The Village of Honeoye Falls, pursuant to Article
15 of the Village Law, has accepted, by gift and devise, the cemetery
known as "The Honeoye Falls Cemetery." The Board of Trustees hereby
establishes the Village of Honeoye Falls Cemetery, and the Village
is hereby authorized and empowered to hold and continue to hold all
the lands, rights and property acquired by it in connection with such
cemetery and generally to manage and provide for such cemetery. All
lands and rights acquired by the Village and all sales and conveyances
of lots in such cemetery for burial purposes, pursuant to the provisions
of such article, are hereby recognized, ratified and confirmed.
All the lands and rights included within such
cemetery shall continue to be deemed and held as a part of the territory
of such Village, in addition to any other lands herein described as
constituting the Village of Honeoye Falls. All of such land shall
continue to be under the jurisdiction of the Village and be subject
to the jurisdiction of its courts and officers as fully to all intents
and purposes as any part of said Village, and all the provisions of
the Village Code shall apply thereto, so far as practicable or available.
All such cemetery lands and property shall be
exempt from all taxation, including school, highway and local improvement
assessments.
[Amended 2-21-2006 by L.L. No. 1-200610-17-2022 by L.L. No. 3-2022]
In its capacity as the Board of Cemetery Commissioners and pursuant
to § 15-1504 of the Village Law, the Board of Trustees hereby
establishes the following rules and regulations for the operation
of the Honeoye Falls Cemetery:
A. Sale of lots.
(1) Application for the purchase of a lot in the cemetery for the purpose
of interment shall be made to the Village Clerk.
(2) Upon payment of the price of such lot, as established from time to
time by the Board of Trustees, the Clerk shall issue to such applicant
a cemetery deed for the same.
B. Ownership rights.
(1) The purchaser of a cemetery lot acquires no title to the soil, but
merely an easement or right of burial therein. Such right of burial
descends to his or her heirs at law or devisees.
(2) A lot owner may not transfer his or her lot or allow internment to
be made on a lot for compensation.
C. Privileges and restrictions.
(1) No mounds shall be raised upon any grave above the general level
of the lot, except for a period of time after interment to allow settling
of the soil. The Village reserves the right at any time to remove
unsightly mounds and to reseed the grave at the general level of the
lot.
(2) No hedges, fences or enclosures of any kind will be permitted on
or around lots. Wooden boxes, glass jars, glass containers, glass
ornaments or bottles, plastic containers, toys, cans and other unsightly
objects and all other objects that impede mowing when used will not
be permitted and will be removed by the Village without notice. Small
shepherd hooks for hanging plants are preferred. Wreaths may be up
from November through March. Flags and emblems may be used for the
period from five days before May 30 until the first Saturday after
July 4.
(3) All landscaping, care of lots and other work in the cemetery will
be done by the Village.
D. Rules for visitors.
(1) The cemetery will be open to visitors at all times between the hours
of 8:00 a.m. and sunset.
(2) Visitors are encouraged to use the walks and drives and are forbidden
to pick any flowers (either wild or cultivated) or injure any shrub,
tree or plant or mar or deface any monument, stone or structure in
the cemetery. Visitors must clean up any dog debris.
(3) Vehicles traveling within the cemetery shall not exceed 15 miles
per hour.
E. Interments.
(1) All full burials shall be made in concrete vaults or concrete grave
liners. The Village reserves the right to supply a concrete vault
or concrete grave liner at cost plus a handling charge, if not otherwise
supplied.
(2) All graves shall be dug by or under the direction of the Village.
Depth of graves shall conform to ruling by the State Board of Health.
(3) A charge for opening and closing a grave will be made at a current
rate set by the Village, which charge shall include opening of the
grave, removal of excess material, refilling and seeding with grass.
(4) No burial will be permitted until a legal burial permit has been
obtained from the Monroe County Department of Health. When applying
for permit, the following information must be furnished:
(b)
Age of the deceased (date of birth if known);
(c)
Place of birth of deceased, if known;
(e)
Time and date of interment;
(f)
If not an adult, the names of parents or legal guardians of
the deceased.
