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Lake Wales (Current through Ordinance 2023-17, Adopted 7-05-2023) |
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Code of Ordinances |
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Chapter 2. Administration |
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Article VI. Cemetery Administration |
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Division 1. General Matters |
| § 2-601. Short title. |
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Latest version.
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This article, originally adopted by Ordinance No. 96-23 on November 19, 1996 and incorporating all of the preexisting rules and regulations governing the operation of the municipal cemeteries, shall be known and may be cited as the "City of Lake Wales Cemetery Code" or the "Cemetery Rules and Regulations." |
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(Ord. No. 2009-32, § 1, 12-15-09) |
| § 2-602. Legislative intent. |
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Latest version.
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(a) It is the intent of this article to establish uniform rules and regulations for the purchase, sale, use and maintenance of cemetery spaces in cemeteries owned by the City of Lake Wales and to prescribe procedures for the administration of these cemeteries. (b) It is the intent of the city commission that the rules and regulations established by this article shall apply to every burial space in the municipal cemeteries whether said space is a grave, vault, crypt or niche unless specifically exempted herein. (c) It is the intent of the city commission that this article shall serve as a contract defining the responsibilities of the city in maintaining the municipal cemeteries and the responsibilities of those paying respect to their loved ones who are interred therein. |
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(Ord. No. 2009-32, § 1, 12-15-09) |
| § 2-603. Definitions. |
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Effective on Tuesday, August 4, 2015
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(a) The following words, terms and phrases, when used in this article, shall have the meanings ascribed to them in this section, except where the context clearly indicates a different meaning: (1) Block means a plot of land consisting of lots and spaces which is identified on the cemetery plat filed with the city clerk. (2) Cemetery means property owned or leased by the city for the burial of human remains and any land leased or owned in the future for the burial of human remains. (3) Cemetery administrator means that person designated by the city manager to have responsibility for preparation and storage of documents for the conveyance, sale or transfer of burial rights and the collection and deposit of funds in payment of said conveyance, sale or transfer. The cemetery administrator shall also be responsible for any administrative work related to the interment or disinterment of human remains in the city's cemeteries. (4) Cemetery manager means that person designated by the city manager to have responsibility for the day-to-day maintenance and operation of the cemeteries. (5) Certificate of ownership means the instrument issued by the city, upon payment of the established fee, evidencing a perpetual right of burial in a certain cemetery space of the individual to whom the certificate is issued or a member of the immediate family of that individual. (6) City means the City of Lake Wales, Polk County, Florida. (7) City clerk means the duly appointed city clerk of the City of Lake Wales or his/her designee. (8) City commission means the elected governing body of the City of Lake Wales. (9) City manager means the city manager of the City of Lake Wales or his/her designee. (10) Conveyance, sale or transfer means the conveyance of a right to burial in a space and shall not be deemed to convey fee simple title to the space. (11) Deed means the certificate of ownership executed by the city certifying the conveyance to a purchaser of the right to burial in a space. (12) Disinterment means the opening of a burial site, the removal of a casket or other enclosure containing human remains from the open site, and the closing of the site. (13) Final disposition means the final disposal of human remains by means including, but not limited to, earth interment, aboveground interment or cremation. (14) Finance director means the finance director of the City of Lake Wales or his/her designee. (15) Funeral means the observance, service or ceremony held for a deceased person. (16) Funeral directing means the making of arrangements for, or directing the arrangements for, the preparation and transportation of human remains for final disposition; or using, in connection with one's name, the word "funeral director," "licensed funeral director," "undertaker," or "mortician" or offering or representing one's self as offering such services. (17) Funeral director means any person licensed in the State of Florida to practice funeral directing. (18) Grave means the excavation on a lot for the final disposition of human remains. (19) Immediate family means spouse, child, parent, grandparent, grandchild, brother, sister, mother-in-law and father-in-law. (20) Interment means the opening of a burial site, the placing of a casket or other enclosure containing human remains in the open site, and the closing of the site. (21) Lot