[HISTORY: Adopted by the County Commissioners
of Caroline County 10-9-2007 by Bill No. 2007-6. Amendments noted where
applicable.]
A.
This chapter shall be known and may be cited as the
"Burial Sites Preservation Code of Caroline County."
B.
The purpose of this chapter is to foster the protection
and preservation of burial sites, cemeteries, burial grounds and funerary
objects in Caroline County, including trees, shrubs, and plantings
located thereat. Nothing in this chapter shall preclude the routine
maintenance of trees, shrubs, and plantings located at burial sites,
cemeteries, or burial grounds.
The provisions of this chapter shall apply in
the unincorporated areas of Caroline County, Maryland. The governing
body of any municipality may request application of this chapter within
a municipality's corporate limits by submitting a duly adopted written
request to the County Commissioners. Any agreement to apply this chapter
within a municipality shall include provisions for coordinating the
issuance of permits and plan approvals for development.
As used in this chapter, the following terms
shall have the meanings indicated:
The Burial Sites Preservation Board created pursuant to this Chapter 89.
Any land or structure, including any natural or prepared
physical location, whether originally located below, at, on, or above
the surface of the earth, in Caroline County used for the interment
of human remains or the deposit of funerary objects, including vaults
other than vaults used as columbaria. The sprinkling of ashes or their
burial in a biodegradable container or their placement in a columbarium
shall not constitute the creation of a burial site. The term "burial
site" shall include the terms "graveyard," "cemetery," "burial ground,"
and "burying ground."
The Code of Public Local Laws of Caroline County, Maryland.
The Caroline County Department of Planning and Codes Administration.
Any man-made change to improved or unimproved real estate,
including, but not limited to, any construction, reconstruction, modification,
extension or expansion of buildings or other structures, placement
of fill or concrete, construction of new or replacement infrastructure,
dumping, mining, dredging, grading, paving, drilling operations, storage
materials, land excavation, land clearing, land improvement, landfill
operation, or any combination thereof. This term shall also include
the subdivision of land.
An item of human manufacture or use that is intentionally
placed with human remains at the time of or in connection with interment
at a burial site, including, but not limited to, gravestones, monuments,
tombs, or other structures in or directly associated with a burial
site.
A person who:
Is an ancestor or descendant of, or individual
otherwise related by blood or marriage to, the person interred in
a burial site, or the representative thereof;
Has an interest in a burial site that the Office
of the State's Attorney recognizes in the public interest after consultation
with the Board; or
Any current voting member of the Board.
A.
Establishment: There is hereby established a Burial
Sites Preservation Board to carry out the purposes of this chapter.
B.
Membership and meetings:
(1)
Number of members: The Board shall have a voting membership
of not more than nine and not less than three voting members. The
Board may designate or appoint an unlimited number of ex officio and
other nonvoting advisors. The Board may appoint nonvoting members
to various committees or otherwise to provide advice and expertise
to the Board.
(2)
Qualifications for voting members:
(a)
Voting members of the Board shall be residents of
Caroline County. A voting member's tenure on the Board shall terminate
immediately, without any further action required, when that member
ceases to reside in Caroline County.
(b)
All voting members shall be appointed by the County
Commissioners, who shall consider the expertise and experience of
available candidates.
(c)
Each member shall serve for a term of four years.
(d)
No member shall serve for more than three consecutive
terms.
(3)
The Board shall elect a Chair and Vice Chair from
among the voting members at its first meeting in each calendar year.
(4)
The Board shall adopt rules of procedure.
(5)
The members and the Board shall be subject to, and act in accordance with, the Caroline County Code of Ethics and Chapter 33 of the Code.
(7)
The Board shall meet at least twice a year, and shall
meet as soon as practicable at the request of the Chair, the County
Planning and Codes Administrator, or the County Commissioners.
(8)
The Board shall not be empowered to enter into any
contracts or hire any compensated employees, staff, advisors, or other
personnel except as may be specifically authorized by the County Commissioners.
The Board may, with the consent of the County Administrator, avail
itself of the services of the County's staff and advisors.
The Board shall have the following powers and
duties:
A.
To respond to complaints of alleged violations of
County and state burial site protection laws.
B.
To respond to information that would lead to the identification
of a burial site.
C.
With the oral permission of the property owner, given
in the presence of a witness, or with the written permission of the
property owner, to enter onto property to investigate a complaint
or to inspect a burial site, and, if entry is refused or not obtained
when a violation is suspected, the Board is authorized to pursue recourse
as provided by law.
D.
To encourage access by persons-in-interest for the
purposes of viewing, maintaining or restoring burial sites by utilization
of a permission to enter agreement in accordance with § 14-121
of the Real Property Article of the Annotated Code of Maryland.
E.
In cooperation with the Department, to establish and
maintain an inventory of all known burial sites in the County, which
includes a description of the geographical location and record of
the owners of each burial site.
F.
To recommend guidelines for the appropriate maintenance
of burial sites.
G.
To recommend guidelines for, and supervise, the repair
and reconstruction of burial sites in accordance with the most suitable
restoration techniques.
H.
To establish a program of burial site protection awareness
education for realtors, developers, owners, and community groups.
I.
To promptly refer to the Office of the State's Attorney
any knowledge of a criminal act pertaining to burial sites.
J.
To recommend guidelines for burial site protection
in the development of land.
K.
To coordinate and work cooperatively with the Caroline
County Historical Society and Maryland Historical Trust, and other
entities as appropriate.
L.
To review and provide assessment and comment to the
Department regarding the establishment of burial site area boundaries
for recordation of approved boundaries in the Land Records of Caroline
County, as appropriate.
M.
To have available to it the advice and counsel of
the County Attorney.
A.
Discovery. Upon the discovery by any person of the existence of previously unknown remains, tombstones, funerary objects, or other evidence of a cemetery or burial site which reasonably indicates the presence of a cemetery or burial site, in the course of grading, construction or work of any kind, that person shall stop all work immediately in the area of discovery and shall give immediate notice of the discovery to the County by contacting the Department (if during normal business hours) or by contacting the Caroline County Department of Emergency Management via telephone by dialing 911. The County shall immediately notify all appropriate agencies, including the Sheriff, the State's Attorney, the County Health Officer, and the Board. All permits issued by the Department shall be suspended in regard to the area of discovery, and the property owner shall stop work in the area of discovery until a determination is made pursuant to § 89-6B. Reasonable accommodation shall be made to protect the area of discovery until the proper authorities arrive. Board members may accompany a sworn officer of the law when investigating an alleged violation of this chapter for the purpose of providing information and guidance.
B.
Determination. The Board, in consultation with the Department, shall determine, within a reasonable time, if the area of discovery is a cemetery or burial site. The property owner is responsible for all costs relating to the above determination, unless responsibility for costs is waived by the Department for good cause. In making this determination, the Department, in consultation with the Board, may require the property owner to comply with Chapter 175 and all development and zoning regulations regarding burial sites. If it is determined that the area is not a cemetery or burial site, the stop-work order shall be lifted and the suspended permits shall be released by the issuing department.
Any person specifically aggrieved by any decision
made under this chapter may, within 30 days thereof, appeal the decision
to the Circuit Court for Caroline County.
A violation of this chapter shall constitute a Class A civil infraction pursuant to the provisions of Chapter 92 (Civil Infractions) of the Code. In addition, where there is any violation of this chapter or any action taken thereunder, Caroline County shall institute appropriate action to compel compliance with the provisions of this chapter. Violations of this chapter may also be referred to the State's Attorney for criminal prosecution, if applicable.
