[Ord. of 5-12-1997]
The following words and phrases, when used in this chapter,
shall, for the purposes of this chapter, have the meanings respectively
ascribed to them in this section.
A subdivision of land in a cemetery for the interment of
one person.
All land in the City and owned by the City devoted exclusively
to the interment of deceased persons, and all land hereafter acquired
by the City in the City for such purposes.
The Director of Public Works of the City and the Director's
duly authorized representatives.
A subdivision of land in a cemetery for the interment of
more than one person.
[Ord. of 5-12-1997]
There have been established and there shall continue to be two cemeteries owned and managed by the City as follows: Poplar Springs Cemetery, consisting of four sections: Section 1 and 2, the New Annex, Annex No. 3 and Section 3; and Southview Cemetery consisting of five sections: the Old Section, Section A, Section B, Section C and Section D. The regulations set forth in this chapter shall apply equally to both of these cemeteries.
[Ord. of 5-12-1997]
The control and management of the City's cemeteries is
vested in the Director, and it shall be the Director's duty to
manage, operate and maintain them.
[Ord. of 5-12-1997]
Official plats of City cemeteries shall be kept on file in the
office of the Director. Such plats shall show all boundaries, sections,
lots, burial spaces, roads and paths of the cemeteries.
[Ord. of 5-12-1997; amended by Ord. No.
2005-4, 2-28-2005; 2-22-2010; 3-22-2010]
(a)
Upon application, burial spaces or burial lots showing a specified
number of burial spaces shall be sold to any person by the Treasurer
on behalf of the City.
(b)
After selection of a burial space or lot, the applicant shall pay
the Treasurer for such and shall receive a deed therefor executed
by the Treasurer or his designee.
(c)
The form of a deed for a burial space or lot shall be substantially
as follows:
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CEMETERY DEED
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In consideration of the payment of the sum of __________ dollars
($__________), receipt whereof is hereby acknowledged, the City of
Franklin, Virginia, hereby grants and conveys with Special Warranty
of title unto _______________ and _______________ heirs the following:
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Number of burial spaces__________
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Lot number__________
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Section__________
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Cemetery__________
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City of Franklin, Virginia
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The burial space or lot herein conveyed may be sold, transferred
or assigned by the grantee(s) or (his, her or their) heirs, devisees
or personal representatives to any person, provided that such transfer
be made through the office of the Director of Public Works and the
prevailing transfer fee is paid.
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The ownership and use of the burial space or lot conveyed herein is subject to the regulations set forth in Chapter 7, Cemeteries, of the Franklin City Code and any and all future amendments thereof.
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Witness the following signature and seal this __________ day
of__________, _____.
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CITY OF FRANKLIN, VIRGINIA
By:
Treasurer
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(d)
Owners of burial spaces or burial lots, their heirs, devisees or
personal representatives may sell, transfer or assign such spaces
or lots to any person, provided that such transfer be made through
the office of the Director and the prevailing transfer fee be paid.
The City may, at its election, purchase from the owner(s) of a burial
space or lot all right, title and interest in and to any unused space
or unused portion of a lot at the price paid therefor, in which case
a deed shall be executed by the owner(s), his, her or their heirs,
devisees or personal representatives as evidence of such purchase.
(e)
Upon the death of the owner(s) of a burial space or lot, all right,
title and interest therein shall pass to his, her or their devisees
or heirs at law. The devisees or heirs at law should record the transfer
in the office of the Director. Such transfer shall not require the
payment of a transfer fee.
(f)
The price for the purchase of a burial space or lot shall be $330
per burial space, except that the price for the purchase of a burial
space in Poplar Springs Cemetery, Annex IV, shall be $1,500 per burial
space. The price for a record transfer of a burial lot or space by
a person other than a devisee or heir at law of the owner(s) shall
be $25.
[Ord. of 5-12-1997]
The deed to a burial space or burial lot conveys only the right
to burial therein, the City otherwise retaining control and supervision
of all burial spaces sold and unsold. Any structure, object or adornment
which has been placed on a burial space or lot in violation of the
regulations contained in this chapter or which is objectionable or
injurious to the general appearance of the cemetery may be removed
by the City.
[Ord. of 5-12-1997; amended by Ord. No.
2003-1, 1-13-2003]
(a)
Before an interment shall be made in any burial space, the funeral
home handling the interment shall obtain a written permit from the
Director and shall make a security deposit of $100 to the City.
