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.