9-451. Procedure for vacating cemeteries

A. When a cemetery or ground used as a cemetery within the corporate limits of a city or town has been abandoned and ceases to be used for such purposes, or when in the judgment of the governing body of the city or town, the cemetery or ground so used is unfit or unsuited for cemetery purposes, or becomes obnoxious, or can be used for other public purposes to better advantage, the governing body may by resolution direct that the cemetery or ground used as a cemetery be vacated.

B. Upon the passage of an ordinance or resolution vacating a cemetery, public notice thereof shall be published in the official newspaper of the city or town for at least four consecutive weeks.

C. If, within six months from the date of the first publication of notice, the remains of any person buried within the cemetery are claimed by a relative of the person for reburial, the remains shall be delivered to the relative.

D. At the expiration of the six months period, the remains of persons buried in the cemetery which can be identified or which have monuments or gravestones at the respective graves and which have not been claimed by relatives shall be removed to some other cemetery or suitable place, and all monuments and gravestones shall also be removed, replaced and reset at the respective graves as before removal. In addition, each grave shall be numbered in numerical order, the numbers to be carved on a suitable slab of stone or hardwood and placed at the foot of the grave, and a list of the names of those buried and the number of the grave in which the remains rest shall be recorded in the office of the city or town clerk, the expense thereof to be paid by the city or town.

E. At the expiration of six months after notice, the governing body may order that the remains of persons which have not been claimed and cannot be identified and have no monuments or gravestones at the graves, be removed and buried as set forth in this section, or be removed and cremated, or left in the vacated cemetery and the surface of the ground leveled.

F. When a cemetery which is the property of a municipal corporation is vacated or partially vacated, the cemetery shall be used as a public park.

G. A map or plat shall be recorded in the office of the city or town clerk showing the exact location in the cemetery of the remains of persons remaining in the cemetery. A monument shall be erected in some suitable location bearing the names, if possible, of the persons whose remains are allowed to remain in the cemetery.