ORS 226.510: Certain cemeteries as menace to public; acquisition and removal of such cemeteries declared public use.

It hereby is found and declared: (1) That there exists within municipal corporations of the state, cemeteries which have been abandoned and cemeteries which have deteriorated and become dilapidated and overgrown with weeds, trees, shrubs or other uncontrolled growth. (2) That such cemeteries, by reason of their unsightly appearance, fire hazard, and by reason of their providing a place of concealment conducive to criminal activities and juvenile delinquency, constitute a menace to the health, safety, morals and welfare of the residents of such municipal corporations; and that these conditions necessitate the use of public funds for crime prevention, fire protection, control of juvenile delinquency, accident protection and other public services and facilities. (3) That the clearance and removal of such cemeteries are public uses and purposes for which public money may be spent, private property acquired, and are governmental functions of municipal and state concern. (4) That the varied nature of ownership of cemetery plots, the diverse ownership of land, the difficulty of locating interested persons, the existence of unknown graves and remains and other conditions prevent an orderly removal of such remains and clearance of such cemeteries, and because of such conditions, it is in the public interest that such cemeteries be acquired by municipal corporations by eminent domain or otherwise, for the orderly removal of such remains to other suitable place or places and the discontinuance of such cemeteries and the exercise of the power of eminent domain, and the financing of the acquisition and preparation of land by a municipal corporation for disinterment and reinterment is declared a public use and purpose. [1953 c.298 §1]