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Kaysville council directs staff to pursue limited nonresident burial option with $9,000 proposed fee
Summary
The Kaysville City Council voted to move an action item forward that would let nonresidents purchase burial rights under a high-fee option intended to preserve remaining cemetery space for residents. Council discussion weighed proof of past residency, cremation capacity, projected sellout timelines and revenue trade-offs.
Kaysville city council members directed staff to prepare an action item to allow a limited nonresident burial right under a proposed $9,000 fee, after a multihour discussion about cemetery capacity, verification challenges and cremation options.
Council members and staff framed the choice as balancing two goals: conserving limited cemetery space for current residents while giving a narrow path for families who want burial next to relatives. City staff presented three options: keep the current resident-only policy (status quo); create a former-resident carve-out requiring proof (Farmington-style, e.g., 10 years); or revert to allowing nonresidents to purchase burial rights but at a substantially higher fee intended to deter distant purchasers (option 3). Staff said option 3 would set a nonresident total cost roughly $400 above nearby private Leighton Lindquist’s current price, landing near $8,400 in the original proposal; council discussion raised $9,000 as a working figure.
Council member comments focused on how long the cemetery would last under each approach, how to verify former residency, and whether a high fee would be equitable. Staff reported projections discussed at the meeting: keeping current restrictions could extend the cemetery’s availability to roughly 40 years (when including measures such as a memorial garden for cremations), while reverting to unrestricted nonresident sales at need would shorten the horizon to about 30 years. With no change the earlier estimate had been 10–15 years before sellout. Staff said Kaysville currently handles about 150–160 interments a year, with roughly 30 cremation/urn interments annually; nationally cremations run about 60% but local practice remains more burials than cremations.
Council members raised practical verification problems for any “former resident” carve-out: what documentation would suffice — old tax or utility bills, vehicle records, or sworn statements — and whether families in distress could reasonably assemble such proof. Some members favored the status quo until the city’s planned cremation facility (first phase proposed to go out to bid this fall with an intended Memorial Day opening) came online and provided more options for conserving space. Others favored a limited, high-priced nonresident option as a compromise that preserves priority for residents while allowing exceptions in rare cases.
After discussion a council member moved — and another seconded — to direct staff to develop option 3 as an action item with a $9,000 proposed nonresident burial-right fee. The motion was adopted by voice vote; the transcript records affirmative responses but does not list individual vote tallies. Staff were instructed to return with an action item and refined fee and policy language.
Clarifying details discussed at the meeting included current resident pricing ($1,600 total: $800 burial right + $800 interment fee), the previously used nonresident total (about $2,600 prior to the February change), and that the earlier higher-volume sales during the COVID period led the city to shift to at-need purchases to slow selling pace. Staff noted the cemetery contains roughly 3,000 adult spaces across the existing grounds, with additional land the city owns farther up Crestwood as a future option but without current funding to develop.
The council emphasized they did not intend immediate large-scale policy reversals and said the action item would return to the council for formal consideration, with refined language on fees, eligibility and verification. The staff presentation identified Jackie (cemetery liaison) as the primary staff contact who works directly with grieving families and will help craft any procedural guidance.
The council’s direction leaves open several implementation decisions: whether to require documentary proof of past residency, whether to include spouse/partner exceptions when a burial plot already exists, how cremation spaces might be priced or reserved, and how fees would be applied if multiple family members later seek adjacent burial. Staff will report back with drafted ordinance language and a recommended fee schedule for council action.
