Definitions

For the purpose of this chapter, certain abbreviations, terms, phrases, words and their derivatives shall have the following meanings:

Blocks shall mean subdivisions shown on the maps of individual city cemeteries.

Burial plots/spaces shall mean a single burial space.

City cemetery shall mean Woodlawn, Oaklawn, Jackson Heights, Marti and Centro Austuriano Cemeteries, and any other cemetery which may become owned by the city.

Cemetery coordinator shall refer to the individual responsible for maintaining all cemetery records.

Columbarium shall mean a vault with niches for urns containing ashes of the deceased.

Cremains shall mean ashes remaining after the cremation of a human corpse.

Cremains certificate shall mean the certificate that accompanies the cremains from the crematory.

Crypt shall mean underground vault used for the burial of human remains.

Decorative adornment shall mean, but not be limited to, fencing, coping, slabs, vases, statues, plants, and trees.

Director shall refer to the Director of the City of Tampa Parks and Recreation Department or designee.

Disinterment shall mean to remove a corpse from a grave or tomb for the purpose of relocation.

Exhume shall mean to remove a corpse from a grave or tomb.

Full burial shall mean the burial of human remains in a casket and vault.

Grave shall mean an excavation for burial of human remains.

Hermetically sealed shall mean an airtight seal.

Interment shall mean a burial or entombment of one body into a grave or tomb, which is done at the request of the family and/or legal representative.

Interment authorization/interment permit shall mean the right, once signed, notarized and returned, for remains to be interred.

Interment rights shall mean the right of all owners and/or his or her legal heirs to use cemetery grounds for the interment of dead persons. The interment right belongs to the owner of the burial lot, cemetery lot, or grave space and is subject to the rules and regulations contained in this chapter.

Inurnment shall mean to bury or entomb an urn, as ashes of the deceased.

Lot shall refer to the numbered divisions as shown on the plats/maps of the city cemeteries.

Marker/memorial marker shall be identified as one that marks or distinguishes, as a tombstone. Memorial shall be identified as a marker to preserve the memory of a person or event. Marker/memorial shall apply to any marker upon or in any lot placed thereupon or therein or partially therein for the purpose of identification or in memory of the deceased. No marker/memorial or other structure intended for identification will be of any material other than granite, marble or cast bronze, must be located at either the head or foot of the grave and may not cover the entire grave, nor shall it exceed 2′ × 4′ × 1.5′.

Mausoleum shall mean an above ground assembled or pre-assembled structure, with no adornments, used for interment or inurnment.

Monument/obelisk shall mean any marker/memorial that is not flush with the ground, including statues and adornments.

Perpetual care fund shall mean a fund established by the City of Tampa to provide continuing maintenance of the grounds of city owned and operated cemeteries.

Refuse shall mean garbage, trash, debris and rubbish, including but not limited to, flowers from graves, plant and or tree trimmings, or lawn clippings.

Sections shall refer to the subdivisions shown on the plat maps of city cemeteries.

Technical manual shall refer to the official's rules and regulations pertaining to requirements not specifically addressed in the City Code but necessary to the effective pursuit of the purpose of the City Code, and any other information needed for the uniform and orderly administration of the City Code. Such standards are to be published in a technical manual, which manual shall be on file in the office of the city clerk at least seven (7) days prior to adoption thereof and shall be made available to the public for inspection and for duplication at cost.

Transit permit shall mean the permit issued by the medical examiner or coroner's office, which accompanies the body during transit.

Vault shall mean an underground chamber made of concrete, granite, marble, or other impermeable material, for the placement of caskets and human cremains.

(Ord. No. 2012-36, § 3, 4-5-2012; Ord. No. 2023-168, § 3, 12-7-2023)