The City of North Battleford council has approved the land use for 792 108th Street which is where a new funeral home will be established. (screenshot/Google Map)

By Kenneth Cheung

DISCRETIONARY USE

City approves funeral home near new proposed spray park

Apr 9, 2025 | 5:07 PM

The City of North Battleford has approved a land use application for a proposed funeral home at 792 108th Street, despite concerns from a councillor over its proximity to a newly planned spray park.

At the April 7 council meeting, the city’s planning department presented a discretionary use application for the building. The proposed facility is Marshall’s Funeral Home.

While the project meets bylaw and parking requirements, Coun. Bill Ironstand objected to the location.

“We are going to put a funeral home right next to an elementary school where we just talked about putting a spray park,” he said. “I’m not a big fan.”

The spray park, a $200,000 donation from the Rotary Club of the Battlefords, is expected to be built on the grounds of Connaught Elementary School later this year. A quick search on Google Maps shows the shortest distance between the school and the proposed funeral home is roughly a four-minute walk.

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The shortest distance between the school (orange building) and the proposed funeral home (bottom-right corner) is roughly a four-minute walk. (Google Map)

In an interview with battlefordsNOW, Doreen Day-Wapass, owner of Marshall’s Funeral Home, responded to those concerns, noting that the business hasn’t received complaints or caused issues at its current St. Walburg location.

“Our current funeral home is right in the middle of our residential area. We are surrounded by homes. There is a park right down the street,” she said. “Our neighbours, they have children. They play in the yard. So from experience, I haven’t seen a problem.”

Day-Wapass added that the business takes pride in maintaining a respectful and welcoming presence.

“We maintain a very clean appearance. Our parking lot is clean. It’s very safely decorated, so we would do the same in North Battleford,” she said, emphasizing that their goal in expanding to the city is to provide comfort — not discomfort.

The business is intended for funeral planning only, with parking for six vehicles and no chapel on site. However, the accessibility ramp attached to the building extends 1.07 metres into the Eighth Avenue right-of-way. City staff said this may slightly limit future utility or road work, but it is not a major issue.

“Because it’s an accessibility feature, we recommend approving the encroachment,” said James Johansen, the city’s director of engineering, planning, asset management and infrastructure.

“We’ve asked them to provide us with a drawing showing how they’re proposing this ramp to be reconfigured, because we don’t have that information,” Johansen added.

Despite questions about the ramp and potential liability, council approved the funeral home use with several conditions: a signed encroachment agreement if required, updated ramp drawings, a waiver for the three-metre landscaping strip, and completion of boulevard landscaping along Eighth Avenue.

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cjnbnews@pattisonmedia.com