7-6-9: ABANDONED LOTS:

   A.   Legal Authority: This section is adopted pursuant to the authority granted by Idaho Code section 27-304.

   B.   Presumption Of Abandonment: There exists a presumption that a lot is abandoned when it remains unused for seventy five (75) years after the most recent valid and effective purchase, sale, acquisition, assignment or transfer of the lot or of the certificate therein, unless any one or more of the following rebutting conditions exist:

      1.   A proprietor holds more than one certificate, and one or more of the lots to which the certificates apply has been used for the interment of remains within the past seventy five (75) years. In such a case, the date of the last interment shall mark the beginning of a new seventy five (75) year period.

      2.   A memorial exists on the lot. (The department reserves the right to relocate a memorial to an occupied lot to which the same proprietor holds a certificate, if it is determined that additional lots will be eligible for reconveyance, pursuant to this chapter.)

      3.   Within ninety (90) days of the date of the last publication of the "Notice of Intent to Deem Lot Abandoned" pursuant to this section, a proprietor or his spouse, child, heir, assign or next of kin:

         a.   Personally appears to assert or deliver proof of his or her status as the proprietor of the certificate applicable to the lot; or

         b.   Mails to the department, by certified mail with return receipt requested, proof of his status as proprietor of the certificate.

      4.   Any fact, circumstance or other evidence exists which, taken alone or as a whole, would cause a reasonable person to conclude it is more likely than not that the proprietor is entitled to maintain his right to burial in the lot.

   C.   Notice Of Intent To Deem Lot Abandoned:

      1.   Upon a determination by the department that ownership rights or a license to interment in a lot is presumed abandoned, and prior to a final determination of abandonment, the department shall:

         a.   Send a "Notice of Intent to Deem Cemetery Burial Lot Abandoned" to the last known proprietor, his or her known heirs or assigns, and any known next of kin, by certified mail with return receipt requested, to the last known proprietor's last known address;

         b.   Publish a "Notice of Intent to Deem Cemetery Burial Lot Abandoned" for three (3) consecutive weeks in the newspaper of general circulation in Ada County; and

         c.   Publish a "Notice of Intent to Deem Cemetery Burial Lot Abandoned" for three (3) consecutive weeks in the newspaper of general circulation in the county in which the last known proprietor's last known address is located. The requirements of subsection C1b of this section and this subsection may be fulfilled with a single three (3) week publication if the last known proprietor's last known address is located within Ada County, Idaho.

      2.   The "Notice of Intent to Deem Cemetery Burial Lot Abandoned" shall include, at a minimum, the following information:

         a.   The name of the last known proprietor;

         b.   The description of the lot subject to a finding of abandonment;

         c.   A statement that the lot identified on the proprietor's certificate has not been used for the purpose of interment in the lot for at least seventy five (75) years from the date of its acquisition or most recent transfer, whichever occurred last in time;

         d.   A statement that the proprietor's certificate applicable to the lot is not held in common ownership with any certificate applicable to a lot, pursuant to subsection B1 of this section;

         e.   A statement that no marker or memorial exists on a lot, pursuant to subsections B2 and B3 of this section; and

         f.   A statement indicating the City's intention to deem the lot abandoned unless a proper claim is made within ninety (90) days of the date of the last publication of the "Notice of Intent to Deem Cemetery Burial Lot Abandoned".

   D.   Determination Of Abandonment: Unless the presumption of abandonment is rebutted, upon completion of the notice requirements contained herein, the ownership of a lot or certificate shall be deemed abandoned, the condition precedent to the possibility of reverter expressed in subsection 7-6-5A3 of this chapter shall be deemed to have occurred, and ownership of the certificate applicable to that lot shall escheat or revert to the City.

   E.   Recovery Of Certificate: If, within twenty five (25) years following a determination of abandonment, any person establishes to the department or to a court of competent jurisdiction that he would be entitled to the proprietor's rights if those rights had not escheated or reverted to the City as provided by this chapter, the department shall, at no cost, convey to that person a certificate for an equivalent or similar lot within a cemetery. If no such certificate is desired, the proprietor or his heirs or assigns may recover the value paid to the City upon the sale of his certificate that was deemed abandoned, less an administrative fee not to exceed one hundred fifty dollars ($150.00).

   F.   Set Aside Of Lots By City: The City shall set aside a number of lots equal to five percent (5%) of the number of lots deemed abandoned under this section. Any person who was the owner of a lot or the proprietor of a certificate that was deemed abandoned under this section shall have the right to obtain a certificate identifying an equivalent or similar lot, pursuant to subsection E of this section.

   G.   Applicability Of Reversion: Reversion or escheatment of a certificate represents a possibility of reverter in the City, and shall apply retroactively to all owners' and proprietors' rights related to any certificate or lot previously purchased or transferred within a cemetery. (Ord. 29-16, 9-20-2016)