(5) Graves will not be opened between November 15 and March 15 because
of weather conditions; bodies received for interment during this time
will be placed in a vault until spring, for a fee of $200 for 60 days
and a maximum of 120 days, $400 will be collected upfront and reimbursed
as needed. All bodies left in the vault during this period must be
removed from the vault and interred by May 1. The Village will inter
anybody not interred by May 1, and the cost of same will be charged
to the party causing the body to be placed in the vault.
(6) The interment of cremated remains shall be in an appropriate rigid
receptacle such as wood, metal, plastic or concrete.
(7) Cremated remains shall not be distributed or scattered in any part
of the cemetery.
F. Grave markers.
(1) The setting of grave markers and the transportation of all tools,
materials, etc., within the cemetery grounds shall be subject to the
supervision and control of the Village.
(2) All grave markers (sometimes called "headstones" or "footstones")
must be constructed of bronze or granite with a minimum thickness
of four inches.
(3) All grave markers shall be placed over a foundation set below the
frostline to eliminate heaving or movement and shall be placed flat
to the surrounding ground.
(4) Certain designated portions of the older part of the cemetery have
unrestricted monument privileges which permit the erection of monuments
or grave markers of any selected size and design where lot area is
sufficient to place monument on solid ground and where they will not
interfere with future grave openings.
(5) In the newer sections of the cemetery, all grave markers for a single
grave shall not exceed 36 inches in length, and double grave markers
shall not exceed 60 inches in length.
G. Trees, shrubs and flowers.
(1) All landscaping, including planting of trees, shrubs and flowers,
will be done by the Village.
(2) Fresh cut flowers may be used any time and will remain until, in
the judgment of the Cemetery Superintendent or his or her staff, they
become wilted or unsightly.
(3) Potted plants may be set on lots without disturbing sod. Artificial
pieces may be used between November 15 and March 15.
(4) No person will be permitted to trim, prune or remove branches from
any tree or ornamental shrub in the cemetery whether on his or her
lot or not. All work of pruning or trimming trees and shrubs will
be done by the Cemetery Superintendent or under his or her direction.
H. Fees, charges and payments.
(1) All fees and charges are payable at the office of the Village Clerk
in the Village Hall, where receipts will be issued for all amounts
paid.
(2) A schedule of fees and charges as established by the Village shall
be on file in the offices of the Village Clerk. Such schedule may
be changed from time to time without advanced notice to conform to
current economic conditions.
I. Reacquisition of lot, plot or part thereof by Cemetery Board.
(1) The Village may, upon approval by the Board of Trustees, reacquire,
subdivide, and resell a lot, plot or part thereof under the following
circumstances:
(a)
Circumstances; reasonable search defined; resale; monument to
conform.
[1]
If the records of the cemetery demonstrate that the lot, plot
or part thereof was purchased more than 75 years prior to the approval
of the Board of Trustees, and if no burials have been made in the
lot, plot or part thereof or all the bodies therein have been lawfully
removed, and if neither the owner or owners of the lot, plot or part
thereof nor any person having a credible claim to ownership who has
visited, made payments in respect of, or engaged in any other proprietary
activities with respect to the lot, plot or part thereof can be identified
after a reasonable search conducted by the Village, it shall be conclusively
presumed that the owner or owners of the lot, plot or part thereof
have abandoned their burial rights. A reasonable search consists of:
[a]
All cemetery records to determine the name of the owner or owners
of the lot, plot or part thereof, their last known addresses and all
information available to the cemetery relating to any person buried
in the lot, plot or part thereof and the names and last known addresses
of any persons making inquiry about visiting the lot, plot or part
thereof;
[b]
A search for the death certificates and the probated wills of
the owner or owners of the lot, plot or part thereof;
[c]
The posting of notice by the cemetery, at the entrance to the
cemetery and in the Village office, of its intention to declare the
lot, plot or part thereof abandoned;
[d]
The mailing of such notice certified mail with return receipt
requested to the owner or owners of the lot, plot or part thereof
and each person identified during the reasonable search at their last
known addresses;
[e]
Publication of such notice once in each week for three successive
weeks, in two newspapers of regular commercial circulation by subscription
and/or newsstand sale to be designated by the county clerk of the
county where the cemetery is located which in his or her judgment,
given the ethnic, religious, geographic or other related demographic
characteristics of the owner or owners of the lot, plot or part thereof
and each person identified through the reasonable search and the predominant
readership of such newspapers, are best calculated to inform the owner
or owners of the lot, plot or part thereof and each person identified
through the reasonable search of any application pursuant to the provisions
of this section; and
[f]
The preparation of an affidavit describing the steps taken by
the Village to ascertain the identity of and to contact the current
owner or owners of the lot, plot or part thereof, or next-of-kin thereof,
or any other persons identified in the course of the reasonable search
who might have relevant information and the results of such steps.
