CEMETERIES

Codified Ordinances of Cleveland pt. FIVE, tit. IX, ch. 557

in effect

Codified Ordinances of Cleveland § 557.01 Definitions

§ 557.01 Definitions As used in this chapter: (a) “Sell” and “purchase” and derivatives thereof do not mean any alienation of conveyance or any acquisition of title to property of any description, but only mean the granting by the City to the purchaser and his or her heirs or successors in interest of the right of sepulture, the right of access at reasonable times, the right to erect, maintain and care for monuments or other structures, and the right to beautify lots or graves, all subject to the provisions of laws, ordinances, rules and regulations applicable in the premises, as the same shall be in effect at the time of the consummation of such sale and purchase, or as thereafter amended or changed. (b) “Cemetery lot,” “lot,” “burial lot,” “burial site,” “section” or other similar descriptive terms mean any lot, section or other appropriate description of space in a cemetery, shown on the plat thereof as being designated for the burial of human remains. (c) “Mausoleum” includes “columbarium”. (d) “Crypt” includes “niche”. (Ord. No. 81865. Passed 4-2-28)

Codified Ordinances of Cleveland § 557.02 Certificates and Agreements for Purchase

§ 557.02 Certificates and Agreements for Purchase Certificates of purchase and agreements for purchase of cemetery lots, crypts and niches as provided for in this chapter shall be in the form prescribed by the Director of Law, and shall not be valid until approved by him or her in each case. Such form shall be sufficient to incorporate therein by reference or otherwise the provisions of all laws, ordinances and rules and regulations applicable in the premises, as the same shall be in effect at the time of the issuance of such certificate or agreement, or as thereafter amended or changed. (Ord. No. 81865. Passed 4-2-28)

Codified Ordinances of Cleveland § 557.03 Designation of Burial Areas

§ 557.03 Designation of Burial Areas The Commissioner of Park Maintenance shall have power to designate areas within which headstones, monuments and other structures may be erected, and shall have power to control and regulate the erection in or on cemetery lots. No headstone, monument or other structure shall be so erected unless approved by the Commissioner. (Ord. No. 957-11. Passed 10-24-11, eff. 10-26-11)

Codified Ordinances of Cleveland § 557.04 Hours

§ 557.04 Hours The Commissioner of Park Maintenance shall by general rule determine at what hours and for what purposes the cemeteries shall be open to pedestrians and to vehicles. (Ord. No. 1659-09. Passed 11-30-09, eff. 12-3-09)

Codified Ordinances of Cleveland § 557.05 Speed Limit

§ 557.05 Speed Limit No motor vehicle shall be driven faster than fifteen (15) miles per hour within any cemetery owned by the City. (Ord. No. 957-11. Passed 10-24-11, eff. 10-26-11)

Codified Ordinances of Cleveland § 557.06 Plat Required; Contents; Approval

§ 557.06 Plat Required; Contents; Approval The Commissioner of Park Maintenance shall prepare a plat of every cemetery owned or established by the City. The plat shall show all drives, walks or other thoroughfares; all sewers, drains or watercourses; all lots reserved for buildings necessary in the administration of the cemetery; all areas reserved as parks or open spaces; all burial lots; all areas reserved for future platting. The Commissioner may, with the approval of the directors of the departments concerned, requisition the services of any office or division which may be needed in the preparation of the plat. In every case the value of services shall be paid from the Cemetery Operating Fund to the General Fund. The plat shall be subject to the approval of the Platting Commissioner as to all drains and sewers shown on the plat, and subject to the approval of the Director of Parks and Recreation in all respects. When approved it shall be filed as public record in the office of the Commissioner, subject to alterations, amendment, supplement or supersession only by a plat similarly prepared and approved which shall specifically state the plat or particular items of a particular plat intended to be altered, amended, supplemented or superseded. No interment shall be permitted except in a burial lot or site shown as such upon the plat herein required. (Ord. No. 957-11. Passed 10-24-11, eff. 10-26-11)