means the numbered divisions as shown on the recorded cemetery plat which consists of one (1) or more plots. (22) Lot marker means a marble or granite post used by cemetery staff to locate the corners of the lot or plot; for the purposes of this article, lot marker shall also mean a permanent metal marker embossed with the contract number and date of sale of a burial space and permanently mounted at the northwest corner of a burial space. (23) Marker means any memorial that is composed of only one (1) piece; e.g., a flat marker. There are cases where a marker is composed of two (2) pieces, but has the effect of a marker; e.g., a bronze marker on granite. This is still technically a marker, even though it has two (2) pieces. (24) Memorial means any marker or structure upon or in any lot or niche, placed thereupon or therein or partially therein for the purpose of identification or in memory of the interred. (25) Monument means any memorial that has two (2) separate sections or more; e.g., a stone with a base. The top section of a monument is the "tablet" and the bottom section is the "base." (26) Nonresident means a person not residing within the corporate limits of the city. (27) Owner means any person, firm or corporation who has purchased a lot, part lot or grave space in a city cemetery or the heirs, personal representatives or successors of the owners. (28) Plot or space means that parcel within a lot in which the remains of one (1) adult human being will be or have been buried. (29) Resident means a person residing within the corporate limits of the city. (30) Service animal means any animal such as a seeing-eye dog or hearing-ear dog used to assist a person with a disability or an animal trained for law enforcement purposes and under the control of a law enforcement officer. (31) Vault means an underground or aboveground chamber or container used for the final disposition of human remains. (b) For the purposes of administration and enforcement of this chapter, unless otherwise stated in this chapter, the following rules of construction shall apply: The word "shall" is always mandatory and not discretionary; the word "may" is permissive. The words "he," "his," and other words denoting the masculine gender shall extend and be applied to females and to firms, partnerships and corporations as well as to males. Words used in the present tense shall include the future, and words used in the singular number shall include the plural and plural the singular, unless the context clearly indicates the contrary. Unless the context clearly indicates the contrary, where a regulation involves two (2) or more items, conditions, provisions, or events connected by the conjunction "and," "or" or "either...or," the conjunction shall be interpreted as follows: (1) "And" indicates that all the connected terms, conditions, provisions or events shall apply. (2) "Or" indicates that the connected items, conditions, provisions or events may apply singly or in any combination. (3) "Either...or" indicates that the connected items, conditions, provisions or events shall apply singly but not in combination. (4) The word "includes" shall not limit a term to the specific example but is intended to extend its meaning to all other instances or circumstances of like kind or character. |
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(Ord. No. 2009-32, § 1, 12-15-09; Ord. No. 2015-05, § 1, 08-04-15) |
| § 2-604. Rights reserved by the city. |
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Latest version.
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(a) The city reserves and shall have the right to refuse admission to any cemetery and to refuse the use of any of the cemetery's facilities at any time to any person or persons whom the city may deem to be in violation of the provisions of this article. (b) The city reserves and shall have the right to enlarge, reduce, re-plat or change the boundaries or grading of any or all sections of the cemeteries including the right to modify and change the locations of or remove or re-grade roads, drives, walks, or any part thereof. (c) The city reserves and shall have the right to lay, maintain and operate, or alter or change water lines for irrigation systems, gutters for drainage, and the like, and reserves an easement along all lot lines for utility purposes as needed. (d) The city reserves and shall have the right to use cemetery property not sold to individual lot owners for cemetery purposes, including the interment of human remains, or for anything necessary, incidental or convenient thereto. (e) The city reserves to itself, and to those lawfully using the privileges and facilities of the cemeteries, a perpetual right of ingress and egress over lots for the purpose of passage to and from other lots. (f) The city reserves and shall have the right to correct any error that may be made by it in the description, transfer or conveyance of any interment rights, either by cancelling such conveyance and substituting and conveying in lieu thereof other interment property of equal value and similar location as far as possible, or as may be selected by the city manager or his designee, or, in the sole discretion of the city manager, by refunding the amount of money paid on account of said purchase. (g) The city reserves and shall have the right to correct any error that may be made by it in making interments, disinterments or removals. In the event such error shall involve the interment of the remains of any