Cris,
It would seem if they are advertising lots then they have possibly already
removed what remains were in the ground "somewhere." "Somewhere"
unless
they knew or you know the location of the burial ground and can determine
that they haven't obliterated the grave sites. You can invoke the law
however you may, but ordinarily if you don't have a District Attorney in
your county that will take a criminal complaint on something like, you'll
have to initiate a lawsuit to get an injunction to stop further activity
until the graves are found. It's a long shot at best, unless there is
documentary evidence of where the cemetery once was. Aeral photos,
assessor's maps that might show it, etc.
I struggle with this constantly and it is really hard to know that sometime
we are powerless...especially after the damage has already been done.
Hope to see other responses on this one...
Sue Silver ssilver1951(a)jps.net
El Dorado County Pioneer Cemeteries Commission
California
----- Original Message -----
From: Christine West <cherokee(a)shelbynet.net>
To: <INPCRP-L(a)rootsweb.com>
Sent: Wednesday, January 31, 2001 4:28 PM
Subject: [INPCRP] IC 23-14-44-2
Has anyone looked at this law?
IC 23-14-44-2
Sec. 2. Upon the complaint of any person, a permanent injunction shall
be issued to prevent any other person from locating or constructing a
railroad, street, road, alley, pipeline, pole line, or other public
thoroughfare or utility on any ground that is:
(1) held, used, or occupied as a cemetery; or
(2) held for cemetery purposes.
As added by P.L.52-1997, SEC.18.
Say there was a 60 acre piece of ground and a deed still perpetuated a
qtr-acre for a family burial ground, even though all physical evidence of
it
disappeared over 50 years ago. Since the deed still called for it,
could
the above law be applied to stop a subdivision or at least force them to
dedicate a qtr of an acre somewhere on that 60 acre tract as the cemetery,
or some commemorative park? Even if there was no evidence anyone had been
buried there (in this case, there was known to be a headstone as late as
1940), it still was "held for cemetery purposes" by the original owners,
and
carried through all the deeds!
I need some expert opinions on this as the subdivision has already begun
advertising on the radio for lots already.
Thank you.
Cris West
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