CHAPTER 20.
Parks and Cemeteries.[26]
| § 1. |
Superintendent—Appointment. |
| § 2. |
Same—Powers and duties generally; obstructing. |
| § 3. |
Same—Keeping record of burials. |
| § 4. |
Mapping and selling grave spaces. |
| § 5. |
Conveying space in cemeteries; deeds. |
| § 6. |
To whom spaces shall be sold. |
| § 7. |
Burial of paupers. |
| § 8. |
Charges for keeping spaces in order. |
| § 9. |
Perpetual care of sections or spaces; fund. |
| § 10. |
Perpetual care cemetery commission; composition; powers and
duties. |
| § 11. |
Digging graves—Notice to keeper of cemeteries. |
| § 12. |
Same—Fees. |
| § 13. |
Care of graves of war veterans. |
| § 14. |
Keepers of cemeteries to make reports and return burial permits. |
| § 15. |
Trespassing or destroying property in cemeteries, parks, etc. |
Sec. 1. Superintendent—Appointment.
The city manager shall appoint, subject to the approval of the
council, a superintendent of parks and cemeteries, who shall have
special charge of the public parks and cemeteries and of all property
of the city in and about the same. (Code 1932, § 429; Ords.
June 6, 1938, March 20, 1939.)
Sec. 2. Same—Powers and duties generally; obstructing.
The superintendent of parks and cemeteries shall employ, subject
to the approval of the city manager, such help as may be
needed for the proper maintenance and operation of the same.
He and his deputies shall have all the powers of a member of the
city police force within the parks and cemeteries over which he
has jurisdiction, and within one hundred yards thereof. He shall
enforce such rules and regulations as may be prescribed by the
council or city manager and shall keep order and preserve the
peace therein; and anyone obstructing or hindering him in the
discharge of his duty shall be fined not less than five dollars nor
more than twenty-five dollars for each offense. (Code 1932, §
430; Ords. June 6, 1938, March 20, 1939.)
For state statute conferring police power on superintendents of
cemeteries, see § 2820 of Michie's Virginia Code of 1942.
As to bond required of superintendent of parks and cemeteries, see
ch. 2, § 173 of this volume.
Sec. 3. Same—Keeping record of burials.
The superintendent of parks and cemeteries shall keep a record
of each cemetery according to plats prepared by the city engineer
showing the name, lot and section number, grave and date of interment
of every person buried in said cemetery. (Code 1932,
§ 440; Ord. March 20, 1939.)
Sec. 4. Mapping and selling grave spaces.
The superintendent shall sell the spaces as shown on city cemetery
maps prepared and dated prior to January 1, 1939, which
are on file in the office of the city engineer and recorded in the
office of the clerk of the corporation court, at such prices as may
be fixed from time to time by the council.
The city engineer shall prepare three maps of each cemetery
and addition thereto that may be plotted or established after
January 1, 1939, so as to enable the superintendent of cemeteries
to make sales of grave spaces and properly describe the same.
One map shall be kept by the city engineer, one map shall be kept
by the superintendent of cemeteries and one map shall be recorded
in the clerk's office of the corporation court. The superintendent
of cemeteries shall sell the grave spaces as shown on said maps
at such prices as may be fixed from time to time by the council.
(Code 1932, § 431; Ord. March 20, 1939.)
Sec. 5. Conveying space in cemeteries; deeds.
The mayor shall have authority and it shall be his duty to convey
in the name and on behalf of the city to any purchaser thereof
any space in any cemetery of the city to which the city has a
clear title, provided the following deed is properly executed
and recorded:
"WHEREAS, the director of finance has received the full purchase
price of the property hereby conveyed as is evidenced by
his signature hereto.
NOW THEREFORE, THIS DEED, by and between the
CITY OF CHARLOTTESVILLE, VIRGINIA, hereinafter
referred to as the City, and . . . . . . . . hereinafter referred to as
the owner;
WITNESSETH; That for and in consideration of the sum of
$. . . . . . cash in hand paid by the owner to the city, the receipt
whereof is hereby acknowledged, as well as the covenants and
agreements hereinafter made by the owner, the city does hereby
grant, bargain, sell and convey, with GENERAL WARRANTY
of title unto . . . . . . . . owner, those certain lots or parcels of
land in said city, designated on a plat of . . . . . . cemetery as grave
space . . . . . . in block number . . . . , Division . . . . . . , said plat
being filed and recorded as is provided by law.
As a part of the consideration for this deed, it is mutually
agreed as follows:
(1) This deed shall be recorded in the clerk's office of the corporation
court by the city at the expense of the owner, and the
city shall not permit the interment of any person in said space
without the consent of the owner of the recorded legal title to
said space, or his heirs or personal representative.
(2) Said space shall be used for the interment of white persons
only, except as to those parts of said cemetery which may
now or hereafter be set aside by the city for the interment of colored
persons.
(3) Said space shall be subject to the control and management
of the city and shall be subject to any laws, ordinances or resolutions
of the city council which may be passed or adopted for
the management, government or improvement of the cemetery
in which the space is located.
(4) The above purchase price will be deposited by the city
in the "Perpetual Care Fund" and said space shall be perpetually
cared for by the city in accordance with such rules
and regulations as may now or hereafter be provided for the
perpetual care of the sections and spaces in the cemeteries of said
city.