person, the city reserves and shall have the right to remove or transfer such remains so interred to such other property of equal value and similar location as may be substituted and conveyed in lieu thereof. (h) The city reserves and shall have the right to prohibit, modify or remove any structure, object, improvement or adornment from any lot which may have been placed therein in violation of the rules, or which may be considered objectionable, or injurious to the lot, adjoining lots or to the cemetery in general. For the purposes of this article, the term "objectionable" means that an item interferes with the operation of maintenance equipment, has poor aesthetic value, or does not conform to established societal values. (i) The city reserves and shall have the right to adopt additional rules and regulations or to amend, alter or repeal any rule or regulation established by this article, at any time, and subject only to the public notice requirements provided by Florida Statutes for ordinance adoption. |
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(Ord. No. 2009-32, § 1, 12-15-09) |
| § 2-605. Care of cemeteries; limitation of liability; responsibilities of city; responsibilities of public. |
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Effective on Tuesday, August 4, 2015
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(a) The city shall endeavor at all times to provide general maintenance and care to the municipal cemeteries. (b) The city shall take all reasonable precautions to protect cemetery lot owners and the property rights of cemetery lot owners from loss or damage, but the city shall not be liable, and disclaims all responsibility, for loss or damage to property or rights of lot owners arising from causes beyond its reasonable control including, but not limited to, damage caused by the elements, an act of God, thieves, vandals, malicious mischief-makers, or unavoidable accidents, whether the damage be direct or collateral. (c) When cemetery fees are insufficient for the perpetual care of the municipal cemeteries, the cost associated with such perpetual care shall be borne by the taxpayers of the city and includes the cutting and irrigation of the grass at reasonable intervals, the raking and cleaning of the grounds, the pruning of shrubs and trees, and the maintenance of pathways and roadways. Perpetual care by the city shall in no case mean the maintenance, repair or replacement of any memorial, tomb or mausoleum placed or erected upon lots by persons, firms or corporations; nor the doing of any special or unusual work in the cemeteries, including work caused by impoverishment of the soil; nor does it mean the reconstruction of any marble or granite work in any section or portion of a cemetery damaged by the elements, an act of God, thieves, vandals, malicious mischief-makers, or unavoidable accidents, whether the damage be direct or collateral. (d) Those members of the public honoring their loved ones must realize that anything that prohibits the city from fulfilling its commitment to care for the municipal cemeteries or adds undue cost for the taxpayers shall not be allowed. It shall be the responsibility of those honoring their loved ones to observe the cemetery rules and regulations, to place items permitted well within the spaces allowed, and to remove perishable items when they are no longer performing their role in beautifying the grave site; i.e., dead flowers, faded and weathered artifacts, and similar items. |
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(Ord. No. 2009-32, § 1, 12-15-09; Ord. No. 2015-05, § 1, 08-04-15) |
| § 2-606. Responsibility for cemetery administration and maintenance. |
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Effective on Tuesday, August 4, 2015
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(a) The general administration and maintenance of the municipal cemeteries shall be the responsibility of the cemetery manager who shall be an employee of the city and subject to all rules, policies and procedures governing all employees of the city. (b) The cemetery manager is hereby empowered and required to enforce all rules and regulations provided by this article and to exclude from the cemeteries any person violating the same. (c) The duties of the cemetery manager shall be as follows: (1) Attendance at cemetery. At a minimum, the cemetery manager shall be available from 8:00 a.m. until 4:00 p.m. on Monday through Friday or have one (1) employee present in his absence who is competent in performing the duties of the cemetery manager in order to discharge those duties without delay. The cemetery administrative office in the municipal administration building shall be open during all normal business hours of the city. (2) Assistance to the public. The cemetery manager shall aid and assist the public in the locating of burial spaces, entombment crypts and inurnment niches or in interpreting the meaning of this article and shall take such steps as are necessary for the protection and convenience of all funeral service attendees. (3) Supervision of cemetery maintenance. The cemetery manager shall supervise city employees in the general care and maintenance of the municipal cemeteries. (4) Examination of burial permits. The cemetery manager shall require and examine burial permits and shall refuse burial, entombment or inurnment until such permit shall comply with the state law and the restrictions of the city. (5) Location of burial space. The cemetery manager