Division 3. Interments And Disinterments, Article VI. Cemetery Administration, Chapter 2. Administration, Code of Ordinances, Lake Wales

Lake Wales (Current through Ordinance 2023-17, Adopted 7-05-2023)

Code of Ordinances

Chapter 2. Administration

Article VI. Cemetery Administration

Division 3. Interments And Disinterments

§ 2-626. Interment prohibited except in duly designated or platted cemeteries.

Latest version.

(a) It shall be unlawful for any person to bury or otherwise inter any human remains within the corporate limits of the city, except in a municipal cemetery designated in this article or in a platted cemetery, the plat of which has been approved by the city commission, and which plat shall show the size and situation of the cemetery, its subdivisions and the methods used and intended to be used to designate plainly the location of burial lots or graves therein, and which plat shall be recorded in the public records of Polk County, Florida, and a copy thereof furnished to the city.

(b) No person, firm or corporation shall establish any cemetery or burial ground, or create, lay out, plat or use any piece or parcel of land within the corporate limits as a burial ground or cemetery for the interment of human remains without first obtaining a permit from the city.

(Ord. No. 2009-32, § 1, 12-15-09)

§ 2-627. Burial permit required.

Latest version.

No interment shall be made unless the remains are accompanied by a burial permit as required by state law. The city shall not be liable for the correctness of the information on the burial permit nor for the identity of the person sought to be interred.

(Ord. No. 2009-32, § 1, 12-15-09)

§ 2-628. Hours when interments are permitted.

Latest version.

(a) Regular Hours. Interments shall be made between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday. Interments shall not be made on Saturdays, Sundays or city holidays except as provided in paragraph (b) and paragraph (c). City holidays are defined as New Year's Day, Martin Luther King Day, Memorial Day, July 4th, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day, Friday after Thanksgiving Day, and Christmas Day. Other holidays may be designated by the city commission from time to time.

(b) Saturdays. Where a burial must be scheduled on a Saturday, interments shall be made between the hours of 10:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. Interments to be scheduled on a Saturday shall require a minimum of twenty-four (24) hours' notice to the cemetery manager except where immediate burial is required by the laws of the State of Florida, the rules and regulations of the board of health, or for religious reasons. The notice requirement may be waived by the city manager or his designee if extenuating circumstances prevent twenty-four (24) hours' notice.

(c) Sundays and holidays. Where immediate burial is required by the laws of the State of Florida, the rules and regulations of the board of health, or for religious reasons, interments may be made on Sundays or city holidays after payment of a service charge in the amount of three hundred dollars ($300.00) by the funeral director. Interments shall be made between the hours of 12:00 noon and 4:00 p.m.

(Ord. No. 2009-32, § 1, 12-15-09)

§ 2-629. Interment authorization required.

Latest version.

(a) No interment shall be made unless the burial space has been located by the cemetery manager. The cemetery manager shall clearly mark the burial space in which the interment will occur with a temporary tag indicating the name of the deceased, the date and time of the interment, and the name of the funeral director. The cemetery manager shall issue an interment authorization to the funeral director which specifies the name of the deceased, the name of the funeral director, the date and time of the interment, and the location of the burial space. The interment authorization shall not be issued unless the cost of the burial space and other applicable fees have been paid in full except as provided in section 2-616, paragraph (g).

(b) A request for interment authorization must be made to the cemetery manager no later than twenty-four (24) hours prior to the time scheduled for the interment. For interments scheduled on a Monday, the request for interment authorization must be made to the cemetery manager no later than 4:00 p.m. on the preceding Friday. This requirement may be waived by the city manager or his designee if extenuating circumstances prevent twenty-four (24) hours' notice.

(Ord. No. 2009-32, § 1, 12-15-09)

§ 2-630. Opening and closing of burial space.

Latest version.

(a) Funeral directors shall be responsible for arranging the opening and closing of burial spaces at their expense.

(b) The opening of a burial space shall not commence without an interment authorization issued by the cemetery manager or his designated representative and shall not commence unless the burial space has been located and marked by the cemetery manager or his designated representative. If any problem is encountered during the opening of a burial space, the person opening the burial space shall cease work immediately and notify the cemetery manager who will resolve the problem before work is permitted to continue.

(c) Graves shall have a minimum cover of twelve (12) inches of soil from the top of the vault or liner to the ground surface level. Grave mounds shall not be allowed. Persons opening a grave must place excavated soil on suitable material to protect the grass on adjacent lots.

(d) Graves shall be closed immediately after the funeral service.

