A cemetery located within the Parsons Plantation development tract meets the definition of"abandoned cemetery" provided in Georgia's 1991 Abandoned Cemeteries and Burial Grounds Act (Official Code of Georgia Annotated, Georgia Code Section [OCGA] 36-72-2): (1) "Abandoned cemetery" means a cemetery which shows signs of neglect including, without limitation, the unchecked growth of vegetation, repeated and unchecked acts of vandalism, or the disintegration of gravemarkers or boundaries and for which no person can be found who is legally responsible and financially capable of the upkeep of such cemetery. As defined in this Act, a county-issued permit is required for development of land on which such a cemetery is located. Information required for a permit application in Gwinnett County includes (1) a legal opinion providing evidence of property ownership; (2) an archaeological report defining the numbers and locations of graves within the cemetery; (3) a certified property sutvey showing the boundaries of the cemetery; ( 4) a genealogist's plan for identifying and locating descendants of buried individuals; (5) a mitigation or avoidance proposal; and (6) a disinterment/reintennent plan (OCGA 36-72-5; Gwinnett Department of Planning and Development, Development Division). In December 1992, Brockington and Associates, Inc. (Atlanta, Georgia) contracted with Parsons Landing Limited Partnership to conduct archaeological and genealogical studies at the abandoned cemetery on their property (hereafter referred to as Parsons Plantation Cemetery) and to prepare reports required for items (2), (4), (5), and (6) listed above. These investigations were conducted in advance of proposed residential lot delineation, and with the intent to preserve and to protect the cemetery. Jeffrey Gardner served as project director and produced the archaeological report and the mitigation proposal provided in this document; he was assisted in the field by Chris Espenshade. Marian Roberts conducted the genealogical research and produced the accompanying document, titled "Report on Genealogical Research and Descendant Notification Plan for Parsons Plantation Cemete1y, Gwinnett County, Georgia.".
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