§ 7-2. Purpose, application of rules and regulations, amendments.

The following rules and regulations are hereby adopted for all cemeteries owned and/or operated by the city, controlling use of such cemeteries by present and future property owners, visitors within the cemeteries, and all other persons who may be upon the premises of the cemeteries for any purpose. Such rules and regulations may be amended by the city commission as it, in its sound discretion, may deem necessary and proper. All deeds and instruments hereafter issued by the city conveying ownership of lots and rights of interment shall contain the stipulation that the same are subject to provisions of this chapter, such stipulation being of the same force and effect as if this chapter, as the same may be hereinafter amended, had been quoted verbatim in such deeds and instruments.

(1)

a.

All human remains and cremations to be buried in Sunnyside or Bethel Cemeteries shall be placed in an outer burial container. All outer burial containers (vaults) shall be constructed of materials other than wood or cardboard, such as concrete. No wood or cardboard containers will be allowed. All vaults must be installed in the ground with the tops thereof not less than twelve (12) inches below the finished grade of the surrounding surface.

b.

The city will not provide a pauper's grave space for any deceased person whose legal residence address is outside the city; however, paupers' grave spaces will be provided for indigent deceased persons whose identities, residences and families cannot be determined.

c.

It shall be the responsibility of the authorized funeral director conducting the burial of a deceased person in a cemetery regulated by this chapter to furnish the city clerk with a legible copy of the burial-removal-transit permit required for such deceased person by the Georgia Department of Human Resources. In the event the Georgia Department of Human Resources abolishes the use of said permit then the city shall provide a city form for such burial to be filed with the city clerk as aforesaid. In addition, such director shall also furnish the city clerk with the block, lot and grave numbers used for the interment of such deceased persons.

(2)

All grading, landscape work and improvements of any kind, and care of the lots shall be done, and all trees and shrubs moved and herbage of any kind, with the exception of planting grass, shall be done by the city. The planting of grasses on the lot shall be left to the lot owner as to the type of grass to be planted, same planted at cost to the lot owner. Permanent planting of shrubs and flowers are made by the city and further planting may be permitted only at the discretion of the cemetery committee of the city. The whole cemetery is to be landscaped, and to keep it uniform it is necessary that all plantings shall be under the control of the city including the following additional care: Removal of rubbish when necessary, raking and cutting of grass, trimming of trees and shrubbery and other care that city may deem necessary. The ownership of rights of interment in lots does not convey any right to do planting without the express approval of the city commission. The city herewith retains supervision of all lots in the city and, upon hearing before the city commission, the city may prohibit, modify, or cause to be removed, any structure, object, or improvement which has been placed subsequent to the adoption of these rules and regulations, and which may be considered objectionable, unsightly or injurious to the lot upon which the same are located, adjoining lots, or the cemetery in general.

(3)

(a)

The city may remove cut flowers, pot plants, and the containers and stands for the same, when the flowers or plants have become unsightly. For the purpose of this subsection "unsightly" is defined as applying to cut flowers or pot plants when the same have shattered blooms, wilted or dead leaves and blooms, bleached or discolored leaves and colored foliage, to the extent of one-fourth (¼) of the original total of the same. Lots having coping and gravel shall not be maintained by the city, but may be cared for by the owners or authorized representatives of the owners during normal working hours while funerals are not being conducted in the cemetery. Nevertheless, the removal of cut flowers, pot plants, containers, and stands for the same from such lots by the city, as hereinbefore set forth, is hereby authorized.

(b)

The city may remove artificial flowers, silk flowers and foliage, artificial shrubs, pictures, stuffed animals, bric-a-brac, memorabilia, and similar items whenever the same have become water logged, scattered, discolored or damaged.

(4)

The city shall have the right to install, maintain, operate, alter, and repair pipe lines or gutters for sprinkler systems, drainage and landscape purposes, as well as the right to use land outside actual burial plots for public cemetery purposes other than for burial.

(5)

All persons are prohibited from gathering flowers, either wild or cultivated, or breaking trees, shrubbery or plants or disturbing bird or other wildlife in the cemetery.

(6)

No permanent signs of any kind shall be allowed in the cemetery unless placed by the city.

(7)

The city shall not be liable and distinctly disclaims all responsibility for loss or damage to the property or rights of lot owners arising from causes beyond its control.

(8)

a.

No memorial, such as family marker, grave marker, slab, or corner post, shall be placed in the cemetery, either on grave or lot unless same is made of concrete, marble, granite or bronze. In the event of corner post or name plates same shall be placed flush with the finished grade of the surrounding ground.

b.

The top of any vault or container holding a body shall be placed at least eighteen (18) inches below the finished grade of the surrounding ground. All vaults shall be of types of material other than wood. No wood vaults will be allowed in the city cemeteries.

c.

The city will exercise ordinary care to protect raised lettering, carving, or ornaments on memorials or other structures on cemetery lots; however, the purchaser of any lot hereafter is herewith notified that the city intends to care for city cemeteries by the use of mechanical maintenance equipment and the owner shall install such memorial(s) upon his lot as will minimize danger of damage by such mechanical equipment.

(9)

All wheel and track vehicles, such as but not limited to vans, trucks, tractors and backhoes moved or operated upon cemetery lots for any purpose must have sufficient support under wheels or tracks thereof so that the turf or surface of such lots will not suffer permanent depression.

(10)

Only one (1) lot, of eight (8) grave spaces maximum, will be sold to any one person, and in the event of sale of any lot before the same is used, it must be first offered to the city, and if the city refuses said lot, it may be sold to an individual at a price not exceeding the current price.

(11)

That after the date of the final adoption of this section, the price per grave space in the city cemeteries shall be three hundred dollars ($300.00) each.

(12)

No person or persons shall bury or cause to be buried any dead person or persons in any other place in this city than the public or commercial cemeteries without written permission of the city commission.

(13)

The city shall provide grass cutting, shrubbery trimming, litter control and general maintenance to the degree necessary to render the city cemeteries attractive and well kept. In no event shall such care be construed to mean "perpetual," and may be discontinued by the city upon resolution of the city commission at any time after twenty (20) years from the initial adoption of this chapter.

(14)

The location of any lots referred to in these rules and regulations of said cemetery may be found by reference to a plat on file in the office of the city clerk.

(15)

A permit must be secured from the city clerk before the owner of any lot(s) or grave space(s) may construct improvements (other than improvements involving a grave or graves, or memorial), and such improvements may not exceed a height of eight (8) inches above the finished grade of the surrounding ground. Such improvements shall not extend into walkways or other property owned by the city, nor into lots(s) or grave space(s) of any other person other than the owner seeking the permit. The owner must submit a copy of a plan of the proposed improvements to the clerk at the time of seeking the permit, and the plan must be approved by the clerk. The city clerk shall be notified by the owner or the owner's representative or contractor that the work on the improvements is commencing, and the city shall inspect the work in progress to determine that it is being made at the correct location and in accordance with the plans submitted.

(16)

Veteran's markers are permitted in the veterans' sections of Bethel Cemetery and Sunnyside Cemetery provided they are bronze, granite, or marble, and do not extend more than one (1) inch above ground level.

(Code 1977, § 6-2; Ord. No. 0-02-01, § A, 1-3-02; Ord. No. 0-04-24, § 1, 9-7-04; Ord. No. 0-06-13, §§ 1, 2, 7-18-06; Ord. No. 0-07-20, §§ 1, 2, 8-21-07)