City Ordinance Chapter 014 - Cemeteries

View the PDF version Google Docs PDF Viewer

                                                   Chapter 14

                                                 CEMETERIES*

                                              Article I. In General
                   Secs. 14-1-14-30. Reserved.


                                           Article II. City Cemeteries

                                               Division 1. Generally
                   Sec. 14-31.   Definitions.
                   Sec. 14-32.   Penalty for violation.
                   Sec. 14-33.   Interments outside cemeteries prohibited; interment of other
                                 than humans prohibited.
                   Sec. 14-34.   Purchase of lots generally.
                   Sec. 14-35.   Drawing and execution of deeds to lots.
                   Sec. 14-36.   Restrictions on rights of lot owners.
                   Sec. 14-37.   Prerequisites to interment.
                   Sec. 14-38.   Perpetual care fund.
                   Sec. 14-39.   Trusts for care of specific lots.
                   Sec. 14-40.   Reversion of lots to city for delinquency in payment of charges.
                   Sec. 14-41.   Damage or removal of property.
                   Sec. 14-42.   Maintenance of trees or shrubbery.
                   Secs. 14-43-14-60. Reserved.

                                       Division 2. Department of Cemeteries
                   Sec.   14-61.   Establishment and functions; supervision by city manager.
                   Sec.   14-62.   Departmental records and accounts.
                   Sec.   14-63.   Appointment of superintendent as department head.
                   Sec.   14-64.   Duties of superintendent.




*State law references-Cemetery regulations act, MCL 456.521 et seq.; permit for disposition of body, MCL 333.2848.



                                                     CD14:1
                                                   CEMETERIES                                            § 14-34



          ARTICLE I. IN GENERAL                           shall not be available for burial purposes except
                                                          for infants or the deposit of the ashes of decreased
Secs. 14-1-14-30. Reserved.                               persons authorized by the owner of a lot or his
                                                          assignee. Lots shall be purchased under the fol-
                                                          lowing terms:
     ARTICLE II. CITY CEMETERIES*
                                                              (1)   The purchase of lots or fractions and
           DIVISION 1. GENERALLY                                    perpetual care shall be for prices deter-
                                                                    mined from time to time by the city com-
Sec. 14-31. Definitions.                                            mission by resolution or regulation.

  The following words, terms and phrases, when                (2)   No burial of any kind shall be made in any
used in this article, shall have the meanings                       lot or fraction thereof until the entire
ascribed to them in this section, except where the                  purchase price has been paid in full.
context clearly indicates a different meaning:
                                                              (3)   Installment payments for lots and perpet-
  Cemeteries mean any cemetery owned or main-                       ual care shall be for such periods, amounts
tained by the city for the purpose ofreceiving the                  and rates of interest as the city commis-
remains of deceased humans.                                         sion may from time to time establish.
   Superintendent means the person responsible
                                                              (4)   The cemetery deed for the lot or fraction
for management of the municipal cemeteries.
(Code 1975, § 7-1; Code 2002, § 14-31)                              thereof shall be issued upon the payment
                                                                    of the full amount charged and all accrued
                                                                    interest.
Sec. 14-32. Penalty for violation.
   Any person who violates any provision of this              (5)   No lots shall be considered sold or re-
article shall be responsible for a municipal civil                  served until a receipt for the entire pur-
infraction.                                                         chase price therefor has been obtained
(Code 1975, § 7-19; Code 2002, § 14-32)                             from the city.

Sec. 14-33. Interments outside cemeteries                     (6)   In case a lot has been purchased before
            prohibited; interment of other                          May 15, 1973 (at which time perpetual
            than humans prohibited.                                 care was not included in the original pur-
                                                                    chase price), and the purchase price was
   No interment of any deceased person shall be                     paid in full and the payments for annual
made in any place in the city other than within                     care were current as of May 15, 1973,
cemeteries devoted to that purpose; nor shall the                   such lot or fraction thereof shall be con-
interment of anything other than human bodies                       sidered fully paid and entitled to perpet-
be permitted therein.                                               ual care.
(Code 1975, § 7-9; Code 2002, § 14-33)
                                                              (7)In the event a lot was purchase before
Sec. 14-34. Purchase of lots generally.                          May 15, 1973, and either the purchase
                                                                 price or annual care payments were not
   Persons purchasing lots or fractions of lots
                                                                 current by such date, the owner of such
after May 15, 1973, shall be entitled, upon pay-
                                                                 lot shall be entitled to burial privileges
ment of the entire price charged as determined
                                                                 and the lot and perpetual care shall be
from time to time by the city commission, to a
                                                                 paid in full upon receipt from the owner or
deed conveying burial rights in the lot or fraction,
                                                                 his assignee of an amount equal to 50
together with perpetual care. Fractions of lots
                                                                 percent of the current authorized price for
  *State law reference-Authority of city to acquire and          a lot or fraction thereof.
maintain cemeteries, MCL 125.1.                           (Code 1975, § 7-10; Code 2002, § 14-34)


