Chapter 173 - CEMETERIES

Sec. 170.109. - Penalty for violations; suspension and revocation of license. Chapter 176 - COMPRESSED AIR FOR BREATHING Chapter 173 - CEMETERIES[1]

Footnotes: --- (1) ---

State Law reference— Funeral and cemetery services, F.S. Ch. 497.

State rule reference—Funeral and cemetery services, F.A.C. Ch. 3F-1 et seq.

Sec. 173.101. - Definitions.

As used in this Chapter:

(a)

Cemetery means any one of or a combination of the following, in a place used or to be used, and dedicated or designated, for cemetery purposes for human remains:

(1)

A burial park for earth interment;

(2)

A mausoleum; or

(3)

A columbarium.

(b)

Columbarium means a structure substantially exposed aboveground intended to be used for the interment of the cremated remains of a deceased person.

(c)

Director means the Director of Planning and Development.

(d)

Grave means a space of ground in a cemetery intended to be used for the interment in the ground of human remains.

(e)

Human remains or remains means the bodies of deceased persons, and includes bodies in any stage of decomposition and cremated remains.

(f)

Mausoleum means a structure substantially exposed aboveground intended to be used for the entombment of human remains.

(Ord. 70-650-526; Ord. 71-397-181; Ord. 83-591-400, § 1; Ord. 86-786-471, § 1; Ord. 2008-513-E, § 1)

Note— Former § 510.101.

Sec. 173.102. - Permit required.

No person shall operate a cemetery except as provided by this Chapter and without first obtaining a permit from the Director.

(Ord. 70-650-526; Ord. 71-397-181; Ord. 83-591-400, § 1)

Note— Former § 510.102.

Sec. 173.103. - Cemetery plats.

(a)

Plat required. No person shall inter human remains in any cemetery in the City unless the cemetery has been approved by ordinance and a plat thereof, as approved by the Council, has been filed as provided below. The plat shall be filed with the Planning and Development Department with an application for approval, including proof of ownership of the cemetery, intended methods of interment, and such other information as is necessary to insure compliance with this Chapter. The proposed cemetery plat, when filed for approval, shall be forwarded to:

(1)

The Planning Commission for a recommendation as to whether the proposed site will:

(i)

Interface with the development of a system of collector, arterial, major arterial and expressway streets (as defined in Section 654.105) in the vicinity; or

(ii)

Obstruct normal growth of adjacent neighborhoods; and

(2)

The City Engineer, for verification of technical engineering plat requirements.

(b)

Plat requirements.

(1)

The cemetery plat shall include the following information:

(i)

The cemetery name, which may not be the same as or confusingly similar to an existing cemetery in the City;

(ii)

A legal description of the cemetery location;

(iii)

The names of the owner and the surveyor;

(iv)

The location of at least two permanent reference monuments, placed not more than 2,000 feet apart;

(v)

The locations of all main roads and structures in the cemetery and all road rights-of-way within one and one-half miles of the cemetery site;

(vi)

The intended locations of burial plots;

(vii)

The varying grades and elevations of the cemetery site; and

(viii)

Provision for certificates by a notary, surveyor, the Clerk of the Circuit Court and the Director, as required for subdivision plats in Chapter 654.

(2)

The Council shall disapprove a plat for a cemetery which does not meet the following standards, and the Director shall revoke the permit of a cemetery operator who fails to maintain compliance with them:

(i)

The minimum area of the cemetery shall be 30 acres.

(ii)

Every interior road shall provide for two lanes of traffic, be at least 16 feet wide, and provide in addition a three-foot utility easement on one side.

(iii)

The site elevation shall be sufficient to ensure that the maximum groundwater table level is not less than 48 inches from the surface of the ground during the wettest period of the year, and the location shall be well drained with no low spots to trap water in puddles.

(iv)

The site location shall not be within the boundaries of the watershed for any public surface water supply nor be within 100 feet from any well used to supply water for human consumption.

(c)

Plat recordation. Cemetery plats approved by the Council shall include a dedication of the land for use as a cemetery and shall be recorded among the public records of Duval County at the expense of the applicant. A copy of the plat shall be filed with the Planning and Development Department.

(d)

Cemetery changes. Any change in the plan for enlargement of any cemetery shall be reported to, and a plat showing the same shall be filed with, the Planning and Development Department, and the change in the plat shall be approved by the Council before any interments shall take place therein.

(e)

Exemption. This Section, except subsection (d) of this Section, does not apply to a cemetery in operation on December 1, 1970.

(Ord. 70-650-526; Ord. 71-397-181; Ord. 83-591-400, § 1; Ord. 2008-513-E, § 1)

Note— Former § 510.103.

Sec. 173.104. - Cemetery maintenance.