Codified Ordinances of Cleveland § 557.07 Lot Prices

§ 557.07 Lot Prices Prices at which cemetery lots, or parts thereof, may be sold shall be fixed by the Commissioner of Park Maintenance, at the time of platting any cemetery or part of any cemetery hereinafter acquired by the City, or not previously platted. The prices so fixed for all the lots shown on any plat shall be included in a single schedule, which shall clearly identify each lot shown on the plat, and the price. No schedule or amendment thereto shall be valid until the approval of the Director of Parks and Recreation and the Director of Finance are endorsed thereon, and until it is filed as a public record in the office of the Commissioner. Whenever any prices so fixed are to be changed, it shall be done only by amending the schedule, or by adopting a new schedule, which shall supersede all prior schedules applicable to the plat. (Ord. No. 521-2024. Passed 7-10-24, eff. 7-16-24) (BOC Res. No. 377-24. Adopted 8-7-24)

Codified Ordinances of Cleveland § 557.08 Items Determining Lot Prices

§ 557.08 Items Determining Lot Prices The price of each lot shall be the sum of three (3) items determined as provided in Sections 557.09 to 557.11: (a) The land cost, in which term is included the cost to the City of the land and general improvements represented by such lot or site; (b) The endowment cost, being the contribution from the sale price made to the Cleveland City Cemetery Endowment Fund; and (c) The operation cost, being the amount required for the care and upkeep of the lot, as shall be determined by the Commissioner of Park Maintenance, and which sum shall be the balance remaining after deductions of divisions (a) and (b) of this section from the selling price of each lot. The Commissioner of Park Maintenance may amend this cost as the Commissioner deems necessary. Each item and the total price shall be shown on the schedule required by Section 557.07. (Ord. No. 957-11. Passed 10-24-11, eff. 10-26-11)

Codified Ordinances of Cleveland § 557.09 Lot Prices on Cemeteries Hereafter Acquired

§ 557.09 Lot Prices on Cemeteries Hereafter Acquired In the case of cemeteries hereafter acquired, the Commissioner of Park Maintenance shall determine an amount which shall be the sum of the amounts paid for the entire tract acquired for cemetery purposes, plus an amount determined to be required for general improvements of whatever character, plus any amounts to be paid as interest on bonds or other obligations of the City issued to pay for the acquisition or improvement of such cemetery. The sum so determined shall be divided into as many portions as there are lots laid out on such plat, and each portion shall be determined to be the land cost of some particular lot; provided, that when such tract is not all platted at once, only a proper proportion of the sum determined as provided shall be apportioned to the lots platted at any one time. In determining the portion of land cost to be fixed upon any one (1) lot, consideration shall be taken of area, location and any other factors affecting the relative value of the several lots. (Ord. No. 1659-09. Passed 11-30-09, eff. 12-3-09)

Codified Ordinances of Cleveland § 557.10 Last Cost Determined and Apportioned

§ 557.10 Last Cost Determined and Apportioned In the case of lots in cemeteries hereafter laid out, and in the case of the platting hereafter of land heretofore acquired for cemetery purposes, the last cost shall be determined and apportioned to the several lots as nearly as may be in conformity with the principles indicated in Section 557.09. (Ord. No. 81865. Passed 4-2-28)

Codified Ordinances of Cleveland § 557.11 Endowment Cost

§ 557.11 Endowment Cost The Director of Finance shall declare the amount of the endowment cost, which amount shall be a contribution to the Cleveland City Cemetery Endowment Fund from the receipts of the sale price. The Director may change this amount as deemed necessary by the Director. (Ord. No. 957-11. Passed 10-24-11, eff. 10-26-11)

Codified Ordinances of Cleveland § 557.12 Sale of Lots or Burial Sites

§ 557.12 Sale of Lots or Burial Sites When the plat and schedule provided for in Sections 557.06 and 557.07 have been approved and filed, the Commissioner of Park Maintenance shall have power on behalf of the City to sell lots, parts of lots or burial sites, at the respective prices shown in such schedule. No burial lot or site shall be sold unless it is platted, nor at any price not shown on such schedule. (Ord. No. 1659-09. Passed 11-30-09, eff. 12-3-09)

