The Florida Senate

¹497.253  Minimum acreage; sale or disposition of cemetery lands.--

(1)  Each licensee shall set aside a minimum of 15 contiguous acres of land for use by the licensee as a cemetery and shall not sell, mortgage, lease, or encumber that property without prior written approval of the department.

(2)  Any lands owned by a licensee and dedicated for use by it as a cemetery, which are contiguous, adjoining, or adjacent to the minimum of 15 contiguous acres described in subsection (1), may be sold, conveyed, or disposed of by the licensee, after obtaining written approval of the department pursuant to subsection (3), for use by the new owner for other purposes than as a cemetery. All of the human remains which have been previously interred therein shall first have been removed from the lands proposed to be sold, conveyed, or disposed of; however, the provisions of ss. 470.0295 and 497.515(7) must be complied with prior to any disinterment of human remains. Any and all titles, interests, or burial rights which may have been sold or contracted to be sold in lands which are the subject of the sale shall be conveyed to and revested in the licensee prior to consummation of any such sale, conveyance, or disposition.

(3)(a)  If the property to be sold, conveyed, or disposed of under subsection (2) has been or is being used for the permanent interment of human remains, the applicant for approval of such sale, conveyance, or disposition shall cause to be published, at least once a week for 4 consecutive weeks, a notice meeting the standards of publication set forth in s. 125.66(4)(b)2. The notice shall describe the property in question and the proposed noncemetery use and shall advise substantially affected persons that they may file a written request for a hearing pursuant to chapter 120, within 14 days after the date of last publication of the notice, with the department if they object to granting the applicant's request to sell, convey, or dispose of the subject property for noncemetery uses.

(b)  If the property in question has never been used for the permanent interment of human remains, no notice or hearing is required.

(c)  If the property in question has been used for the permanent interment of human remains, the department shall approve the application, in writing, if it finds that it would not be contrary to the public interest. In determining whether to approve the application, the department shall consider any evidence presented concerning the following:

1.  The historical significance of the subject property, if any.

2.  The archaeological significance of the subject property, if any.

3.  The public purpose, if any, to be served by the proposed use of the subject property.

4.  The impact of the proposed change in use of the subject property upon the inventory of remaining cemetery facilities in the community and upon the other factors enumerated in s. 497.201(3).

5.  The impact of the proposed change in use of the subject property upon the reasonable expectations of the families of the deceased regarding whether the cemetery property was to remain as a cemetery in perpetuity.

6.  Whether any living relatives of the deceased actively oppose the relocation of their deceased's remains and the conversion of the subject property to noncemetery uses.

7.  The elapsed time since the last interment in the subject property.

8.  Any other factor enumerated in this chapter that the department considers relevant to the public interest.

(d)  Any deed, mortgage, or other conveyance by a cemetery company or other owner pursuant to subsections (a) and (c) above must contain a disclosure in the following or substantially similar form:


NOTICE: The property described herein was formerly used and dedicated as a cemetery. Conveyance of this property and its use for noncemetery purposes was authorized by the Florida Department of Banking and Finance by Order No. _____, dated _____.

(e)  The department shall adopt such rules as are necessary to carry out the provisions of this section.

(4)  A licensee may convey and transfer to a municipality or county its real and personal property, together with moneys deposited in trust funds pursuant to this chapter, provided the municipality or county will accept responsibility for maintenance thereof and prior written approval of the department is obtained.

(5)  The provisions of subsections (1) and (2) relating to a requirement for minimum acreage shall not apply to any cemetery company licensed by the department on or before July 1, 1965, which owns a total of less than 15 acres of land; however, no cemetery company shall dispose of any land without the prior written consent of the department.

History.--s. 9, ch. 65-288; ss. 12, 35, ch. 69-106; s. 3, ch. 76-168; s. 1, ch. 77-457; s. 12, ch. 78-407; ss. 26, 39, 40, ch. 80-238; ss. 2, 3, ch. 81-318; s. 2, ch. 88-227; s. 1, ch. 89-8; ss. 89, 122, ch. 93-399; s. 5, ch. 98-268.

¹Note.--Section 15, ch. 98-268, provides that "[e]xcept as otherwise provided herein, this act shall take effect July 1 of [1998]; however, the provisions of sections 497.0255 and 497.255, Florida Statutes, as created by this act, and the changes to section 497.253, Florida Statutes, as amended by this act, shall not be enforceable until the rules implementing those provisions have been adopted by the Board of Funeral and Cemetery Services or the Department of Banking and Finance, as applicable."

Note.--Former s. 559.481; s. 497.027.