(a)

A cemetery shall be maintained free of any unsanitary conditions and mosquito-breeding areas. All urns and basins shall be treated or cleaned so as to prevent growth of mosquito larvae. A cemetery shall be kept free of garbage, trash, refuse or similar discarded or abandoned materials and shall be kept free of weeds and any wild, uncultivated and unkept weeds, grass, underbrush or undergrowth (but not healthy live freestanding trees or any vegetation protected by State law) having a height in excess of 24 inches, and any flower and shrub trimmings, garbage and refuse.

(b)

A cemetery for which there is no traceable ownership and which fails to meet any or all of the maintenance requirements as herein set forth shall be deemed and declared to be a public nuisance. Traceable ownership shall mean any owner, trustee or similar person with an ownership interest or other legal responsibility for such maintenance. When any such offending condition is found to exist, the Director shall cause such condition to be abated generally in accordance with the provisions of Chapter 370 in order to ensure due process and to carry out the purposes of this Chapter.

(Ord. 70-650-526; Ord. 71-397-181; Ord. 73-718-335, § 2; Ord. 83-591-400, § 1)

Note— Former § 510.104.

Sec. 173.105. - Cemetery operations.

(a)

No person shall inter any human remains in the City in any place other than an approved cemetery under the provisions of this Chapter.

(b)

No person shall bury or remove from the City human remains without first securing from the local Registrar of Vital Statistics a burial or transportation permit, which shall be issued only when a properly executed death certificate of the decedent named in the permit shall be on file in the office of the Department as provided in the Health Code. The permit shall disclose the name, address, sex, age, color, cause of death, place or burial or removal, name of attending physician, and such other information as the local Registrar of Vital Statistics may require. No owner, caretaker or other employees of a cemetery shall permit the burial or removal of human remains without first receiving a burial or removal permit as required by this Section.

(c)

Every individual grave shall have minimum dimensions of three feet in width, eight feet in length, and four feet in depth, except:

(1)

A grave in which a permanent outer container is used.

(2)

A grave in a cemetery section reserved and used exclusively for burial of infants.

(d)

No person shall bury or cause to be buried any human remains in a grave site which is surrounded or otherwise attended by any form of coping, cradle or fences.

(e)

No person shall bury or cause to be buried any human remains in a grave beneath the ground surrounded or otherwise attended by a wooden box or similar box and only such grave boxes as are made of cement, concrete or similar material shall be permitted.

(f)

No person shall bury or cause to be buried any human remains in any overground or aboveground vault, but specifically excluding any mausoleum or columbarium.

(g)

No person shall own or operate a cemetery without secure and properly maintained perimeter or boundary fencing so as to restrict or prevent ingress to or egress from the property, except at specified points or locations serviced by walkways or driveways or other similar thoroughfares with a paved or otherwise prepared or properly maintained surface.

(h)

The holder of a cemetery permit shall provide a five-foot-wide, landscaped buffer zone of evergreen trees or shrubs adjacent to all cemetery boundary lines which adjoin property zoned for residential use:

(1)

At least 90 days before the first interment which is within 100 feet of the residentially zoned property; or

(2)

Within 90 days after the adjoining property is first zoned for residential use,

Whichever is later.

(Ord. 70-650-526; Ord. 71-51-161, § 2; Ord. 71-397-181; Ord. 73-718-335, § 3; Ord. 73-1258-567, § 1; Ord. 73-1497-763, § 1; Ord. 83-591-400, § 1)

Note— Former § 510.105.

Sec. 173.106. - Confederate burial grounds.

Lots 71, 72, 73 and 76, of Section 6, of the cemetery commonly known as the City Cemetery, being the southwest corner of Section 6, and measuring six feet from north to south, and 44 feet from east to west, are set aside and dedicated as a burial ground for the burial of dead bodies of Confederate soldiers and sailors, formerly of the Confederate Army and Navy. No other person shall be buried therein.

(Ord. 70-650-526; Ord. 71-397-181; Ord. 83-591-400, § 1)

Note— Former § 510.106.

Sec. 173.107. - Perpetual care and maintenance trust fund required; exemption for certain pauper burials.

No person shall sell, either directly or indirectly, by any means whatsoever any burial sites, whether a grave plot, grave lot, mausoleum, columbarium or any one or more combinations, or other place or means for repose of human remains, which burial sites are not subject to the perpetual care and maintenance trust fund requirements of F.S. Ch. 497, unless and until such person makes provision for the perpetual care and maintenance of any such burial site as provided in this Chapter. Prior to receipt of a permit from the Director, or prior to making any new sales, as the case may be, such person shall establish a trust fund with a trust company, State or national bank holding trust powers, or other similar institution under the provisions of F.S. Ch. 660 and supply to the Director a copy of the trust fund agreement which shall contain the name, location and address of both the permittee and the trustee showing the date of agreement together with the percentage of purchase price of burial sites required to be deposited. No person shall withdraw or transfer any portion of the corpus of the care and maintenance trust fund without first obtaining the express written consent of the Director. There shall be exempt from the perpetual care and maintenance trust fund requirements of this Chapter any pauper burial provided by the City and any and all burial sites subject to the trust fund requirements of F.S. Ch. 497.