Codified Ordinances of Cleveland § 557.13 Purchase of Lots on Deferred Payments

§ 557.13 Purchase of Lots on Deferred Payments The Commissioner of Park Maintenance may at his or her discretion accept an initial payment on the price of the lot in an amount not less than half the total price, nor in any case less than the land cost apportioned to the lot. Payment of the remainder of the price shall be secured by agreement as the Commissioner, with the approval of the Director of Parks and Recreation, deems reasonable. The agreement shall be in form prescribed and approved by the Director of Law, and shall require the payment to the City for the benefit of the Cemetery Operating Fund of interest at the rate of six percent (6%) per annum on the deferred portion of the price, and for the reduction from time to time of the deferred portion by payments not less frequent than semi-annually, nor shall the payment of any portion be deferred longer than five (5) years. The entire amount unpaid shall become due and payable before any interment is permitted in the lot, but the payment may be waived, and the agreement continued upon terms approved by the Directors named in this section. (Ord. No. 521-2024. Passed 7-10-24, eff. 7-16-24) (BOC Res. No. 377-24. Adopted 8-7-24)

Codified Ordinances of Cleveland § 557.14 Certificate of Purchase Issued after Payment in Full

§ 557.14 Certificate of Purchase Issued after Payment in Full No certificate of purchase for any cemetery lot shall be issued until the price therefor is paid in full. Whenever any deferred payment on such price is in default for more than thirty (30) days, the entire amount unpaid shall at once become due, and unless the same is paid forthwith, the Commissioner of Park Maintenance shall cancel the agreement and tender to the purchaser a certificate of purchase for so many burial sites therein as the Commissioner shall determine to have been paid for in full. (Ord. No. 1659-09. Passed 11-30-09, eff. 12-3-09)

Codified Ordinances of Cleveland § 557.15 Transfer or Assignment of Lots

§ 557.15 Transfer or Assignment of Lots The person to whom a certificate of purchase as an agreement to purchase has been issued or the successor in interest of such person, may transfer or assign such certificate or agreement, as to the whole or any portion of the lot described therein, subject in every case to the approval and consent of the Commissioner of Park Maintenance, which shall be recited in and endorsed upon the instrument evidencing such transfer, in form prescribed by the Director of Law, and no such transfer or assignment shall be valid unless so endorsed and unless approved by the Director. (Ord. No. 1659-09. Passed 11-30-09, eff. 12-3-09)

Codified Ordinances of Cleveland § 557.16 Rights Conveyed in Certificate of Purchase

§ 557.16 Rights Conveyed in Certificate of Purchase A certificate of purchase shall not convey to the purchaser any title to the land described therein, but shall secure to him or her the right of sepulture for the purchaser and for members of the purchaser’s family, the right of access at all reasonable times, and the right to erect, maintain and care for monuments or other structures, and to beautify lots or graves, all subject to the provisions of laws, ordinances and rules or regulations applicable in the premises. (Ord. No. 957-11. Passed 10-24-11, eff. 10-26-11)

Codified Ordinances of Cleveland § 557.17 Right of Cancellation

§ 557.17 Right of Cancellation The City shall reserve the right in the case of the opening of a thoroughfare or highway on a course through any cemetery to cancel the certificate of purchase. Upon any cancellation the City shall be obligated to issue a certificate of purchase in lieu of the one (1) cancelled, describing another lot of equal price, in the same or another City cemetery, and to pay the cost of removing and re-interring bodies and of removing or replacing monuments, structures or improvements placed on the original lot by the holder of such certificate or at the certificate holder’s option, to issue to the holder a certificate stating the amount paid for or upon the cancelled certificate, which amount so certified shall thereafter be credited as paid upon any lot or crypt purchased by the holder thereof or his or her successors in interest. No refund shall ever be made of moneys received by reason of the sale or agreement to sell any lot or crypt. (Ord. No. 957-11. Passed 10-24-11, eff. 10-26-11)

