(A) General conveyance.
(1) Under authority of Idaho Code 50-320, the city shall convey cemetery plots and niches for burial rights by deeds signed by the Mayor and countersigned by the Clerk, to individuals who pay a fee therefor. Such deeds shall be in the form of a minimum of one plot or niche per deed, which shall be recorded in the office of the County Recorder without further acknowledgment.
(2) Each deed shall contain the language “this deed is subject to the current Salmon City Code in affect at the time of purchase”. The deed shall also contain interment options as allowed in the current city code. Such deeds shall vest in the owner, his or her heirs and assigns, a right in fee simple to the plots and niches for the sole purpose of interment. The rights of heirs and assigns to interment in plots and niches conveyed by deeds shall be determined as set forth hereinafter.
(3) Ownership of burial rights may be transferred only as specified hereinafter. All burial rights owners shall be subject to the city code herein. The deed of burial rights and any amendments thereto shall be the sole agreement between the city and the plot and/or niche owner, his or her heirs and assigns.
(B) Procedure for conveyance of cemetery plots and niches.
(1) A deed shall be issued for each plot and niche sold for burial rights in the cemetery. An application form, accompanied by the appropriate fee, shall be filled out prior to issuance of the deed, indicating the name of the party or parties to whom the plot and/or niche is being sold and the name in which the deed to the plot and/or niche is to be issued. Right to use a plot or niche for interment shall not be granted until all appropriate fees have been paid and the necessary deed obtained.
(2) However, in the case of a licensed mortuary’s request in writing, via e-mail or by certified mail for a plot or niche, the application may be filled out by the city staff on behalf of the mortuary, listing the mortuary as the requesting party, with the name of the deceased to be placed on the deed as owner and the mortuary billed monthly for all such plots and niches requested the previous month. If such payments are not kept current, the Clerk may refuse to issue further deeds and may prohibit interment until payment in full has been received.
(3) Deeds shall be issued by the office of the Clerk in the name specified on the application. All deeds shall be recorded with the County Clerk.
(C) Rights of interment. The person whose name is subscribed on the deed as the owner shall have the right to be interred in the plot or niche specified on the deed, unless a legal transfer of ownership pursuant to this city code was made prior to his or her demise. The owner shall also have the right to specify, by means of a will or other legal document, that an additional interment be allowed in this plot or niche subject to the provisions set forth elsewhere in the city code. If the owner is interred elsewhere, the plot or niche otherwise reserved for his or her interment shall be available to his or her heirs and assigns in the order of their demise, subject to proof of assignment or inheritance being presented to the city. Such heirs and assigns shall also have the right to transfer ownership, subject to presentations of proof of assignment or inheritance. Transfer of ownership must meet criteria as set forth in division (D) below. Plots or niches can be used only for the purposes as provided by this city code.
(D) Transfers, assignment. Burial rights may be transferred to those persons eligible to be original purchasers of burial spaces or niches. If a resident wishes to transfer burial rights to a nonresident the difference in fees plus recording fees will be charged according to the current rate. A resident that loses residency due to nursing home care shall not lose resident burial fee rights. No transfer or assignment of any plot or niche or interest therein shall be valid until a new burial permit is issued, recorded and the original permit is terminated. Such transfer or assignment permit shall be recorded in the office of the County Clerk. If the legal holder of a cemetery deed wishes to sell burial rights back to the city, he or she must establish proof of ownership. The seller shall execute a deed giving rights to burial back to the city. Buyback amounts with a fixed minimum shall be set by resolution. If maintenance and recording fees were paid at the time of purchase, they shall not be refunded.
(Prior Code, § 12-1-2) (Ord. 06-709, passed 3-21-2007; Ord. 09-732, passed 2-18-2009; Ord. 10-766, passed 11-3-2010; Ord. 17-826, passed 9-20-2017; Ord. 19-842, passed 11-6-2019)