(A) Compliance with law. Besides being subject to these rules and regulations, all interments and removals are made subject to the orders and laws of the properly constituted authorities of the cemetery, county and state.
(B) Cemetery compliance. All interments, disinterments and removals must be made at the time and in the manner and subject to such charges as fixed or approved by the city.
(C) Cemetery direction. All funerals, interments and inurnments within the cemetery grounds shall be under the direction of a licensed funeral director.
(D) First come, first served. In joint tenancy, the first to die has the right of burial within the lots owned by joint tenancy; however, all joint tenants must agree on which burial right is used if multiple burial rights exist in joint tenancy.
(E) Temporary condition. When instructions regarding the location of an interment space in a lot cannot be obtained, or are indefinite, or when, for any reason, the interment space cannot be opened where specified, the Administrator may, in his discretion, open it in such location in the lot as he deems best and proper, so as not to delay the funeral. The city shall not be liable for damages in any error so made.
(F) Instructions. Detailed written instructions are desired by the Administrator, and the city shall not be responsible for any order given verbally or by telephone, or for any mistake occurring from the want of precise and proper instructions as to the particular space, size and location in a plot where interment, disinterment or removal is desired.
(G) Correction of errors. Cemetery management reserves and shall have the right to correct any errors that may be made by it either in making interments, disinterments or removals, or in the description, transfer or conveyance of any interment property, including but not limited to, either by canceling such conveyance and substituting and conveying in lieu thereof, or the interment property of equal value and similar location as far as possible or as may be selected by the cemetery management, or, in the sole discretion of cemetery management, by refunding the amount of money paid on account of such purchase. In the event such error shall involve the interment of the remains of any person in such property, cemetery management 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) Disclaimer of liability. The city shall in no way be liable for any delay in the interment of a body where a protest to the interment has been made, or when the rules and regulations have not been complied with. The city shall be under no duty to recognize any protests of interment unless they are in writing and filed in the office of the administrator.
(I) Identity of person. The administrator shall not be liable for the interment permit nor the identity of the person sought to be interred.
(J) Payment. No interment shall be permitted or memorial placed in or on any property not fully paid.
(K) Interments per space. Unless expressly stated otherwise, each purchase of interment rights is for one body or two cremains per single space only. For additional fees and charges, in addition to one traditional burial, up to one cremains may be placed in one plot. In the special areas designated solely for cremains only one set of cremains may be placed in each plot. Only one vertical monument is allowed per burial space, and then, only where permitted by cemetery management. Regardless of how many individuals' remains are buried in one grave space, only one headstone per space is permitted. A footstone in memory of a cremated individual may be added to a grave space where a headstone already exists. For mausoleum crypts: (a) no more than one casket and one cremation urn or two cremation urns may be entombed in an individual mausoleum crypt; or (b) no more than two caskets and one cremation or one casket and two cremation urns or three cremation urns may be entombed in any companion mausoleum crypt. For lawn crypts: (a) no more than one casket and one cremation urn or two cremation urns may be entombed in a single depth lawn crypt; or (b) no more than two caskets and one cremation urn or one casket and two cremation urns or three cremation urns may be entombed in a double depth lawn crypt.
(L) Human restriction. No interment of any body, or the cremated remains of any body, other than that of a human being, shall be permitted in the cemetery.
(M) Records. The number of burial rights sold on any lot will be recorded on the burial certificate when the lot and interment rights are purchased.
(N) Placement. No grave shall be placed in an irregular appearance with graves on the same or adjoining lots.
(O) Verification. All orders for interments in lots must be approved by the certificate holder of the lot or the certificate holder's legal representative. When this is impossible because of illness or other reasonable cause, fax or telephone permission will be accepted but will make the person calling responsible and any change of location made after the opening is begun shall be at the expense of the certificate holder of the lot. Should the certificate holder fail or neglect to make such designation, cemetery management reserves the right to make interment in accordance with normal procedure. The cemetery management assumes no responsibility for any error in such location and an additional charge will be made for any change requested.
(P) Exclusive service. Designated contractual services hired by the City of Auburn will be the only workers permitted to open and close graves.
(Q) Prior permission required. No bodies shall be buried or interred within or on any lot in the cemetery unless previous arrangements have been made with and permission given by the Cemetery Administrator.
(R) Canopies. At this time the City of Auburn does not provide a canopy for graveside use.
(S) Unauthorized cremains. The city disavows all responsibility and liability therefor, and the certificate holder, their next of kin, and all others using, knowingly or not, the cemetery hereby waive any and all duty upon the city, and otherwise agree to hold the city harmless, including the cost of its legal defense and reasonable attorneys’ cost, arising from any unauthorized cremains in the cemetery. Increasingly, cremains are divided, dispersed, made into jewelry, lost in whole or part, co-mingled, placed in caskets of others, scattered on burial locations of others, deliberately or clandestinely disposed, legally or not, and otherwise handled in such a way as to render difficult or impossible an accurate accounting of their complete and final dispensation, often including the absence of appropriate next of kin authorization and control of the cremains. Any cremains, in whole or part, finding its way into the cemetery absent an express pre-authorization and release by the prerequisite next of kin of the decedent to cemetery management beforehand, whether placed allegedly with knowledge or not of the city, has no standing or rights, forevermore upon the cemetery for anything arising from the unauthorized cremains, including but not limited to; memorialization thereof, disinterment or dis-inurnment, claim or liability asserted by its next of kin or others upon the city, acknowledgment in the city records, decoration rights, visitation rights, etc. All such unauthorized cremains finding their way into the cemetery, by any means, shall be considered a criminal trespass upon the cemetery by it, the person(s) who committed the trespass, and its next of kin thereafter as relates to the unauthorized cremains. The city, in the strongest expression of words possible, hereby disavows all responsibility, duty and liability arising from such unauthorized cremains in the cemetery.
(Ord. 2021-11, passed 11-8-21) Penalty, see § 99.99