Codified Ordinances of Cleveland § 557.18 Cleveland City Cemetery Endowment Fund

§ 557.18 Cleveland City Cemetery Endowment Fund That portion of receipts from the sale of any cemetery lot which is designated as the endowment cost shall be paid into the account of a fund of the cemetery established and designated as the Cleveland City Cemetery Endowment Fund, the principal and interest of which shall be used for the purpose of the enlarging, improving, embellishing, operating, maintaining or caring for the cemeteries of the City. The balance shall be invested by the Director of Finance, or by the Director’s successor designated for the purpose by ordinance, in securities in which sinking funds or municipal trust funds are authorized by statute or ordinance to be invested. Any unencumbered portions at any time uninvested shall be kept on deposit, at interest, in regular City depositaries. The principal and earnings from the Cleveland City Cemetery Endowment Fund shall be used to defray the cost of maintaining and caring for the cemeteries, including any common structures, any structures erected on lots or burial sites, the drives, walks, and general improvements to the cemeteries. (Ord. No. 957-11. Passed 10-24-11, eff. 10-26-11)

Codified Ordinances of Cleveland § 557.19 Contributions to Fund by Owners of Lots Previously Sold

§ 557.19 Contributions to Fund by Owners of Lots Previously Sold The City will at all times accept contributions to the Cleveland City Cemetery Endowment Fund in respect of any lot previously sold. (Ord. No. 1659-09. Passed 11-30-09, eff. 12-3-09)

Codified Ordinances of Cleveland § 557.20 Annual Payments from Trust Funds

§ 557.20 Annual Payments from Trust Funds In addition to the endowment funds, the City is authorized to receive from trustees, executors or other custodians of trust funds under wills or agreements providing for the upkeep of lots and monuments and headstones in cemeteries belonging to or under the control of the City, such annual payments as such custodians of the trust fund are able and willing to make. The funds so received shall be expended by the Commissioner of Park Maintenance in the maintenance and beautification of the particular lot and the maintenance and repair of any headstone and monument standing thereon for which such contribution is made. The Commissioner is authorized to issue receipts for such funds stipulating that the same shall be expended solely for the improvements of the lots, headstones and monuments designated by such custodian of the trust fund. (Ord. No. 1659-09. Passed 11-30-09, eff. 12-3-09)

Codified Ordinances of Cleveland § 557.21 Trust Funds Deposited in City Cemetery Endowment Fund

§ 557.21 Trust Funds Deposited in City Cemetery Endowment Fund TTrust funds previously established for the perpetual care of cemetery lots already sold may be turned in whole or in part into the Cleveland City Cemetery Endowment Fund with the concurrence of the Commissioner of Park Maintenance and of the purchaser of any such lot or his or her representative or successor in interest having power to assent thereto. Any such funds shall be treated as a permanent part of the Cleveland City Cemetery Endowment Fund under Section 557.22. In case trust funds are not so turned into such fund, the original trust agreement shall continue in force unchanged. (Ord. No. 957-11. Passed 10-24-11, eff. 10-26-11)

Codified Ordinances of Cleveland § 557.22 Funds for Additional Care of Beautification

§ 557.22 Funds for Additional Care of Beautification Purchasers of cemetery lots may create and the City may accept the custody and administration of permanent funds for the purpose of providing the perpetual care or beautification of designated lots in addition to the care provided from the Cemetery Operating Fund. All permanent funds so accepted shall be evidenced by an agreement in form prescribed and approved by the Director of Law, executed by the purchaser in his or her own behalf and by the Commissioner of Park Maintenance and the Director of Finance on behalf of the City. For the purpose of custody and investment, but not otherwise, the principal amount of the trust funds, whether created prior to the enactment of this section or under its terms, shall be treated as a permanent part of the Cleveland City Cemetery Endowment Fund. The earnings of the permanent funds shall be applied exclusively to the perpetual care and beautification of the designated lot for which the funds were accepted. The expenditure may be made each year as the earnings accrue, or a reserve may be accumulated of the earnings in such amount as the Commissioner may deem necessary to meet emergencies and unanticipated requirements. (Ord. No. 957-11. Passed 10-24-11, eff. 10-26-11)

