(A) Burial permit required. 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. The burial permit may be obtained from the Funeral Director.
(B) Hours when interments are permitted.
(1) Regular hours. Arrangements for 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 stated below. City holidays are defined as New Year’s Day, Veterans 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.
(2) Saturdays, Sundays and holidays. Where a burial must be scheduled on a Saturday, Sunday or holidays, interments shall be made between the hours of 10:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. Interments to be scheduled on a Saturday, Sunday or holiday shall require a minimum of 24 hours notice to the Parks and Recreation Director, or his or her designee, 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 or her designee, if extenuating circumstances prevent 24 hours notice.
(C) Interment authorization required.
(1) No interment shall be made unless the burial space has been located by the Parks and Recreation Director, or his or her designee. The Funeral Director shall issue an interment authorization to the Parks and Recreation Director, or his or her designee, 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 has been paid in full.
(2) A request for interment must be made to the Parks and Recreation Director, or his or her designee, no later than 24 hours prior to the time scheduled for the interment. For interments scheduled on a Monday, the request for interment must be made to the Parks and Recreation Director, or his or her designee, no later than 4:00 p.m. on the preceding Friday. This requirement may be waived by the City Manager or his or her designee, if extenuating circumstances prevent 24 hours notice.
(3) A copy of the interment authorization shall be filed with the City Clerk of the City of Lake Mary.
(D) Opening and closing of burial space.
(1) Funeral Directors shall be responsible for arranging the opening and closing of burial spaces at their expense through the city.
(2) The opening of a burial space shall not commence without an interment authorization issued by the Funeral Director and shall not commence unless the burial space has been located and marked by the Parks and Recreation Director or his or her 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 Parks and Recreation Director, or his or her designee, who will resolve the problem before work is permitted to continue.
(3) Graves shall have a minimum cover of 18 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.
(4) Graves shall be closed immediately after the funeral service.
(5) Removal of excess soil after burial or the filling 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 filling needed as a result of settling must be accomplished within five days of the burial. Upon failure to remove excess soil or to fill as required above, the Parks and Recreation Director, or his or her designee, may cause the same to be accomplished with the costs thereof charged to the Funeral Director, which cost shall be immediately due and payable.
(6) Any additional city services required due to failure by the applicable Funeral Director to abide by this subchapter and any reasonable rules and regulations promulgated to implement this subchapter shall be charged to the Funeral Director and be immediately due and payable.
(7) The Funeral Director and his or her 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.
(E) Graves and vaults.
(1) No burial above ground shall be permitted.
(2) Only one interment shall be used per grave, except for the following:
(a) One casketed remains and three cremated remains;
(b) Two cremated remains in one cremation plot; or
(c) Two urns per cremation niche.
(3) Pre-cast concrete, natural stone, or steel vaults 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.
(F) Liability for delays. The city shall not 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.
(G) Written protests. The city shall refuse to recognize any protest of an interment unless said protest is made in writing and filed with the Parks and Recreation Director and a copy will be given to the City Manager. The remains shall be retained by the Funeral Director and shall not be admitted to the cemetery until such protest is resolved.
(H) Interments for remuneration. Owners shall not allow interments to be made in their burial spaces for remuneration without written permission from the city.
(I) Disinterment.
(1) 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.
(2) 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.
(3) A disinterment directed by a medical examiner for the purpose of holding an inquest shall be the responsibility of the medical examiner or his or her lawful agents.
(4) All disinterments shall be subject to the same rules and regulations established by this subchapter 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.
(5) 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.
(J) Compliance with all laws. In addition to the rules and regulations established by this subchapter, all interments, disinterments and removals shall be subject to the orders and laws of the properly constituted public authorities.
(Ord. 1391, passed 10-21-10)