(Ord. 73-718-335, § 1; Ord. 83-591-400, § 1)

Note— Former § 510.107.

Sec. 173.108. - Individual contracts for perpetual care and maintenance.

At the time of making a sale or receiving the initial deposit hereunder, the maker or recipient shall deliver to the person to whom such sale is made, or who makes such deposit, an instrument in writing which shall specifically state:

(a)

The total purchase price of the burial sites sold;

(b)

The amount of funds to be deposited in the trust fund; and

(c)

That the net income of the care and maintenance trust fund shall be used solely for:

(1)

The care and maintenance of the cemetery,

(2)

Reasonable costs of administering the care and maintenance, and

(3)

Reasonable costs of administering the trust fund.

(Ord. 73-718-335, § 1; Ord. 83-591-400, § 1)

Note— Former § 510.108.

Sec. 173.109. - Deposits in trust.

There shall be set aside and deposited in the perpetual care and maintenance trust fund an amount not less than ten percent of the purchase price of the burial sites sold, not later than 30 days after receipt of payment; provided that such amount shall not be less than $25, except as follows:

(a)

For general endowment, care and maintenance of the cemetery, the full amount of sums received shall be set aside and deposited.

(b)

For special endowments for a specific lot, grave or family mausoleum, memorial, marker or monument, the cemetery may set aside special care in a separate trust or by a deposit to a savings account in a bank or savings and loan association located within and authorized to do business in the State; provided, that if the licensee does not set up a separate trust or savings account for the special endowment, the full amount thereof shall be deposited into the care and maintenance trust fund as required of general endowments.

The care and maintenance trust fund shall be invested and reinvested by the trustee under the provisions of F.S. Ch. 518, as the same may be from time to time amended. The fees and other expenses of the trust fund shall be paid by the trustee from the net income thereof and may not be paid from the corpus. To the extent that the net income is not sufficient to pay such fees and other expenses, they shall be paid by the cemetery company.

(Ord. 73-718-335, § 1; Ord. 83-591-400, § 1)

Note— Former § 510.109.

Sec. 173.110. - Financial reports of trust fund.

Within 60 days after the end of the calendar or fiscal year of the cemetery operation, the trustee shall furnish to the Director of Finance and Administration adequate financial reports with respect to the trust fund in a manner satisfactory to the Director of Finance and Administration. However, the Director of Finance and Administration may require the trustee to make such additional financial reports as he may deem necessary and advisable.

(Ord. 73-718-335, § 1; Ord. 83-591-400, § 1; Ord. 2016-140-E, § 16)

Editor's note— Ordinance 2007-839-E, § 18, authorized updated department/division names pursuant to reorganization.

Note— Former § 510.110.

Sec. 173.111. - Exemption.

Section 173.103 of this Chapter shall not apply to:

(a)

A columbarium consisting of less than one-half acre which is owned by and immediately contiguous to a church facility which is in existence at the time the columbarium is being built. If the church relocates, the church shall relocate all of the urns and remains placed in the columbarium which were placed therein during its use by the church.

(b)

A church cemetery of less than five acres which provides only single-level ground burial.

(c)

A mausoleum consisting of two acres or less which is owned by and immediately contiguous to an existing church facility. The church establishing such a mausoleum must ensure that the mausoleum is kept and maintained in an orderly manner and limit its availability to members of the church. The church establishing such a mausoleum must have been incorporated for at least 25 years and must have sufficient funds in an endowment fund to cover the costs of construction of the mausoleum.

(d)

The location of any church columbarium, cemetery, or mausoleum exempt under this Section shall, however, be subject to local government zoning.

For the purpose of this Section, church has the same meaning as defined in Section 656.1601.

(Ord. 86-786-471, § 3; Ord. 2022-729-E, § 1)

Sec. 173.112. - Penalty.

It shall be unlawful and a class D offense for any person to violate or to fail to comply with any provision of this Chapter. Each day a violation continues shall constitute a separate offense.

(Ord. 73-718-335, § 1; Ord. 83-591-400, § 1; Ord. 86-786-471, § 2)

Note— Former § 510.111.

Sec. 170.109. - Penalty for violations; suspension and revocation of license. Chapter 176 - COMPRESSED AIR FOR BREATHING