IN TESTIMONY WHEREOF, the city has caused this deed
to be executed by its Mayor, with its corporate seal affixed, attested
by its clerk, and the director of finance and owner have
hereunto subscribed their respective names, this the . . . . day of
. . . . . . 19 . . .
[ILLUSTRATION][Description: (SEAL) ATTEST]
CITY OF CHARLOTTESVILLE,
BY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Mayor
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Director of Finance
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Owner
(Code 1932, § 432; Ord. March 20, 1939.)
Sec. 6. To whom spaces shall be sold.
All the spaces in Maplewood and Oakwood cemeteries shall be
used exclusively for the burial or interment of white persons, except
that part in Oakwood which has been or may hereafter be set
apart by the council for colored persons. (Code 1932, § 433;
Ord. March 20, 1939.)
Sec. 7. Burial of paupers.
The council shall designate such portion of Oakwood Cemetery
as may be necessary for the interment or burial of paupers.
(Code 1932, § 434; Ord. March 20, 1939.)
As to burial of paupers by city, see ch. 24, § 12 of this volume.
Sec. 8. Charges for keeping spaces in order.
Every owner of a section or part of a section in any cemetery
in the city, plotted and mapped prior to January 1, 1939, shall
pay annually, in advance, to the director of finance on the first
day of April the following fees for keeping such sections in good
condition, viz: For a whole section, $8.00; half section, $5.00;
quarter-section, $2.50; one-eighth section, $1.50. (Code 1932, §
435; Ords. Jan. 20, 1936, March 20, 1939.)
Sec. 9. Perpetual care of sections or spaces; fund.
There shall be established a fund to be known as "a fund for
the perpetual care of sections or spaces in the cemeteries, now or
hereafter owned or controlled by the City of Charlottesville."
Any owner or other party in interest may deposit with the director
of finance the sum of ten dollars per grave space to provide
for the perpetual care of the space.
Such sums so deposited shall be entered upon the records of the
city to the credit of the above-described fund in the name of the
party paying the same, and shall so stand to the credit of said account
as long as this arrangement may be in effect.
The city shall keep such grave space as shall have been deposited
for, in good condition, that is to say, they shall be kept
in good sod, the grass shall be kept in shape, except that the city
shall not be held liable for the deterioration of the stones or markers
caused by erosion.
Should the city, at any time, discontinue the control and supervision
of the several cemeteries, then such funds shall be transmitted
to its successors, or returned to the estate paying such
sums into the fund. (Code 1932, § 436; Ord. March 20, 1939.)
Sec. 10. Perpetual care cemetery commission; composition;
powers and duties.
There shall be a perpetual care cemetery commission who shall
be custodian of the fund. Said commission shall be composed
of the mayor, the city treasurer, the director of finance and the
chairman of the finance committee. It shall be the duty of the commission
to properly invest said fund and to turn into the treasury,
annually on the last day of the fiscal year, the income accruing
from such fund. (Id.)
Sec. 11. Digging graves—Notice to keeper of cemeteries.
Each grave shall be not less than five feet in depth. No interment
shall be made which shall disturb the remains of the dead,
or which shall displace or injure any monument or stone placed
over a grave. All persons desiring to have a grave opened shall
notify the keeper of cemeteries at least twenty-four hours before
the interment and shall designate the space which is to be used.
(Code 1932, § 437; Ords. Jan. 20, 1936, April 5, 1937, March 20,
1939.)
Sec. 12. Same—Fees.
The following charges shall be made for digging graves:
| (1) Where the outside case is three feet or less in length |
$ 3.50 |
(2) Where the outside case is over three feet but does not
exceed four and one-half feet in length |
5.00 |
(3) Where the outside case is over four and one-half feet
but does not exceed six feet in length |
10.00 |
| (4) Where the outside case exceeds six feet in length |
12.00 |
The above fees shall be payable in advance, unless guaranteed
by some responsible person. (Id.)
Sec. 13. Care of graves of war veterans.
The superintendent of parks and cemeteries is directed to take
care of graves of soldiers who served in the War between the
States, the Spanish-American War and the World Wars, where-ever
there is a marker or inscription to identify them, at the expense
of the city, where no provision has been made for their upkeep.
(Code 1932, § 439; Ord. March 20, 1939.)
Sec. 14. Keepers of cemeteries to make reports and return
burial permits.
Every keeper or other person or officer in charge of any cemetery
or burial ground within the city shall make a weekly report to the
health officer of the number of bodies buried by him during the
preceding week and shall also return to said health officer the permit
required by chapter 6, section 6, of this volume. (Code 1932,
§ 427.)
Sec. 15. Trespassing or destroying property in cemeteries,
parks, etc.
For breaking, injuring or destroying any monument, gravestone
or marker, shrub, plant, or tree in the cemeteries, or parks,
or any property appertaining thereto, or for trespassing in any
manner on the grounds, the person so offending shall be fined not
less than five dollars nor more than twenty-five dollars. (Code
1932, § 438; Ord. March 20, 1939.)
For state statute as to injuries to cemeteries, etc., see § 4553 of
Michie's Virginia Code of 1942.