Codified Ordinances of Cleveland § 557.23 Cemetery Operating Fund

§ 557.23 Cemetery Operating Fund (a) Except as described in Sections 557.21 and 557.22, the principal and income from the Cleveland City Cemetery Endowment Fund and from deferred payments due thereto, and all earnings attributable to the cemeteries, including those described in division (c) of Section 557.08, may be paid into the Cemetery Operating Fund established. Moneys in the Cemetery Operating Fund shall be available each year for appropriation for the purpose of the enlarging, improving, embellishing, operating, maintaining or caring for the cemeteries of the City, or parts thereof. (b) No moneys in the Cemetery Operating Fund derived from the Cleveland City Cemetery Endowment Fund or from trust funds or from earnings attributable to the cemeteries shall ever be transferred or diverted to any other fund, or expended for any other purpose than those specified in this section. (c) The salaries of the employees necessary for the cemeteries and other expenses necessary for the cemeteries, shall be payable from the Cemetery Operating Fund. (Ord. No. 957-11. Passed 10-24-11, eff. 10-26-11)

Codified Ordinances of Cleveland § 557.24 Appropriations from General Fund to Cemetery Operating Fund

§ 557.24 Appropriations from General Fund to Cemetery Operating Fund Council shall each year appropriate from the General Fund to the Cemetery Operating Fund an amount sufficient with balances in and revenues of such Cemetery Operating Fund to defray the expenses payable from such Cemetery Operating Fund for the ensuing year. All unencumbered appropriations from the Cemetery Operating Fund shall lapse at the end of the year for which such appropriations were made. Any unencumbered balance remaining in such Cemetery Operating Fund at the end of any year, not exceeding the amount appropriated thereto from the General Fund in addition to the cost of pauper burials for such year, shall revert to the General Fund. (Ord. No. 81865. Passed 4-2-28)

Codified Ordinances of Cleveland § 557.25 Plan of Mausoleums

§ 557.25 Plan of Mausoleums The Commissioner of Park Maintenance shall at all times keep in his or her office as a public record a plan of every City mausoleum, which plan shall show and clearly identify every crypt and niche intended for use as a repository of human remains. The plan shall not be of any force or effect for the purposes of this chapter until and unless it is approved by the Director of Parks and Recreation. The plan may be altered, amended, supplemented or superseded by only a like plan similarly approved, which shall specifically state the plan or particular items of the plan intended to be altered, amended, supplemented or superseded. (Ord. No. 521-2024. Passed 7-10-24, eff. 7-16-24) (BOC Res. No. 377-24. Adopted 8-7-24)

Codified Ordinances of Cleveland § 557.26 Vaults or Crypts for Temporary Use

§ 557.26 Vaults or Crypts for Temporary Use The Commissioner of Park Maintenance may designate upon the plan provided for in Section 557.25 a sufficient number of vaults or crypts for the purpose of the temporary receipt and keeping of human remains, pending their permanent burial or placement in a private crypt. No human remains not intended for immediate burial or placement in a private crypt shall be placed or kept in any other place in any City cemetery or mausoleum than in the vaults or crypts designated as provided in this section. The Commissioner shall have power in each case to fix the rental for the use of such temporary vault or crypt, and to require the permanent burial or placement in a private crypt or other disposal of such remains after a period deemed by such Commissioner to be reasonable in each case. (Ord. No. 1659-09. Passed 11-30-09, eff. 12-3-09)