(b)
In the event that the burial space is, in the sole discretion of
the Director, not properly closed, graded and seeded and/or adjacent
burial spaces, if disturbed, are not properly cleaned up and left
in the same condition as they were prior to the interment, the City
shall so notify the funeral home, which shall correct the problem(s)
within seven days of notice thereof. If the funeral home fails to
correct the problem(s), the City may use the security deposit to pay
for the needed corrections to the burial space and/or any adjacent
burial spaces.
(c)
The security deposit or any portion of the security deposit remaining
after being utilized by the City shall be returned to the funeral
home within 30 days after the interment.
[Ord. of 5-12-1997]
The Director shall cause to be kept adequate records of interment
in burial spaces in the City's cemeteries showing the name of
each person buried in each burial space and the location of each burial
space.
[Ord. of 5-12-1997]
A written permit must be obtained from the Director before any
marker or memorial is erected in a City cemetery. The City shall not
install any markers or memorials in a City cemetery.
[Ord. of 5-12-1997]
The City shall care in perpetuity for all burial spaces or lots
in City cemeteries. Such care shall include the cutting and raking
of grass, the trimming of trees and shrubs, the preservation of graves
and the removal of refuse, but shall not include cover work on monuments,
markers and tombstones therein. The owner(s) of a burial space or
lot may not prohibit the City from performing its obligations under
this section.
[Ord. of 5-12-1997]
Any owner or part owner of a burial space or burial lot shall
have the right to give permission to the City, either in person or
in writing, for the burial of any other person in the owner's
burial space or lot.
[Ord. of 5-12-1997; amended by Ord. of 3-22-1999(2)]
The body of no person shall be interred or reinterred in the
same burial space with that of another person except that:
(1)
The remains
of one person cremated may be interred in the same burial space with
the body of another person or with the remains of another person who
has been cremated; and
(2)
The remains
of more than one cremated pre-term fetus may be interred in the same
burial space at a site in the Southview Cemetery designated by the
Director and by a method approved by the Director.
[Ord. of 5-12-1997]
The following regulations govern the use of burial spaces and
lots in City cemeteries:
(1)
After interment the top of a burial vault must be at least six inches
below the grade of the ground surrounding the burial space.
(2)
All dirt, bricks, mortar, timber and other things left after the
digging of a grave and the burial of a body, the erection of a tombstone,
monument or marker or any kind of work done on a burial space or lot
shall be removed from the cemetery within 24 hours after such burial
or work is completed except that excess dirt may be deposited at a
location designated by the Director. Grass growing prior to the digging
of the grave must be replaced or topsoil must be placed over the grave
and grass seed planted thereon.
(3)
Foot markers, marble or granite tablets and corner stones must be
installed flush with the ground. Head stones or family memorials may
be installed above grade, but must have concrete footings flush with
the ground extending at least four inches beyond the perimeter thereof.
(4)
No tree, shrub or plant shall be planted, pruned or removed from
a City cemetery without the consent of the Director. The Director
may plant, prune, remove or transplant any tree, shrub or plant in
a City cemetery or at any burial space or lot whenever it is necessary
to do so in order to economically maintain and care for burial spaces
or lots, to prevent the impairment of or interference with the use
of other burial spaces or lots or to promote, preserve or improve
the appearance and dignity of the cemetery.
(5)
The owners of monuments and other memorial structures in City cemeteries
shall keep the same in good repair. Any structure deemed by the Director
to be unsightly or in a dilapidated condition may be removed by the
City.
(6)
The placing of chairs or benches upon lots in cemeteries is prohibited.
(7)
Watering utensils, such as sprinkling cans, pails and the like, shall
not be left on any burial space or lot.
(8)
No fences, walkways or stoops may be constructed in cemeteries by
owners of burial spaces or lot.
(9)
Burial spaces or lots may only be used for the burial of human remains.
[Ord. of 5-12-1997]
No person shall bury, or cause to be buried, the remains of
any person in any place in the City except in a City cemetery or a
cemetery otherwise approved by the City Council.
[Ord. of 5-12-1997]
No person, without the consent of the Director, shall go into
or enter in any City cemetery for any purpose after sunset or before
dawn.
[Ord. of 5-12-1997]
A violation of the provisions of any section of this chapter
shall constitute a Class 4 misdemeanor and shall be punishable as
such.