shall locate the burial space and authorize the opening of the grave, crypt or niche before work by any party shall commence and shall prepare and issue to the funeral director the vault and casket identification tags required by subsection 2-631(d). The cemetery manager shall locate the burial space and authorize the placement of a monument or marker before a monument or marker shall be set or engraved by any party. (6) Record of burials, entombments and inurnments. The cemetery manager shall keep complete and accurate records at the cemetery office of the names of the deceased, the lot, section and plot in which the burial is made, or the mausoleum wall, row and crypt in which an entombment is made, or columbarium wall, row and niche in which an inurnment is made, the date of burial, entombments, or inurnment, and the name of the funeral director conducting the funeral. Duplicate records shall be maintained and updated on a regular basis which shall be stored with the official records of the city in the municipal administration building. (7) Sale of lots, plots, crypts and niches. The cemetery administrator shall sell such lots, plots, crypts and niches in the municipal cemeteries as authorized by the city commission and at the price established by the city commission. The cemetery administrator shall cause to be issued a certificate of ownership of interment rights upon payment of the whole amount by the purchaser and shall cause the cemetery manager to place a permanent maker on all ground burial lots which indicates the contract number and date of sale. (8) Record of plots, crypts and niches sold. The cemetery manager shall keep a plat book of the cemeteries on which shall be shown all plots, crypts and niches which are sold or are for sale, and a record made of the date, name of purchaser and amount received for each sale. (9) Reports. The cemetery administrator shall make annual reports to the finance director on a form developed by the finance department showing the total number of interments, entombments and inurnments with other pertinent information, including a statement of the lots, crypts and niches sold or transferred and funds received for such sales and transfers. |
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(Ord. No. 2009-32, § 1, 12-15-09; Ord. No. 2015-05, § 1, 08-04-15) |
| § 2-607. Conduct of cemetery workers. |
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Latest version.
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(a) Workers assigned to perform work at a city cemetery shall not perform any work for lot owners, funeral directors, monument companies, vault companies, or similar entities except by direction of the city manager. (b) No cemetery worker shall solicit or accept any fee, tip, gratuity, commission or other compensation for work performed at a city cemetery from any person, firm or corporation except the city. (c) Cemetery workers shall always be vigilant and shall report promptly to the cemetery manager all cases of vandalism, disorder, theft or other matters that might present any disruption to the good order of the cemetery. In the absence of the cemetery manager, they will report all such instances to the cemetery administrator. (d) Cemetery workers shall at all times refrain from using equipment in a careless or haphazard way that may cause damage to markers, monuments or other property in the cemetery. In case of damage to any property by a cemetery worker, said damage shall immediately be reported to the cemetery manager who shall conduct an investigation and report the results of the investigation to the public works director. (e) Cemetery workers shall, at all times, behave in a courteous manner toward users of the cemeteries, and shall comport themselves in a dignified and respectful manner. |
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(Ord. No. 2009-32, § 1, 12-15-09) |
| § 2-608. Handling of cemetery monies. |
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Latest version.
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(a) No cash transactions shall occur at the cemeteries. All monies due the city for the sale of burial spaces or cemetery services shall be paid by the person, firm or corporation from whom said monies are due to the cashier in city hall. (b) Under emergency circumstances, it may be necessary to complete a sales transaction after normal business hours. In the case of an emergency, the cemetery manager and the cemetery administrator are authorized to accept a check or money order from the purchaser which shall be deposited with the paperwork documenting the transaction in the locked drop-box at city hall for processing by the cashier on the next business day. |
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(Ord. No. 2009-32, § 1, 12-15-09) |
| § 2-609. Modification of provisions. |
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Effective on Tuesday, August 4, 2015
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The city commission hereby recognizes that cases may arise in which strict enforcement of the provisions of this article may impose unnecessary hardships. Therefore, the city commission delegates authority to the city manager to make exceptions to the provisions of this article upon a finding by the city manager that an exception is necessary to prevent hardship. |
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(Ord. No. 2009-32, § 1, 12-15-09; Ord. No. 2015-05, § 1, 08-04-15) |
| §§ 2-610-2-615. Reserved. |