Quote:
Originally Posted by GH85Carrera
Many states have laws that once a cemetery is established the bodies can only be removed with the families permission. If they can't find the family, the bodies are not to be moved.
At Maxwell AFB off the end of one of the runways is a small 10 plot cemetery that had dates back into the late 1700s and early 1800s. It had a 1 foot tall fence and was not really maintained except to keep trees from growing in it. We asked about it and were told it was a slave grave, but who really knows. All the kids on bikes knew where it was and it was so close to the end of the runway it was a off limits area, but kids are invincible and no base cop was going to chase after us as we knew the trails in the area really well.
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Again, I think you will see those laws change, as more $$$$ to build will increase the tax revenue and line some politicians and developers pockets. Our Shrine Temple is a prime example (even though it isn't a cemetery) when it was purchased and built, there was not much around it, we have 37 acres. Well, the area has exploded, lots of cluster living, older established neighborhoods now have to with the extra traffic, people, ect, plus right down the road is a large, very busy shopping area, along with more cluster homes and hotels. Truth is, this area is now very congested and a traffic nightmare. Well, someone thought it would be a good idea to sell our property and cash out, many of us are totally against it, the community doesn't want them to convert our temple and the 37 acres into MORE cluster living, but because of the revenue that some, including the taxes will provide (being a charity, we had only been taxed on the part of the property that produced income on top of the regular property tax. So now zoning charges are being rammed not only through the city, but the state capital as well, and there is major $$$$ pushing it, including former mayors.
To make sure that we didn't have a choice, our tax bill went way up while our rental income dropped to zero (and between $80 and a $100 Grand can really hurt) and clearly the local residents are being left out of the decisions that will directly affect their quality of life.
As someone who has been active in my local community for decades, I can tell you that intimate domain has been being used and abused more and more over the last 20 years, and not for the better.
Cities are bending for developers more and more (and remember, my family has been involved in the mortgage and land development business off and on my entire life) and it will do nothing but get worse. Say that you have a piece of property that has been in your family for generations, and you have it zoned agriculture and a developer wants it, has the juice with the city council to rezone, but you don't want to sell. Well, these days they will inform you that for
"the good of the community " that you should sell and if you don't, and they change the zoning, now your tax bill may increase dramatically, but if you can afford it, then they may "need" a Right of Way for a proposed project, and will exhaust your assets in a lengthy legal battle where it may be decided that you should sell your property, generally for much less, at this point than the accessed value. So now, so the city can have more tax revenue you are screwed out of the property that has been in the family for generations.