Article 3. Dedication of California Health And Safety Code >> Division 8. >> Part 3. >> Chapter 3. >> Article 3.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.