Codified Ordinances of Cleveland § 557.27 Schedule of Mausoleum Prices

§ 557.27 Schedule of Mausoleum Prices Prices at which crypts and niches of City mausoleums shall be sold shall be fixed by the Commissioner of Park Maintenance not later than the first offering of any crypt or niche for sale, in the case of mausoleums hereafter erected. The prices so fixed for all of the crypts and niches shown on any plan shall be included in a single schedule, which shall clearly identify each crypt or niche and the price. No schedule or amendment thereto shall be valid until the approval of the Director of Parks and Recreation and the Director of Finance are endorsed thereon, and until it is filed as a public record in the office of the Commissioner. Whenever any prices so fixed are to be changed, it shall be done only by amending the schedule, or by adopting a new schedule which shall supersede all prior schedules applicable to the plan. (Ord. No. 521-2024. Passed 7-10-24, eff. 7-16-24) (BOC Res. No. 377-24. Adopted 8-7-24)

Codified Ordinances of Cleveland § 557.28 Determination of Crypt or Niche Price

§ 557.28 Determination of Crypt or Niche Price The price of each crypt or niche shall be the sum of two (2) items, namely: (a) The land and capital cost, which shall be determined upon a basis corresponding in principal to the basis established in Sections 557.09 and 557.10 for the determination of land cost in the case of cemetery lots; and (b) The endowment cost, being the contribution required to be made to the Cleveland City Cemetery Endowment Fund, which shall be determined as established in Section 557.11. Each such item, and the total price, shall be shown on the schedule hereinbefore required. (Ord. No. 1659-09. Passed 11-30-09, eff. 12-3-09)

Codified Ordinances of Cleveland § 557.29 Provisions for Mausoleum Sales

§ 557.29 Provisions for Mausoleum Sales The provisions of Sections 557.01 and 557.12 to 557.17, in so far as they can be applied to the sale and care of mausoleum crypts and niches, shall be so applied in the same manner as they are applicable to the sale and care of cemetery lots. (Ord. No. 81865. Passed 4-2-28)

Codified Ordinances of Cleveland § 557.30 Disposition of Mausoleum Endowment Cost

§ 557.30 Disposition of Mausoleum Endowment Cost That portion of the price of any mausoleum crypt or niche which is designated as the endowment cost shall upon its receipt be paid forthwith into the Cleveland City Cemetery Endowment Fund. (Ord. No. 98793. Passed 4-20-33)

Codified Ordinances of Cleveland § 557.31 Plats, Plans and Records

§ 557.31 Plats, Plans and Records The Commissioner of Park Maintenance shall prepare and maintain correct plats, plans or other records sufficient to show the purchasers or holders of certificates of purchase, or of other instruments equivalent thereto, of all lots, crypts and niches. (Ord. No. 1659-09. Passed 11-30-09, eff. 12-3-09)

Codified Ordinances of Cleveland § 557.32 Distribution of Payments on Lots and Crypts

§ 557.32 Distribution of Payments on Lots and Crypts Upon the payment of the price of a cemetery lot, or a mausoleum crypt, or of an initial payment thereon, so much thereof as represents land cost, or land and capital cost, shall be paid into the sinking fund or into bond interest and retirement funds respectively, and applied to the payment of cemetery or mausoleum bonds and interest thereon; provided that if at any time there shall be no cemetery or mausoleum bonds outstanding or if there is accumulated in such funds an amount which, with earnings thereon, will pay the interest on and discharge such bonds when due, such land cost, or land and capital cost shall be paid into the Cemetery Operating Fund. (Ord. No. 98793. Passed 4-20-33)

Codified Ordinances of Cleveland § 557.33 Charges for Services

§ 557.33 Charges for Services The Commissioner of Park Maintenance shall have power to fix and determine charges to be made for the use of City crematories, or for other services rendered for the cemeteries. (Ord. No. 1659-09. Passed 11-30-09, eff. 12-3-09)

Codified Ordinances of Cleveland § 557.34 Rules and Regulations

§ 557.34 Rules and Regulations The Commissioner of Park Maintenance shall have power to make and prescribe rules and regulations not inconsistent with any provisions of this chapter, for the management and conduct of the cemeteries and of any matters relating to the administration thereof. (Ord. No. 1659-09. Passed 11-30-09, eff. 12-3-09)

