| (a) If the Commission receives notice of legal action
under Health and Safety Code §711.007 to abate a cemetery as
a nuisance, the Commission will commence an investigation to determine
whether it should request the Attorney General of Texas to intervene
on the Commission's behalf in the legal action.
(b) In its investigation, the Commission will attempt
to determine:
(1) whether the cemetery contains marked, unmarked,
and/or unverified graves that are more than 50 years old;
(2) whether the cemetery has historical significance
to the local area or the State;
(3) whether repair and restoration of the cemetery
is physically possible;
(4) whether the cost of repair and restoration of the
cemetery is unreasonable;
(5) whether there is a cemetery organization or other
party financially responsible for the repair and restoration of the
cemetery;
(6) whether the cemetery is used or maintained in violation
of Health and Safety Code Chapter 711 or 712;
(7) whether the cemetery is neglected so that it is
offensive to the inhabitants of the surrounding section; and
(8) the impact to affected parties of the removal of
the graves to a perpetual care cemetery and abatement of the cemetery.
(c) The Commission may present the results of its investigation
to the Court whether or not it intervenes in the lawsuit.
(d) All repairs and restoration in a non-perpetual
care cemetery should comply with the Standards for Preservation of
Historic Cemeteries, Texas Historical Commission.
(e) The extent allowed by the rules of the perpetual
care cemetery to which the remains are moved, the original relationship
of the various elements of the cemetery, such as monuments and fencing,
should be retained and reinstalled in the perpetual care cemetery.
|
