Bylaw.
1.6
If any portion of this Bylaw is for any reason held invalid by any court of
competent jurisdiction, the invalid portion shall be severed and the
severance shall not affect the validity of the remainder.
1.7
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PART II - LAND USE
2.
Land Use for Cemetery Purposes
2.1
The Cemetery shall be set apart and used as a place of burial of human
remains or cremated remains and for purposes incidental and ancillary
thereto, and for no other purposes whatsoever.
2.2
The following portions of the Cemetery, as identified on the map of the
Cemetery attached to and forming part of this Bylaw as Schedule "A",
shall be reserved and set aside to be used solely for the burial of infants of
the age of thirteen (13) years and under:
(a)
a strip lettered IVA consisting of 78 graves numbered 1 to 78
inclusive, lying between Ranges 3A and 4, running North and
South;
(b)
a strip lettered VA consisting of 78 graves numbered 1 to 78
inclusive, lying between Ranges 5 and 6A, running North and
South; and
(c)
Ranges 9, 16, 24 and 31 in the New Lawn Section of the Church of
England.
PART III - RIGHTS OF INTERMENT
3.
Interment Right and Preneed Services Contract
Bylaw No. 7582, 2013
3.1
Every person who wishes to acquire the exclusive right of interment for
one or more lots in the Cemetery shall enter into an Interment Right and
Preneed Services Contract, as prescribed by the City, and pay the
applicable charge prescribed for that purpose in the Schedule of Rates in
the Fees and Rates Bylaw and forming part of this Bylaw.
3.2
The Caretaker and/or Administrator is authorized to enter into an
Interment Right and Preneed Services Contract, as prescribed by the City,
on behalf of the City, and issue an Interment Permit on behalf of the City;
3.3
The Board reserves the right to refuse to sell a right of interment for the
use of more than two plots to any one individual.
Bylaw No. 7582, 2013; 8102, 2019
3.4
Subject to section 3.5, a holder of a License for a Columbarium Niche in
the Cemetery may transfer the right of interment to another person upon
application to the Caretaker or Administrator setting forth full particulars as
to the name and address of the person to whom the transfer is to be
made, proof of right of interment for the lot, and payment of the transfer
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fee prescribed in Engineering Fees and Rates Bylaw No. 7553, 2013. The
Caretaker or Administrator shall endorse the transfer on the face of the
Interment Right and Preneed Services Contract, as prescribed by the City,
or on the original copy of the Cemetery License and record it in the City's
records kept for that purpose.
3.5
The proof of a right of interment is the original only.
Bylaw No. 8102, 2019
3.6
Plot Buy-Back is only applicable to Adult Single Depth, Adult Double
Depth, Child/Infant Casket, or in ground Cremation plot Licenses.
Bylaw No. 8102, 2019
3.7
No License may be sold. A License for an unused plot may be transferred
from the rights holder to an immediate family member at the discretion of
the City. The rights holder must submit this request in writing and the
original License must be surrendered to the City. A License may be
surrendered to the City or transferred to an immediate family member at
any time. A transfer of the License will be subject to the transfer fee
prescribed in Engineering Fees and Rates Bylaw No. 7553, 2013. When a
written request for Plot Buy-Back is provided by the rights holder a refund
shall be subject to the following conditions:
(a) Refund payable shall equal 75% of the current residential Plot Fees
LESS the Care Fund contribution and administration fee. These
amounts and fees are set out in Engineering Rates and Fees Bylaw
No. 7553, 2013.
(b) No refund shall be made of any Care Fund contribution collected as
part of any good or service purchased.
4.
Interment and Funeral Arrangements
4.1
All funeral arrangements concerning the Cemetery shall be made and
carried out in strict compliance with the requirements of this Bylaw and all
other applicable bylaws, statutes and regulations and the directions of the
Caretaker or Administrator.
4.2
Every person wishing to obtain interment and other cemetery services for
a deceased person shall:
(a)
make application at the office of the Caretaker or Administrator
between the hours of 7:30 a.m. and 4:00 p.m., Monday through
Friday, setting forth a statement of the name, age, date of death of
the deceased, cause of death, proposed date and time of
interment, and such other information as may be required;
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Bylaw No. 7582, 2013
(b)
pay the applicable interment charge prescribed in the Schedule of
Rates in the Fees and Rates Bylaw; and
(c)
obtain an Interment Permit from the City and enter into an
Interment Right and Preneed Services Contract, as prescribed by
the City, with the City, at least twenty-four (24) hours before the
scheduled interment except in the case of the interment of a person
who dies having an infectious disease.