Codified Ordinances of Cleveland § 557.35 Determining Costs of Mausoleums

§ 557.35 Determining Costs of Mausoleums Wherever a City mausoleum is combined in the same building with a chapel, a crematory or other facilities not solely required for the mausoleum, the Commissioner of Park Maintenance shall have power in determining the land and capital cost of such mausoleum to exclude such portion of the total cost of such entire building as may represent the cost of such crematory, chapel and other facilities not solely required for such mausoleum. (Ord. No. 1659-09. Passed 11-30-09, eff. 12-3-09)

Codified Ordinances of Cleveland § 557.36 Power to Decrease Prices

§ 557.36 Power to Decrease Prices Wherever the Commissioner of Park Maintenance determines that cemetery lots, mausoleum crypts or niches cannot be sold at prices determined as provided in the foregoing sections of this chapter, he or she shall have power, with the approval of the Director of Parks and Recreation, to fix such less price as shall represent the highest price reasonably obtainable, not less than the endowment cost fixed as determined in this chapter, and to diminish the land cost or the land and capital cost in proportion as may be required. No sale shall be made for less than the determined endowment cost, and the full amount of the endowment cost shall in every case be paid into the respective endowment funds as in cases where the price is the full sum required by this chapter. (Ord. No. 521-2024. Passed 7-10-24, eff. 7-16-24) (BOC Res. No. 377-24. Adopted 8-7-24)

Codified Ordinances of Cleveland § 557.37 Earnings from Mausoleums, etc. to Operating Fund

§ 557.37 Earnings from Mausoleums, etc. to Operating Fund All earnings derived from the use of mausoleum buildings, including the use of crematories, chapels and other facilities therein, shall be paid into the Cleveland City Cemetery Operating Fund. (Ord. No. 98793. Passed 4-20-33)

Codified Ordinances of Cleveland § 557.38 Repurchase of Graves

§ 557.38 Repurchase of Graves (a) As used in this section, “grave” shall mean a space within a City-owned cemetery which is designated for the burial of one (1) dead body; “grave-site” shall mean a space within a City-owned cemetery which contains one (1) or more graves; “receipt” shall mean the document which evidences the City’s original conveyance of rights in a grave to a member or members of the public; and “certificate of purchase” shall mean the document which evidences the City’s original conveyance of rights in a grave site to a member or members of the public. (b) When so requested by the owner of a receipt or a certificate of purchase, his or her successor(s) or assign(s), and upon receiving said receipt or certificate, the Commissioner of Park Maintenance may repurchase a grave which is the subject of the receipt or certificate. (c) When the Commissioner agrees to repurchase a grave, he or she shall do so for the price at which the grave was originally sold by the City less ten percent (10%) of that price to cover administrative costs incurred in the repurchase process. In the case of a grave which has been vacated through disinterment, the Commissioner may credit the repurchase price against the cost of disinterment. The portion of the repurchase price which exceeds the cost of disinterment, if any, shall be paid to the seller of the grave. (d) When a grave has been repurchased by the Commissioner, the cemetery records shall reflect the availability of that grave for purchase. (Ord. No. 2044-92. Passed 12-7-92, eff. 12-14-92)

Codified Ordinances of Cleveland § 557.39 Reserved

Codified Ordinances of Cleveland § 557.40 Special Services

§ 557.40 Special Services The Commissioner of Park Maintenance shall prepare a schedule of special cemetery services not in conflict with the foregoing Codified Ordinances. Charges for such services shall be determined by said Commissioner and shall be effective upon approval by the Board of Control. (Ord. No. 2044-92. Passed 12-7-92, eff. 12-14-92)

Source: City of Cleveland, Ohio, Codified Ordinances and City Charter (American Legal Publishing, codelibrary.amlegal.com)URL: https://codelibrary.amlegal.com/codes/cleveland/latest/cleveland_oh/0-0-0-29101Fetched: 11/1/2026