Mt Tamalpais Cemetery - 2026 factsheet

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Restoring Mt. Tamalpais Cemetery 

EFFORTS TO STABALIZE A HISTORIC CEMETERY THROUGH LOCAL ACTION AND TARGETED STATE SUPPORT

Mt. Tamalpais Cemetery in San Rafael is a 150-year-old private endowment care cemetery that remains an active burial site for Marin families. Since 2022, the State’s Cemetery and Funeral Bureau (CFB) has taken escalating enforcement actions due to egregious financial mismanagement, operational failures, and neglect. In 2025, the State revoked the site’s license and assumed control of its endowment care fund.

Despite these actions, the site remains in poor condition, with overgrown vegetation and no maintenance – an ongoing distressing situation for families visiting and burying loved ones. Unlike other abandoned cemeteries in California, where operators are absent and burials have not occurred in decades, Mt. Tamalpais continues to operate for hundreds of pre-purchased plots despite the loss of its cemetery license. It is the only private cemetery to have lost its license through court-enforced action while continuing active burials, creating an urgent need for near-term stabilization.

County and City action

The County of Marin, in partnership with the City of San Rafael, has focused on public safety at the site and supporting affected families:

1. Coordinated local response: County and City staff meet regularly with community stakeholders, faith organizations, and state partners to advance restoration efforts, including a long-term maintenance and landscaping plan.
2. Wildfire risk reduction: San Rafael Fire and the Marin Wildfire Prevention Authority have led hazardous fuel reduction on and around the cemetery property to reduce immediate wildfire risk to surrounding neighborhoods.
3. State engagement: Marin serves on the SB 777 (Richardson, 2025) workgroup to advance solutions statewide for abandoned private endowment care fund cemeteries. The County and City engage regularly with the CFB to ensure the cemetery’s current management is held accountable.

State partnership request

The County of Marin is requesting $2 million in state funding in the 2026-27 Budget, to be allocated to the CFB, to support immediate maintenance and stabilization of Mt. Tamalpais. This funding would:

• Restore the site to a basic standard of care and dignity.
• Support ongoing maintenance in areas where active burials continue
• Stabilize conditions during the transition to responsible long-term ownership
• Align with prior state investments in similarly distressed cemetery properties (Lincoln Cemetery)

Serving as a model for a statewide challenge

The situation at Mt. Tamalpais Cemetery represents a serious gap in California’s regulatory framework for private cemeteries when ownership fail but operations continue. With targeted state support, local government and community groups could establish a replicable model for:

• Stabilizing distressed cemetery properties
• Transitioning from failed private ownership to responsible management
• Protecting endowment care funds and restoring public trust
• Ensuring that burial sites are maintained with dignity, respect, and permanence