                                                     CD14:3
§ 14-35                                     MUSKEGON CITY CODE



Sec. 14-35. Drawing and execution of deeds              Sec. 14-38. Perpetual care fund.
            to lots.
                                                          A perpetual care fund shall be established from
   Deeds to cemetery lots shall be drawn in the         the sale of grave spaces for the purpose of provid-
name of the city as grantor and shall be executed,      ing continued maintenance for the city cemeteries
for and on behalf of the city, by the mayor and city    and no part thereof shall be used except for
clerk.                                                  cemetery purposes.
(Code 1975, § 7-11; Code 2002, § 14-35)                 (Code 1975, § 7-14; Code 2002, § 14-38)

Sec. 14-36. Restrictions on rights oflot own-           Sec. 14-39. Trusts for care of specific lots.
            ers.
                                                           (a) The department shall have power to take,
   Purchasers of any lot in any cemetery shall          receive and hold any property, real or personal, by
acquire only the privilege or license to make           devise or otherwise, which may be granted, trans-
interments in the lot so purchased. The owner of        ferred or devised to such department in trust for
any lot shall not allow any interment to be made        the purpose of caring for and keeping in good
therein for remuneration, nor shall a lot be used       order and repair any given lots, or portions thereof,
for any other purpose than a place for burial of        specified in any trust. Any such property received
the dead. All interments in lots shall be restricted    by way of gift, grant, devise or bequest for the care
to members of the family and relatives of the           of certain lots shall be under the control of the
owner thereof, except an owner may give written         superintendent and shall be held in trust subject
consent for the burial of the remains of any            to the terms and conditions under which it was
person, and if consent is made in good faith and        granted.
not for remuneration, the city shall honor the
consent.                                                   (b) Such trust fund may be invested in income
(Code 1975, § 7-12; Code 2002, § 14-36)                 producing securities and the income therefrom,
                                                        after the fulfillment of the conditions expressed,
Sec. 14-37. Prerequisites to interment.                 may be used in improving the cemeteries. No
                                                        portion of the principal of the trust fund shall be
  No deceased person shall be interred in any           temporarily or permanently transferred to the
cemetery until the superintendent has found that:       perpetual care fund or used for general cemetery
                                                        purposes, contrary to the provisions of the trust
   (1)    A burial transmit permit has been ob-
                                                        under which the funds were originally given.
          tained from the health officer as required
                                                        (Code 1975, § 7-15; Code 2002, § 14-39)
          by law;
   (2)    The lot in which the burial is to be made     Sec. 14-40. Reversion of lots to city for de-
          has been fully paid for;                                  linquency in payment of charges.
   (3)    The person arranging for such burial has         (a) Wherever a lot and perpetual care has been
          the right to the use of such lot;             purchased upon the installment basis after May
   (4)    Such lot is not used beyond its capacity;     15, 1973, and any installment shall not have been
                                                        paid within three months from the date the in-
   (5)    The proper record is made of the name         stallment is due and payable, the city shall cause
          and age of the deceased person and of the     notice of such default and demand for payment
          exact location of the grave;                  thereof to be given to such owner or purchaser, as
   (6) Full payment for all city services, includ-      the case may be, by registered mail or by publi-
       ing, but not limited to, opening, closing        cation of a 30-day notice in the Muskegon Chron-
       and storage, has been received.                  icle or a newspaper fully circulating in the city,
(Code 1975, § 7-13; Code 2002, § 14-37)                 and if such default shall continue after such
  State law reference-Pennit for disposition of body,   period, the lot, all burial rights, and all previous
MCL 333.2848.                                           payments shall be forfeited to the city. The city


