§ 34-30. Title and ownership of lots and spaces.

(a)

Title and ownership of cemetery spaces, lots or blocks shall be evidenced by deeds executed by the mayor or city manager and attested to by the city clerk with the seal of the city affixed. The burial rights conveyed by the city may, depending upon the express language used in an approved form of deed or other document of conveyance, consist only of a right to burial but shall not consist of fee title ownership in the real property comprising a specific plot or burial space.

(b)

Title shall be subject to the cemetery regulations and to the ordinances of the city as such may from time to time be modified or amended.

(c)

A record of deeds shall at all times be maintained in the office of the city clerk.

(d)

Abandonment of burial rights. There is a presumption that burial rights in any cemetery of the City of Winter Park shall be abandoned and that the city shall thereafter regain all title and rights previously conveyed when an owner of unused burial rights has failed to provide the City of Winter Park or its cemetery with a current residence address for a period of 50 consecutive years, the burial rights are unused for such period of time, and the cemetery is therefore unable to communicate by certified letter with said owner regarding the lack of address. However, in all such cases of abandonment the following procedures shall be followed:

(1)

Before the city retakes ownership of such rights for reason of abandonment, a certified letter shall be sent to any lineal relative of the owner, if the city has knowledge of the lineal descendant and his or her address. Additionally, the city shall send a certified letter to any person who holds the burial rights in common ownership or any lineal descendant, if known, of such person. In the certified letter, if one may be sent to a known address and known lineal descendant, the cemetery shall set forth the fact that the burial rights shall be deemed abandoned unless the person contacts the designated representative of the city and its cemetery with proof of ownership and intent concerning use of the burial rights.

If a lineal descendant timely contacts in writing the designated representative of the city, then the burial rights shall not be deemed abandoned if such person is able to establish an ownership interest and an intent for a lineal descendant to use the burial rights.

(2)

The city or its designated representative shall cause to be published one time in a newspaper of general circulation in Orange County the fact that burial rights will be deemed abandoned unless, within 30 days from the date of advertisement, a lineal descendant shall contact the designated city official in writing and establish his or her legal right to the burial rights that will otherwise be abandoned.

If no response is timely received or if a response is inadequate to prove the interest, the ownership or burial rights shall be deemed abandoned and available for resale by the City of Winter Park in accordance with the then existing fee schedule.

In order to better conserve this precious and limited asset of the City of Winter Park, it shall be necessary for all owners of burial rights to either use the rights within 50 years from the date of acquisition of such rights, or through themselves or a lineal descendant provide notice prior to the expiration of 50 years from date of acquisition of the rights of the then current residence address and identity of the person or persons then entitled to use such burial rights, who may be either the original purchaser or a lineal descendant thereof.

The city will honor a person's right other than a lineal descendant if the person who acquired the original burial rights has bequeathed the right to another and the city is provided a certified copy of a court order conferring the transference of such burial rights.

(Code 1960, § 8B-6; Ord. No. 2471, § 1, 7-9-02; Ord. No. 2940-13, §§ 2, 3, 10-14-13)