Bylaw No. 7582, 2013
4.3
In addition to the interment charge prescribed in the Fees and Rates
Bylaw, where interment is to be in a lot sold prior to the inception of the
Care Fund, a perpetual maintenance fee shall be paid as prescribed in the
Fees and Rates Bylaw for deposit into the Care Fund.
4.4
The Caretaker must not carry out an interment until such time as the
Caretaker is in possession of the burial permit or certificate of cremation
received by the City as required under sections 22 and 23 of the Vital
Statistics Act.
4.5
Except in the case of infectious disease or other special circumstances, no
interment shall take place on Sundays or on any of the following statutory
holidays: Christmas Day, Boxing Day, New Year's Day, Good Friday,
Easter Monday, Canada Day, Victoria Day, British Columbia Day, Labour
Day, Thanksgiving Day, Remembrance Day, or any other declared
holiday.
4.6
Interments may only be carried out between the hours of seven-thirty
(7:30) o'clock in the forenoon and four (4) o'clock in the afternoon.
5.
Exhumation, Disinterment and Removal of Human Remains
Bylaw No. 7582, 2013
5.1
Any person requiring the exhumation, disinterment or removal of human
remains from the place they are interred in the Cemetery must make
application to Caretaker or Administrator and pay the applicable charges
prescribed in the Fees and Rates Bylaw.
5.2
Every such exhumation, disinterment or removal of human remains shall
be strictly subject to and in accordance with the restrictions and
requirements of the Cremation, Interment and Funeral Services Act and
regulations thereto.
6.
Restrictions on Interments
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6.1
Interments and lot maintenance shall be carried out by City employees
except where otherwise specified in this Bylaw.
6.2
When one or more interments are made in the same lot, the last interment
shall be at least three (3) feet below the surface of the ground.
6.3
The maximum number of interments in a lot is as follows:
(a)
in the case of a full burial lot, one (1) interment in a single depth
plot, and two (2) interments in a double depth plot; and
(b)
in the case of cremated remains, six (6) interments in a single
depth plot, and two (2) interments in a cremation plot.
6.4
An adult lot shall be at a minimum depth of six (6) feet unless specified as
a double depth lot in which case the minimum depth of the first interment
shall be eight (8) feet.
6.5
No interment after the first interment in any one lot shall be made so as to
disturb or disinter the remains of a deceased person from the first
interment.
6.6
Subject to Section 6.7, the remains of any person who dies having an
infectious disease must be interred within thirty-six (36) hours after death
occurs.
6.7
Where a person dies having an infectious disease, the Medical Health
Officer shall furnish the Caretaker with instructions governing interment of
that person's remains, and the Caretaker or duly authorized assistant
acting on his behalf shall follow such instructions in carrying out interment.
6.8
The following are considered infectious diseases for the purposes of this
Bylaw:
(a)
smallpox;
(b)
Asiatic cholera;
(c)
diphtheria;
(d)
typhus fever;
(e)
anthrax;
(f)
scarlet fever;
(g)
bubonic plague;
(h)
epidemic cerebro spinal meningitis;
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(i)
poliomyelitis; and
(j)
any other disease as may hereafter be designated as an infectious
disease by the Board of Health or the Medical Health Officer.
6.9
Each inurnment in a niche shall comply with the following restrictions:
(a)
Each inurnment in a niche, except those of sufficient size in a family
columbarium, shall contain a maximum of one urn or other
container, the maximum outside dimensions of which shall not
exceed 9 ½" x 9 ½" x 9 ½".
(b)
Each niche containing an urn shall be sealed with an inner cover
plate in addition to the granite face memorial marker supplied by
the City.
(c)
All cremation interments/inurnments shall be enclosed within a
container that may be an urn.
PART IV - MEMORIALS
7.
Monuments
7.1
No person may erect a Monument in the Cemetery without first making
application and obtaining a permit from the Caretaker or Administrator.
7.2
Every application for a permit to erect a Monument shall include a sketch
of the proposed Monument in a form and with detail satisfactory to the
Director of Engineering.
7.3
The Caretaker must designate the place where implements or materials
used in excavating, erecting or setting Monuments are to be placed during
the course of an excavation, erection or setting.
7.4
One week's notice must be given to the Caretaker before any Monument
or Memorial may be placed in position.
8.
