The bodies are gone and a plan to bring a funeral-arrangement office to the 900-block of Seymour Street in downtown Kamloops is headed back to a public hearing.
In December, city council rejected an application from Drake Smith, president of North Thompson Funeral Services Ltd., to install a funeral-arrangement office at 905 Seymour St. after neighbours complained.
While the office would not have offered embalming services or on-site funerals, nearby residents said they objected to living next to a building housing dead bodies.
Smith had planned to keep deceased people at the site for the 48 hours required by B.C. law before cremation can be performed.
Also a point of contention was a proposed two-storey accessory dwelling on the property, a structure neighbours said would overshadow their backyards.
In an appeal to council this week, Smith said he no longer plans to store bodies at the site, but will instead take them to his offices in Barriere.
Plans to construct living space have also been scrapped.
Coun. Ken Christian, who voted against Smith’s original proposal, said he is willing to take another look at the idea now that the most contentious parts of the proposal are off the table.
The proposal could be before council again as soon as Jan. 28.
