Court sets visitation dates

A Los Angeles Superior Court judge approved a public visitation schedule for the troubled Grand View Memorial Park, which has been closed for the better part of the decade after state inspectors discovered improperly buried remains at the cemetery.

Attorneys representing plaintiffs in a class-action lawsuit against the cemetery’s owners won a $3.87-million settlement late last year, an agreement that was also approved Tuesday by Superior Court Judge Anthony Mohr.

The visitation schedule essentially mirrors that of the same period last year, with allowances for Armenian Genocide commemoration, Good Friday, Mother’s Day and other holidays.

The judge also gave tentative approval to a plan for restoring the cemetery, which had fallen into disrepair and prompted officials to curtail public access over fears that the property wasn’t safe for visitors.

As part of the original settlement agreement, about $500,000 would be dedicated to the cemetery’s restoration, which plaintiff attorney Paul Ayers will oversee.

“What they want is a restored cemetery where they can visit people on a reasonable basis . . . so that’s what our goal is,” Ayers said.

Grand View Memorial Park — which includes clients from throughout the San Fernando Valley, including Burbank and Hollywood — has been embroiled in legal action since 2005, when investigators found the remains of more than 4,000 people who were not buried or properly disposed of.

The lawsuit alleged that remains were put in burial sites already occupied, that some remains were mixed with other clients, and that some single-burial plots were converted to multiple burials.

After the cemetery shut down in 2006, it briefly reopened with a new operator until it closed again due to financial struggles. Glendale officials eventually stepped in to facilitate temporary visits and secured a public nuisance abatement order forcing the cemetery to clean up the property.

Family members have since had to adhere to a set of court-ordered rules during approved visitation days.

“We’re not getting anywhere, and how long has it been?” Patsy Staniec said of the cemetery, where the majority of her husband’s family is buried. “It’s a mess.”

Finding a buyer to take over the cemetery after the legal process has been settled would be ideal, she said, adding that she and many of the families with loved ones at the memorial park would be willing to help with the restoration.

Others, like Mark Haines, said they were grateful to at least have the beginnings of closure on the legal ordeal.

His father’s parents are buried at the cemetery — a constant source of strain and worry for the family, Haines said.

“This was one that that really grated on him,” he said of his father.