Maple Ridge council has given the OK to a $150,000 construction contract to expand the Maple Ridge Cemetery.
With the approval given Dec. 11, work can start on providing more burial plots, a woodland scattering garden, as well as a green burial section to create more capacity at the graveyard on Dewdney Trunk Road and 214th Street.
The city has rezoned adjacent properties to allow for expansion, which will also provide a small parking area for those with accessibility challenges and an additional access point off of Dewdney Trunk Road.
A staff report says the work is consistent with the cemetery master plan which recommends concentrating burial needs within the one location and to ensure it’s accessible.
The work will take about six weeks and comes from the cemetery’s reserve account.
The city previously bought two properties, about .65 acres each, so there are now another 1.3 acres of additional burial space to add to the existing six acres.