(e) Removal of excess soil after burial or the filing of the grave site with additional soil after settling shall be the responsibility of the funeral director. Any excess soil must be removed the same day as the burial, and any filing needed as a result of setting must be accomplished within five (5) days of the burial. Upon failure to remove excess soil or to fill as required above, the cemetery manager may cause the same to be accomplished with the costs thereof charged to the funeral director, which cost shall be immediately due and payable.

(f) Any additional city services required due to failure by the applicable funeral director to abide by this article and any reasonable rules and regulations promulgated to implement this article shall be charged to the funeral director and be immediately due and payable.

(g) All openings and closings which have been pre-paid or pre-arranged by an agreement between the city and the purchaser prior to the effective date of this article shall be the responsibility of the city.

(h) The funeral director and his subcontractors (i.e., vault company, grave diggers, and the like) shall exercise all possible care to protect grave markers, monuments, water lines, and other cemetery fixtures, and shall be held liable for any damage incurred.

(Ord. No. 2009-32, § 1, 12-15-09)

§ 2-631. Graves and vaults.

Latest version.

(a) No burial above ground shall be permitted.

(b) Only one (1) interment shall be made in a grave, except for the following:

(1) A parent and an infant;

(2) Two (2) children in one (1) coffin; or

(3) One (1) casketed remains and up to two (2) urns bearing cremated remains.

(c) Pre-cast concrete, natural stone, or steel vaults or grave liners shall be used in every uncremated interment except the interment of newborn infants. Such vaults shall be of sufficient construction and weight as to prevent retention of water and cave-in of the grave space.

(d) A permanent identification tag shall be affixed securely to the foot end of every vault and every casket used in an interment after November 19, 1996. The tag shall bear the name of the deceased and the date of the interment written or inscribed in a legible and indelible manner and shall be made of metal, plastic or other non-biodegradable material. The cemetery manager shall prepare the tags and provide them to the funeral director with the interment authorization specified in section 2-629. It shall be the responsibility of the funeral director to ensure that said tags are affixed, and the city shall not be liable for the failure of the funeral director to comply with this section.

(Ord. No. 2009-32, § 1, 12-15-09; Ord. No. 2010-21, § 1, 10-5-2010)

§ 2-632. Liability for delays.

Latest version.

The city shall in no way be liable for damages caused by any delay in the interment of a body where a protest, just or unjust, of the interment has been made, where the rules and regulations have not been complied with, where a burial space has not been paid for, or where the body is not accompanied by a proper burial permit.

(Ord. No. 2009-32, § 1, 12-15-09)

§ 2-633. Written protests.

Latest version.

The city shall refuse to recognize any protest of an interment unless said protest is made in writing and filed in the office of the city clerk. The remains shall be retained by the funeral director and shall not be admitted to the cemetery until such protest is resolved.

(Ord. No. 2009-32, § 1, 12-15-09)

§ 2-634. Interments for remuneration.

Latest version.

Owners shall not allow interments to be made in their burial spaces for remuneration.

(Ord. No. 2009-32, § 1, 12-15-09)

§ 2-635. Disinterment.

Latest version.

(a) Although removal contrary to the expressed or implied wish of the original owner of the burial space shall not be allowed, a body or cremated remains may be removed from the original burial space to another burial space within the cemetery at the request of the surviving spouse or heirs when there has been an exchange or purchase of a burial space for that purpose. A disinterment at the request of the surviving spouse or heirs shall be arranged by a funeral director and shall be the responsibility of the funeral director.

(b) A disinterment directed by the order of a court of competent jurisdiction shall be the responsibility of the person, firm or corporation requesting the court order.

(c) A disinterment directed by a medical examiner for the purpose of holding an inquest shall be the responsibility of the medical examiner or his lawful agents.

(d) All disinterments shall be subject to the same rules and regulations established by this article for interments. All disinterments for the purpose of removing the remains from the cemetery shall, in addition, require a transit permit signed by the appropriate public authority.

(e) As provided in section 2-604, paragraph (g), the city may perform a disinterment to correct an error in interment and may transfer the remains erroneously interred to the correct burial space or to another burial space of equal value and similar location as may be substituted and conveyed in lieu thereof.

(Ord. No. 2009-32, § 1, 12-15-09)

§ 2-636. Compliance with all laws.

Latest version.

In addition to the rules and regulations established by this article, all interments, disinterments and removals shall be subject to the orders and laws of the properly constituted public authorities.

(Ord. No. 2009-32, § 1, 12-15-09)

§§ 2-637-2-640. Reserved.