                                                   CD14:4
                                                     CEMETERIES                                          § 14-63



shall have the right to resell such lot or portion          notified to remove such trees or shrubbery within
thereof, free of any interest of the owner or               one week after receiving such notice, and shall
purchaser or any persons claiming thereunder.               have refused or neglected so to do.
                                                            (Code 1975, § 7-18; Code 2002, § 14-42)
   (b) All lots or parts oflots that have reverted to
the city in which bodies have been interred shall
                                                            Secs. 14-43-14-60. Reserved.
thereafter be held in trust by the city and no
marker or monument shall be removed therefrom
so long as such marker or monument is legible                       DIVISION 2. DEPARTMENT OF
and capable of serving the purpose for which it                            CEMETERIES
was intended. Such grave sites shall be given
routine maintenance care by the city.                       Sec. 14-61. Establishment and functions; su-
                                                                        pervision by city manager.
   (c) The owner or his assignee of any lots or
relatives interested in any lots which have re-                The department of cemeteries is hereby cre-
verted or which may revert to the city may be               ated and such department shall manage, operate
redeemed by such persons by paying 50 percent of            and maintain the municipal cemeteries subject to
the current price of the lot, or the entire unpaid          any limitations and restrictions set forth in this
balance in cash, whichever is the higher amount,            division or contained in any applicable law. The
provided such lot or fraction thereof has not been          care, maintenance and operation of municipal
contracted for in any way by another person.                cemeteries shall be under the supervision and
(Code 1975, § 7-16; Code 2002, § 14-40)                     control of the city manager.
                                                            (Code 1975, § 7-2; Code 2002, § 14-61)
Sec. 14-41. Damage or removal of property.
                                                            Sec. 14-62. Departmental records and ac-
   No person shall cut, remove, injure or carry                         counts.
away any flowers, trees, shrubs, plants or vines
                                                               (a) The department of cemeteries shall keep
being or growing in and upon any cemetery lot or
                                                            full and complete records of the ownership of all
ground used for cemetery purposes owned by the
                                                            lots in the cemeteries, of the burial capacity of
city; nor shall any person deface, injure or write
                                                            each lot, sold and unsold, of the location of each
upon any markers, monuments, headstones, fences
                                                            grave, of the name of each person buried in each
or structures within any of the cemeteries of the
                                                            grave that has been or shall hereafter be used and
city; nor shall any person injure or destroy, take
                                                            of the date of the burial of each.
or carry away any vases, flower pots or other
ornaments that may have been placed upon the                   (b) The department of cemeteries shall keep
graves or grounds platted and used for cemetery             full and detailed accounts of the receipts of expen-
purposes, unless by permission of the city.                 ditures on account of the cemeteries and at least
(Code 1975, § 7-17; Code 2002, § 14-41)                     once a month or more often shall turn over to the
    State law references-Malicious mischief, MCL 750.377a   city treasurer all monies collected on such ac-
et seq.; destruction of trees and shrubs, MCL 750.382.
                                                            counts.
                                                            (Code 1975, § 7-3; Code 2002, § 14-62)
Sec. 14-42. Maintenance of trees or shrub-
            bery.                                           Sec. 14-63. Appointment of superintendent
                                                                        as department head.
   If any trees or shrubbery situated in any lot, by
means of their roots, branches or otherwise, be-               The city manager shall appoint a superinten-
come detrimental to the adjacent lots or avenues,           dent of the municipal cemeteries who shall be the
or unsightly or inconvenient to passersby, the city         head of the department of cemeteries. The super-
may enter such lot and remove such trees and                intendent shall be subject to all management
shrubbery or any part thereof; provided, however,           policies of the city.
that the owner of such lot shall first have been            (Code 1975, § 7-4; Code 2002, § 14-63)


                                                       CD14:5
§ 14-64                                    MUSKEGON CITY CODE



Sec. 14-64. Duties of superintendent.
   (a) The superintendent shall look after and
take proper care of the cemeteries and see that no
lot therein is used or occupied in violation of this
article or of any rule or regulation promulgated
hereunder. The superintendent shall collect all
fees and charges for duties and services per-
formed in connection with the cemeteries. Such
fees shall be remitted to the city treasurer.
   (b) The superintendent shall maintain order
in the cemeteries and make complaints for every
violation of this article, and for violation in the
cemeteries of any other ordinance of the city. The
superintendent shall supervise all workmen, vis-
itors and drivers, and shall qualify and act as
police officer in the cemeteries.
(Code 1975, § 7-5; Code 2002, § 14-64)




                                                  CD14:6

Top of Page


Sign up for City of Muskegon Emails