TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) – In Thursday evening’s Tampa City Council meeting, the council voted to move forward with a policy to protect city-run cemeteries.
Tampa city leaders made it clear they want a new policy in place forbidding people to build on top of historic places like Memorial Park Cemetery and similar sites.
Tampa’s planning commission presented the council with information outlining different cities that already have a similar policy.
A spokesperson told 8 On Your Side it’s not very common and could take seven to nine months to put in place.
“It’s a process,” said Reva Iman, the association president of Robles Park Village, which sparked this movement to protect local history. “Now is the time that they feel like they want to step up and I appreciate and applaud.”
Two years ago, Zion Cemetery, Tampa’s oldest African-American burial grounds was discovered underneath Robles Park Village apartments. Iman believes it’s more than just a cemetery.
“Sacred grounds… a respect for people… that’s something that should’ve never happened,” Iman said.
She said this area will be turned into a memorial, but it’s relocating several low-income people with 300 families still looking to find new homes.
“It’s going to be hard. I hoping that the city of Tampa and Hud find a solution to this and make it easier for the residents here to move,” Iman said.
Iman said this inconvenience could’ve been avoided, if a policy like the one city leaders are working on was already in place.
