ABANDONED CEMETERY LOTS; PUBLICATION OF NOTICE AND REVERSION TO THE CITY.
Raleigh City Code § 9-4019
in effectSec. 9-4019. - ABANDONED CEMETERY LOTS; PUBLICATION OF NOTICE AND REVERSION TO THE CITY.
(a) A cemetery lot may be determined to be abandoned by the superintendent according to the following standards and procedures:
(1) Upon investigation, the superintendent shall determine that there has been no interment in the lot for a period of fifty (50) years from the date of purchase;
(2) The superintendent shall conduct a reasonable effort to locate the listed owner, including the sending of certified mail inquiries to the owners' last known address, and attempting to contact the owners' immediate family by mail or telephone; and
(3) Upon making the investigations outlined above, and if no valid response(s) are recovered, the superintendent shall certify and report these efforts to the City Council and request the Council to publish notice of its intent to determine that the lot has been abandoned once a week for four (4) successive weeks in a newspaper published in the City, such notice requesting the purchaser, his or her heirs, or immediate family members to report to the City that the lot is intended to be used and has not in fact been abandoned. Upon receiving no valid responses to the published notice as described herein, the lot and all rights of burial thereon, shall revert to the City, which may then resell the lot in due course. In the event the original owner reappears after the resale of the lot or lots, a full refund of the original purchase price shall be made by the City.
(b) These provisions, or an accurate summary thereof, shall be included in the provisions of any deed to a cemetery lot sold by the City.
(Ord. No. 1991-736, §1, 2-19-91)
Source: City of Raleigh, North Carolina, City Code and City Charter (Municode Library, library.municode.com)URL: https://library.municode.com/nc/raleigh/codes/code_of_ordinances?nodeId=DIVIICOGEOR_PT9PARECUAF_CH4CE_S9-4019ABCELOPUNORECIFetched: 11/1/2026