8550-8561

HEALTH AND SAFETY CODE
SECTION 8550-8561




8550.  Every cemetery authority, from time to time as its property
may be required for interment purposes, shall:
   (a) In case of land, survey and subdivide it into sections,
blocks, plots, avenues, walks or other subdivisions; make a good and
substantial map or plat showing the sections, plots, avenues, walks
or other subdivisions, with descriptive names or numbers.
   (b) In case of a mausoleum, or crematory and columbarium it shall
make a good and substantial map or plat on which shall be delineated
the sections, halls, rooms, corridors, elevations, and other
divisions, with descriptive names or numbers.
   (c) The maps or plats shall be clearly and legibly drawn, printed,
or reproduced by a process guaranteeing a permanent record in black
on tracing cloth or polyester base film. If ink is used on a
polyester base film, the ink surface shall be coated with a suitable
substance to insure permanent legibility. The size of each sheet
shall be 18 by 26 inches or as otherwise prescribed by the county
recorder or local agency. A marginal line shall be drawn completely
around each sheet, leaving an entire blank margin of one inch. The
scale of the map shall be large enough to show all details clearly
and enough sheets shall be used to accomplish this end. The
particular number of the sheets and the total number of sheets
comprising the map shall be stated on each of the sheets and its
relationship to each adjoining sheet shall be clearly shown.
   (d) Upon modification of an existing section after January 1,
1990, or development of a new section after January 1, 1990, the
cemetery authority shall amend and file with the county recorder or
local agency the maps or plats as described in subdivisions (a), (b),
and (c). Within 12 months of the initial sale, the cemetery
authority shall file with the county recorder or local agency the map
or plat. For purposes of this subdivision, "section" means a burial
space, mausoleum, or columbarium.



8551.  The cemetery authority shall file the map or plat in the
office of the recorder of the county in which all or a portion of the
property is situated. The cemetery authority shall also file for
record in the county recorder's office a written declaration of
dedication of the property delineated on the plat or map, dedicating
the property exclusively to cemetery purposes.



8552.  The declaration shall be in such form as the cemetery
authority may prescribe, and shall be subscribed by the president or
vice president, and the secretary, or other persons whom the cemetery
authority may authorize, and shall be acknowledged so as to entitle
it to be recorded.



8553.  Upon the filing of the map or plat and the filing of the
declaration for record, the dedication is complete for all purposes
and thereafter the property shall be held, occupied, and used
exclusively for a cemetery and for cemetery purposes.




8554.  When reservation is made in the declaration of dedication,
any part or subdivision of the property so mapped and platted may, by
order of the directors, be resurveyed and altered in shape and size
and an amended map or plat filed, so long as such change does not
disturb the interred remains of any deceased person.




8555.  The filed map or plat and the recorded declaration are
constructive notice to all persons of the dedication of the property
to cemetery purposes.


8556.  The county recorder of the county in which a map or plat is
filed shall index the map or plat in the general index giving
reference to date of filing and number or to book and page so that it
may easily be found. The recorder may bind the maps or plats in
special books or in his books of maps of subdivisions. The fee for
filing and indexing said map or plat shall be the same as provided
for subdivided land under Section 27372 of the Government Code.



8557.  The county recorder of the county in which a declaration of
dedication is filed shall record it in the official records of his
office and index it in the general index.



8558.  After property is dedicated to cemetery purposes pursuant to
this chapter, neither the dedication, nor the title of a plot owner,
shall be affected by the dissolution of the cemetery authority, by
nonuser on its part, by alienation of the property, by any
incumbrances, by sale under execution, or otherwise except as
provided in this chapter.



8559.  Dedication to cemetery purposes pursuant to this chapter is
not invalid as violating any laws against perpetuities or the
suspension of the power of alienation of title to or use of property,
but is expressly permitted and shall be deemed to be in respect for
the dead, a provision for the interment of human remains, and a duty
to, and for the benefit of, the general public.



8560.  After dedication pursuant to this chapter, and as long as the
property remains dedicated to cemetery purposes, no railroad,
street, road, alley, pipe line, pole line, or other public
thoroughfare or utility shall be laid out, through, over, or across
any part of it without the consent of the cemetery authority owning
and operating it, or of not less than two-thirds of the owners of
interment plots.



8560.5.  No streets, alleys, or roads shall be opened or laid out
within the boundary lines of any cemetery located in whole or in part
within the lines of any city or city and county, where burials in
the cemetery have been had within five years prior thereto, without
the consent of the person owning and controlling the cemetery.




8561.  All property dedicated pursuant to this chapter, including
roads, alleys, and walks, is exempt from public improvement
assessments and is exempt from enforcement of a money judgment
against an individual owner of an interment plot to the extent
provided in Section 704.200 of the Code of Civil Procedure.