[2]
After the filing with the Board of Trustees of proof of compliance
with the above requirement in form and substance reasonably satisfactory
to such Board and upon approval by the Board of Trustees, the lot,
plot or part thereof may be resold by the cemetery to any party in
compliance with the cemetery rules and regulations; provided, however,
that any monument subsequently placed on such lot, plot or part thereof
shall conform to the general appearance of any existing monuments
in said section of lots, plots or part thereof, if any.
[a]
If the circumstances described in Subsection
I(1)(a) of this section exist except that one or more burials have been made in a lot and the last burial was made more than 75 years prior to the application; i) the lot, plot or part thereof can be subdivided to create new graves; ii) the bodies have not been lawfully removed; and iii) the application to the Board of Trustees complies with the requirements set forth in Subsection
I(1)(a) of this section, it shall be conclusively presumed that the lot owner has abandoned the right to make further burials in the lot, the lot may be subdivided, and the subdivided lot, plot or parts thereof which do not contain the remains of the deceased persons may be resold by the Village as provided in this section. Nothing in this section shall permit the Village to declare abandoned a lot, plot or part thereof where such lot, plot or part thereof was purchased for multiple-depth burials and where one or more burials has occurred or shall authorize the Village to remove a monument or other embellishment to facilitate the resale of such lot, plot or part thereof.
[b]
If the owner or owners of a lot, plot or part thereof can be
identified, the Village, with the consent of the owner or owners of
the lot, plot or part thereof, the lot, plot or part thereof may be
subdivided, and the subdivided lot, plot or part thereof that does
not contain the remains of deceased persons may be resold by the Village;
provided, however, that if no burial has been made in the lot, or
part thereof, in the twenty-five-year period predeceasing such application,
and the owner of a lot, plot or part thereof has notified his or her
parents, spouse, issue, brothers, sisters, grandparents, and grandchildren,
if any, of the application to the Board of Trustees; and provided
further, however, that if a burial has been made in this lot, plot
or part thereof during such twenty-five-year period, the spouse and
issue of such deceased person are also notified; and provided further,
in either case, that the owner of the lot, plot or part thereof satisfies
the Board of Trustees that none of the persons notified have agreed
within 45 days of notification to purchase the lot, plot or part thereof
at the price provided under Subdivision (c) of § 1513 of
Article 15 of the Not-for-Profit Corporation Law.
(2) Upon the sale of a lot, plot or part thereof reacquired by the Village under the provisions of Subsection
I(1)(a), (b) or (c) of this section, 35% of the net proceeds shall be placed in the permanent maintenance fund, and 65% shall be placed in the current maintenance fund.
(3) If the owner of the lot, plot or part thereof is subsequently identified,
the Village shall:
(a)
Return all unsold lots, plots or parts thereof, if any, to the
owner if so requested; and
(b)
With respect to any lot, plots or parts thereof that have been
sold pursuant to this section, at the option of the owner of the lot,
plot or part thereof, either:
[1]
Provide the owner, at no cost to the owner, with a lot, plot
or part thereof comparable to any lot, plot or part thereof that was
sold by the cemetery corporation; or
[2]
Provide the owner with the proceeds from the sale of the lot,
plot or part thereof reacquired under this section, with interest
thereon from the date of the sale at 6% per annum.
(4) The provisions of this section shall not apply to a lot, plot or
part thereof whose record owner is a corporation or unincorporated
association or society having among its activities or its former activities
the provision of burial benefits for its members.
(5) Monuments to be erected on a lot, plot or parts thereof, following
the resale of a lot, plot or part thereof, shall conform to the rules
and regulations or other requirements of the Village and shall conform
to the size, style and type of monuments in the section of the cemetery
where such resale occurs.