General Requirements for Memorials
8.1
No person shall place or cause to be placed in any portion of the
Cemetery any marker, tablet, monument, plaque or other Memorial except
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as permitted under this Bylaw and under the direction of the Caretaker as
to location.
8.2
A Monument or other Memorial may be installed on a lot in the Cemetery,
provided that:
Bylaw No. 7582, 2013
(a)
the charges prescribed in the Fees and Rates Bylaw for a memorial
tablet foundation and maintenance fund are first paid to the City;
and
(b)
the Memorial conforms to the following specifications and
requirements:
(i)
Monuments must be made of granite and shall be set upright
on a hammered granite base installed with its top surface
level and flush with the surrounding ground, and such base
shall extend horizontally beyond each vertical side of the
monument a distance of six (6) inches;
(ii)
no Monument and base shall cover an area exceeding one-
sixth (1/6th) of the area of the lot on which the Monument
and base are installed;
(iii)
memorial tablets shall be made of bronze as permitted by
subsection (vi) and (vii), or made of granite four inches (4")
thick;
(iv)
memorial tablets shall be set horizontally in a central position
on a four (4) inch thick granite base installed in the ground
with its top surface level and flush with the lawn;
(v)
the top surface measurements of memorial tablets and their
bases shall be the following:
Top surface
measurement
of a memorial
tablet
Base
measurement
of a memorial
tablet
(A)
on a single grave in
the Armed Forces,
Infants & Ashes
sections
12" x 20" Flush
10" x 18" Flush
No base
No base
(B)
on a single grave
12" x 20"
20" x 28"
(C)
on a two grave plot 18" x 30"
30" x 42"
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(D)
on a plot larger
than two graves
24" x 36"
36" x 48"
(vi)
notwithstanding the requirements of subsections (iv) and (v),
memorial tablets twelve inches by twenty inches (12" x 20")
or ten inches by eighteen inches (10" x 18") may be installed
without a base, provided that:
(A)
granite tables four inches (4") thick are installed with
the top surface level and flush with the ground, and
(B)
bronze tablets are attached to a four inch (4") thick
granite or concrete base of similar top surface size
and installed with the top surface of the tablet and
inscription level and flush with the ground;
(vii)
a bronze memorial plaque may be attached to the top
surface of a granite tablet provided it is the same size as the
top surface of the tablet;
(viii)
raised inscriptions are prohibited on granite tablets and
bronze plaques but are permitted on bronze tablets set flush
with the ground under the provision of subsection (vi);
Bylaw No. 7582, 2013
(ix)
concrete foundations, the charges for which are set out in
the Fees and Rates Bylaw shall be constructed under a
memorial tablet with base only by the Caretaker or his staff
under his direction, so as to extend across the full width of
the lot; and
(x)
the charges to be levied for the construction of a foundation
for a Monument, being dependant upon the varying factors
of weight, size and location of the Monument to be
positioned thereon, shall be determined and payable upon
the issue of the permit for its erection.
8.3
Where the intent is to inter up to and including six (6) cremated remains in
a single plot, the plot owner must ensure that a 12" x 20" single flush-
mounted marker replaces any other marker on the plot.
8.4
All columbarium memorial markers shall be:
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Bylaw No. 7582, 2013
(a)
provided through the City and form part of the Niche Fee as
specified in the Fees and Rates Bylaw;
(b)
in the English alphabet in addition to any other languages to
ensure accurate record keeping by the City.
8.5
The Administrator reserves the right to reject any memorial marker which,
in his opinion, is not in keeping with the dignity of the Cemetery.
PART V - PROHIBITIONS AND RESTRICTIONS
9.
Prohibitions and Restrictions
9.1
No curbing may be installed around or within any lot.
9.2
No lot may be defined by fence, railing, coping, hedge or by any other
marker except a memorial tablet or Monument as permitted under this
Bylaw.
9.3
Boxes, shells, toys, wire screens, arbours, trellises, tripods or any other
object of a like nature are prohibited on any lot.
9.4
No lot may be decorated with trees, shrubs or plants, but may be
decorated by placing cut flowers.
9.5
No person shall
(a)
destroy, mutilate, deface, injure or remove from the Cemetery any
tomb, Monument, gravestone, memorial tablet or other Memorial,
fence, railing or other work or structure; or
(b)
deposit any rubbish or offensive matter or thing in the Cemetery.
9.6
No person shall construct, install or use any surface burial vault or box in
the Cemetery.
