Holladay City prohibits backyard burials

Burying a family pet in the backyard certainly seems plausible, but a human? The Holladay City Council passed an ordinance on Jan. 19 prohibiting residents from burying human remains, except in public, authorized or approved private cemeteries.

“It was such an unusual request that no one ever considered putting it into the city’s code before,” Councilman Jim Palmer said.

It began with an informational request from a resident that wanted to bury a person’s remains in their backyard in a residential zone.

“After some investigation, it turns out there is no city, state or county health ordinance that would prohibit one burying a body in a backyard,” Palmer said. “They should be buried in accordance with state code in a defined and controlled cemetery.”

Councilman Steve Gunn said he gathered it was an oversight that is common among most municipalities, and the fact there aren’t regulations dealing with this specific issue was understandable.

Palmer said Community Development Director Paul Allred did the research and contacted other municipalities to see their take on the situation, and Holladay was not alone in missing an ordinance on file prohibiting backyard burials.

The ordinance passed unanimously.