NY Not for Profit Corp L § 1506-E (2021)
2021 New York Laws NPC - Not-For-Profit Corporation Article 15 - Public Cemetery Corporations 1506-E - Lease of Cemetery Lands.

§ 1506-e. Lease of cemetery lands.  (a)  Cemetery  board approval. Except as set forth in paragraph (i) of this section, no cemetery corporation shall lease  any  portion  of  its land without notice to and approval of the cemetery board.  (b)  Requirements  for  approval  of  a  lease  of  cemetery land. The application to the cemetery board for approval to  lease  cemetery  land shall meet the following requirements:  (1)  The cemetery's lot owners or board of directors have approved the lease.  (2) If the cemetery has any existing leases of land, it must  disclose them so the board can consider the impact of existing leases on cemetery operations.  (3)  In addition to its submission to the cemetery board, the cemetery corporation shall, no earlier than ten days prior  to  such  submission, post  notices  in  the  immediate  proximity  of the land proposed to be leased, the cemetery office and, in a manner so as not to violate  local zoning  ordinances  or  to  create a traffic hazard, all entrances. Each such  notice  shall  provide  information  written  in   plain   English concerning  the  proposed  lease  and,  if  the  proposed lease includes construction of new structures or buildings, include  a  drawing,  which shall  be  an  accurate  rendition  of  the  proposed  construction.  In addition, such notices shall state  the  telephone  number  and  address where  comments may be received and the last date on which such comments will be accepted, which shall be no earlier than  sixty  days  following the date the notices are posted.  (4)  The proposed lease has been negotiated at arm's length for a fair market rent and contains all of  the  agreements  between  the  parties. Where the proposed lease would be a related party transaction under this chapter,   the   cemetery  shall  disclose  this  fact  and  demonstrate compliance with restrictions related to such transactions, as set  forth in section seven hundred fifteen of this chapter, and the cemetery board may  require that the lease contain a clause by which the cemetery board may set  reasonable  reporting  requirements  that  would  disclose  any financial  relationship  between  the  lessor  and lessee related to the leased property.  (5) The initial lease term is not greater than forty-nine  years,  and the  cemetery demonstrates that such a term will not interfere with land needed for burial  purposes.  Notwithstanding  the  provisions  of  this subparagraph,  the cemetery board may approve a lease with extensions of the initial term not to exceed ninety-nine years from the  date  of  the initial  lease,  provided  that  the  security  shall be updated at year forty-nine and every twenty years afterward during the term of the lease and all extensions thereof, if  applicable,  and  approved  pursuant  to paragraph (h) of this section.  (6)   If  the  proposed  lease  involves  land  adjacent  to  cemetery operations, the proposed lease requires  the  tenant  to  construct  and maintain  a  physical  or  visual buffer approved by the cemetery board, which may be vegetative, and that protects visitors to the cemetery, and that otherwise complies with the requirements of this section.  (7) The proposed lease requires the tenant to be responsible  for  any and all taxes, assessments, and charges related to its occupancy and use of  the  land,  whether  imposed  against  the  tenant  or  the cemetery corporation.  (8) If  the  proposed  lease  includes  permission  to  construct  any infrastructure,  buildings  or  other structures, the application to the cemetery board shall provide for the  removal  of  such  infrastructure, buildings  or  other structures after the cemetery retakes possession of the land, unless the infrastructure, buildings or other  structures  are  to  be  retained  by  the  cemetery  pursuant  to  paragraph (f) of this section.  (9)  The  proposed  lease  shall  include  an agreement to pay for the removal of any proposed infrastructure, buildings and structures, except any that are approved to be retained as set forth in  paragraph  (f)  of this  section,  and return the land to a condition suitable for cemetery use upon the expiration or termination of the lease and  such  agreement shall  be  secured  by  a fund, bond, letter of credit or other security sufficient to pay for such future removal. The application shall include a  written  description  of  the  proposed  funding  mechanism  for  the establishment  of  a fund, written evidence of a bond, or other security to the cemetery board for payment of the cost of  restoring  the  leased premises  to  a  condition suitable for use for cemetery purposes at the end or earlier termination of the term of the lease, including  but  not limited  to  the  cost  of removing any and all buildings and structures that may then be  located  on  the  leased  premises  and  will  not  be retained.  Any  such  bond shall be issued by an entity authorized to do business in the state of New York, and any irrevocable letter of  credit or  a certificate of deposit shall be from a New York state or federally chartered  bank,  trust  company,  savings  bank  or  savings  and  loan association  that  is  qualified to do business in the state of New York and insured by the federal deposit insurance corporation.  (10) The land proposed to be leased will not be used for any  activity that  would  be  disruptive  to cemetery operations or that would have a significant impact on cemetery traffic.  (11) If the proposed use or activity arising therefrom  could  disturb normal  and  usual  cemetery  activities,  the proposed lease limits the hours of activity.  (12) The proposed lease will not include the manufacture  or  disposal of  hazardous  material  or  the use or storage of hazardous material in violation  of  any  law  or  otherwise  create  a  significant  risk  of environmental harm to the cemetery property.  (13) The proposed lease may permit assignment or sub-leases, including sub-leasing  and  assignment  of  space on cell towers to communications providers, provided the original lease remains in  effect  and  the  use remains the same.  (c)  The  following uses are deemed to comply with subparagraph ten of paragraph (b) of this section:  (1) Communications service facilities, also known as cell towers;  (2) Solar panels; and  (3) Energy storage equipment,  as  defined  in  section  four  hundred ninety-nine-aaaa of the real property tax law.  (d)  For  any  lease  involving related party transactions pursuant to section seven hundred fifteen of this chapter, the  cemetery  board  may set  reasonable reporting requirements that would disclose any financial relationship between  the  lessor  and  lessee  related  to  the  leased property.  (e) Any material modification, alteration or expansion of the lease or additions  of  any  infrastructure,  structures or buildings outside the scope of the prior approval requires cemetery board approval.  (f) If the  cemetery  corporation  intends  that  any  infrastructure, structures  or  buildings  proposed under the lease be retained and used for cemetery  purposes  after  the  lease  terminates  or  expires,  the application  to  approve the lease shall also include an application for approval of such infrastructure, structures or buildings as intended  to be  used  by  the  cemetery.  The  board  shall  render  decision on the application for a major alteration in conjunction with the  decision  on the application to lease cemetery land. If that application is approved,  such  infrastructure, buildings or structures shall be excluded from the requirements of subparagraph nine of paragraph (b) of this section.  (g)  The  application  shall include at least two written estimates of the cost  of  removing  the  infrastructure,  buildings  and  structures excluding   retained   infrastructure   and  associated  structures  and returning the land to a condition suitable for burial  purposes  at  the conclusion of the lease.  (h)  (1)  The  cemetery board shall approve the type and amount of the security which shall be maintained in  full  force  and  effect,  in  an amount  not  less  than  that  which was approved by the cemetery board, until: (i) the leased premises shall have been restored to  a  condition suitable for use for cemetery purposes at the end or earlier termination of the term of the lease, (ii) any and all buildings and structures then located  on  the leased premises shall have been removed, (iii) proof in form acceptable to the cemetery board demonstrating that  all  costs  of such  restoration  and  removal  work have been paid in full and that no person or entity performing labor or furnishing materials for such  work has  filed a notice of mechanic's lien that shall have been delivered to the cemetery board, provided however that a cemetery  may  contest  such lien  as  long  as  such contest prevents the foreclosure of a lien, and (iv) if applicable, each governmental unit or  agency  that  issued  any permit  for  such  restoration  and  removal  work  shall  have issued a certificate of compliance or other similar  instrument  indicating  that such  work  has  been  completed in a due and proper manner. The parties directed to perform the restoration and  removal  work  contemplated  by this  paragraph  and  as  approved  by  the  cemetery board shall not be limited by the amount of the bond, letter of credit, or  certificate  of deposit  or  by  any  inability to recover all or any part of such bond, letter of credit, or certificate of deposit  from  the  issuing  surety, bank,  trust  company,  savings  bank,  or savings and loan association. Neither the cemetery board nor the department of state shall  be  liable to  the tenant, the cemetery, or any other person or entity by reason or any determination or approval made under this paragraph.  (2) Prior to the commencement  of  construction,  the  cemetery  shall submit  proof to the cemetery board that such security in such amount is in place.  (i) Leases for the  following  uses  do  not  require  cemetery  board approval:  (1) A lease or license to grow and harvest crops with a term less than five years;  (2)  A  lease  of  a  dwelling  to  the  caretaker or other officer or employee of the cemetery that is actually  used  and  occupied  as  that person's residence; and  (3)  A  renewal  or  assignment  of  an  existing  lease  of  existing structures on land owned by the  cemetery,  not  dedicated  to  cemetery purposes and that was subject to a lease, provided that such purchase or acquisition  was  approved  by  a  court  or the cemetery board, if such renewal does not change the scope of the existing lease.  (j) All  lease  payments  and  other  consideration  received  by  the cemetery  corporation,  less  the  necessary expenses incurred, shall be deposited  into  the  permanent  maintenance  fund  established  by  the cemetery  corporation  pursuant  to  paragraph  (a)  of  section fifteen hundred seven of this article, except that upon a showing of a  need  to fund  specific  projects,  maintain  and  preserve,  or  expand  current cemetery operations, the cemetery board may permit any  portion  of  the lease payments or other consideration to be used for such purposes, with the remainder to be deposited to the permanent maintenance fund.