The Lafayette City Council has decided on several options for plot holders at the city’s cemetery, which appears to have less available space than the amount of spots people have purchased.

A resolution unanimously passed by the council Tuesday evening, effective immediately, says no casket burials will be allowed at the cemetery going forward except for “individual exceptions approved by the city.”

Current owners of cemetery plots have to notify the city by Jan. 31 if they wish to exercise one of several options, as long as they are in contact with staff by Oct. 31.

Under one option laid out by the resolution, owners could sell their unused plots back to the city for $3,500 each, an increase from the $1,500 buyback price the city previously offered this year.

A second option would allow plot holders to keep their space at the cemetery for cremated remains burials, with the city covering the cost of one cremains burial per plot.

Another option would be to exchange plots for burial rights at the Lafayette-owned Coal Creek Memorial Cemetery in Louisville and receive a $2,000 refund. City officials indicated they would designate a specific area at the cemetery in Louisville where upright headstones would be allowed for plot holders affected by the change in policy for the Lafayette Cemetery.

The resolution approved Tuesday by the council would also allow plot owners to sign an agreement expressing intent to keep their plots for future casket burials, but only if the city determines burial is feasible based on factors including ground-penetrating radar, historic burial records and staff or cemetery operator expertise.

Anyone hoping for such an exception to the casket burial ban would have to acknowledge in the agreement that a casket burial could still prove “impossible” because of underground conditions, and establish preference for alternative options if that occurs, the resolution says. If a casket burial ultimately cannot take place, under the resolution, the owner would still be eligible to sell the plot back to the city for $3,500.

The measure also directs city staff to return to the City Council before Jan. 31 with recommendations for prioritizing the reuse of plots repurchased by the city “that appear to be available for interment.”

State Archaeologist Holly Norton recommended in May a moratorium. Evidence of remains from “multiple” burials unintentionally removed from the Lafayette Cemetery led her to believe the “cemetery has been full for a very long time, and that burials have been impacted for a long time,” Norton said this month.