9.7
No person shall carry on any business or calling in the Cemetery.
9.8
The Caretaker may remove from a lot any tree or shrub which the
Caretaker considers is injuriously affecting any lot or road adjacent to a
lot.
9.9
No Monument or other Memorial or structure may be placed upon any lot
unless its form complies with this Bylaw and its position on the lot has
been approved by the Caretaker, and any Monument or other Memorial or
structure so placed may be removed by the Caretaker upon the order of
the Board.
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9.10
No person may bring an animal into the Cemetery.
9.11
No person shall:
(a)
break, remove or displace rocks in any rock work;
(b)
use or drive a vehicle on any road, path or walk in the Cemetery for
any purpose other than attending or conducting a funeral or visiting
a lot; or
(c)
drive a motor vehicle in the Cemetery at a speed in excess of
twenty (20) kilometres per hour or upon or over any lot.
9.12
All vehicles or funeral processions on and after entering the Cemetery
grounds shall be at all times subject to the direction and orders of the
Caretaker.
PART VI - CARE FUND
10.
Deposit, Investment and Use of Funds
10.1
The Director of Finance and Information Technology shall pay the
following into the Care Fund:
Bylaw No. 7582, 2013
(a)
25% of the price, as prescribed in the Fees and Rates Bylaw of
each right of interment received under an Interment Permit and an
Interment Right and Preneed Services Contract, as prescribed by
the City, and
Bylaw No. 7582, 2013
(b)
the amount specified in the Fees and Rates Bylaw as payable to
the Care Fund in respect of plots sold prior to 1933; and
Bylaw No. 7582, 2013
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(c)
the amount specified in the Fees and Rates Bylaw as payable to
the Care Fund in respect of the construction and installation of a
memorial tablet foundation.
10.2
Any money held by the City to the credit of the Cemetery Fund, together
with interest earned on it, shall be credited to the Care Fund operated and
maintained under this Bylaw.
10.3
Money deposited in the Care Fund, together with earned interest and
dividend income, shall be held in a separate account with a savings
institution and the City may use the interest and dividend income earned
by the Care Fund only for the purpose of financing the care and
maintenance services provided in respect of the Cemetery.
PART VII - GENERAL
11.
Special Attention Charge
Bylaw No. 7582, 2013
11.1
Additional maintenance may be provided to any lot on application by any
interested person and payment of the Special Attention Charge set out in
the Fees and Rates Bylaw.
11.2
The additional maintenance provided in exchange for the receipt of the
Special Attention Charge shall consist of soil replacement, grass
reseeding and other special attention over a period of one year.
12.
Hours of Closure
12.1
The Cemetery shall be closed for public entry and attendance from 8:00
o'clock in the afternoon until 7:30 o'clock of the following morning of each
day.
12.2
The hours of public attendance shall be posted on a sign at the Cemetery
entrance.
12.3
No person shall enter or remain in the Cemetery during the hours it is
closed for public attendance without the special permission of the
Caretaker.
12.4
Subject to section 12.3, any person found entering or remaining in the
Cemetery during the hours it is closed for public attendance commits an
offence under this Bylaw.
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PART VIII - OFFENCE AND PENALTY
13.
Offence
13.1
Every person who contravenes or violates any provision of this Bylaw, or
who suffers or permits any act or thing to be done in contravention or in
violation of any provision of this Bylaw, or who neglects to do or refrains
from doing anything required to be done by any provision of this Bylaw,
commits an offence and, upon conviction, shall be liable to a fine or
penalty being one or more of the following:
(a)
a maximum fine of up to $10,000;
(b)
in the case of a continuing offence, for each day that the offence
continues, a maximum fine of up to $10,000;
(c)
imprisonment for not more than 6 months.
13.2
Where, in this Bylaw, any matter or thing is required to be done by any
person, in default of it being done by such person, the matter or thing may
be done by the City at the expense of the person in default, and where
works or services are provided to land or improvements, such expense
may be recovered with interest at 3% over the bank prime rate, with costs,
in like manner as City taxes.
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PART IX - REPEAL
14.
Repeal of Bylaws
14.1
Bylaw No. 4126 cited as the "Cemetery Bylaw 4126, 1966" and all
amending bylaws thereto, are hereby repealed.
Bylaw received three readings on January 30, 2006 and adopted on February 6,
2006.
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SCHEDULE "A"
MAP OF CEMETERY
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BYLAW NO. 7582, 2013
Schedule B deleted
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