Ordinance No. 824

 

An Ordinance Amending Portions of Chapter 2.44, Cemeteries and

Adding Regulations for Cemetery Management, Use, and Enforcement.

 

The city council of the city of Pomeroy do ordain as follows:

 

Section 1. The following sections of the Pomeroy Municipal Code are hereby amended to read as follows:

 

      2.44.010    City responsibility. The city is authorized to improve, embellish, and maintain the lands now owned by it and used for cemetery purposes, and to acquire, hold, use and improve, embellish and maintain any additional lands for such purpose.

      It is unlawful for any person, firm, or corporation to establish or plat any new cemetery or to extend the boundaries of any existing cemetery within the limits of the city of Pomeroy, and it is unlawful to establish or plat any new mausoleum or crematory, or extend any mausoleum or crematory within the city limits of the city without the permission of the City Council.

 

      2.44.080    Bequests. The city, through the city council cemetery board, may receive and hold any money or property, real or personal, bequeathed or given upon trust or otherwise, which shall become a part of the cemetery endowment care fund, and the income thereof shall be used in any manner not inconsistent with the design and purpose of this chapter according to the terms of such grant devise or bequest.

 

      2.44.110    Board—Secretary. The cemetery board shall designate some member to act as secretary, who shall keep accurate books of account of all transactions pertaining to such funds, which books shall be open to the public for inspection and shall be audited by the auditing or finance committee as other reports of officers are audited. (Ord. 224 §12, 1911).

      2.44.110. Cemetery Records. The city clerk/treasurer shall keep accurate books of account of all transactions pertaining to such funds, and shall keep records of the purchases of lots and interments and other sexton records as required by state law.

 

      2.44.120    Proposed loans and investments. All proposed loans or investments of such moneys shall be submitted by the cemetery board to the council in regular or special session and shall be approved by them prior to being accepted. Investments shall be managed by the clerk/treasurer per RCW 35A.40.050 and PMC 3.08.070.

 

      2.44.130    Mortgages or other securities. All mortgages or other securities shall be taken in the name of the city of Pomeroy, and may be foreclosed, satisfied, assigned or transferred by the city officers authorized to execute contracts and similar instruments upon the written order of the cemetery board.

 

      2.44.140    Drawing of warrants. Payments out of the funds shall be made by the drawing of warrants as other warrants are drawn; except that no warrant shall be drawn upon the funds, except upon the order of the cemetery board, signed by the chairman and secretary of such board.

 

      2.44.150    Lot—Advance payment for endowment care. In lieu of the cash deposit required for endowment care, the city council cemetery board may in its discretion maintain any lot from year to year upon the annual payment in advance of not less than four percent nor more than ten percent of the deposit required for endowment care of such lot; provided, however, that the privilege shall be limited to lots sold prior to July 2, 1928, and Class “B” lots hereinafter sold.

 

      2.44.160    Lot—Resale. Cemetery deeds shall be executed by the mayor and clerk/treasurer and shall limit the use of the lots conveyed to cemetery purposes only. Not more than one full lot shall be sold to one purchaser except with the consent of the city council cemetery board upon a showing that more ground will probably be needed for the burial of the relatives of the purchaser or in case of a lodge or association for the interment of its members. No fractional lot shall be resold except with the consent of the city council cemetery board, and any sum received in excess of the original price, shall be turned into the cemetery endowment care fund.

      Any owner desiring to transfer or assign a part of his tract to another person must have a record of his transfer or assignment noted on the cemetery records and a copy of the transaction shall be kept in the cemetery office.

      A descendant of a plot owner without a deed of ownership will be granted use rights as governed by State Law in RCW 68.32.

 

Section 2. Pomeroy Municipal Code Sections 2.44.100 and 2.44.190 are hereby repealed.

 

Section 3. The following sections are hereby adopted as a part of the Pomeroy Municipal Code

 

      2.44.170 Lot—Use. No portion of a lot may be used for burial until payment for that portion is made in full.

 

      2.44.200 Operation and administration

The city cemetery shall be operated and maintained by the Director of Public Works. He or she shall be designated for the purposes of this chapter as the cemetery supervisor and shall have authority to enforce this chapter and also shall have all duties which are imposed on a sexton by any existing ordinance, excepting those records designated to the City Clerk/Treasurer.

 

      2.44.210 Interments
A. Scheduling.  Interments must be scheduled with the City three working days before the intended interment day and time to allow the City to prepare the gravesite.

B. Work on Lots—Opening and Closing. No interments of remains or cremated remains nor work on portions of lots is allowed by anyone other than city employees other than those permissions given by the Director of Public Works and other permission below.

      Funerals within the cemetery shall be under the control of the City. All graves shall be opened and closed only by employees of the City of Pomeroy.

C. Burial Authorization and Permits.  All families or designated representatives shall be required to sign an agreement in person at the cemetery or at the agent’s locations of business, accepting responsibility, authorizing and designating the exact location of the eighth portion of the lot (gravesite) for burial.

      Funeral directors or designated representatives who sign on behalf of the family are accepting all responsibility for any decisions of actions taken under their direction. Under no condition shall the City open a lot without proper authorization.

      A lot or portion of a lot is intended as a family burial place of the purchaser. The family may permit the interment in a lot or portion thereof of a non-member of the family, but an heir cannot permit an interment of a non-family member except by unanimous consent of all owners. Permissions concerning permission for burial of certain family members, heirs, and non-family persons are governed by RCW 68.32.

      No interment will be permitted without the proper burial permit as required by the health authorities. Cremated remains must be properly labeled and accompanied by acceptable document documentation to certify identity of the cremated remains.

D. Interments allowed per eighth portion (grave sized) portion of lot.

      1. No person shall bury one body on top of another.

      2. Only one casket per regular eighth portion of lot shall be allowed. No interment of any body other than that of a human being shall be permitted.

      3. Ashes of human remains may be interred as follows:

(a) Three cremated remains may be added to an eighth portion of a lot with a casket interred.

(b) Four cremated remains may interred in an eighth portion of a lot with no casket.

 

      2.44.220 Other work on gravesites or lots

No work on gravesites or lots is allowed by another other than city employees excepting those permissions below or other work authorized by the Director of Public Works.

 

      2.44.230 Cemetery hours.
It is unlawful for anyone to enter or be in any city cemetery after dusk or before six a.m. of any day, except when the cemetery is open between such hours by order of the cemetery supervisor for a special occasion or service; provided, this section shall not apply to employees of the city who enter the cemetery in the course of their employment.

 

      2.44.240 Flowers, plants, containers, and easels.
     A. No person, whether or not a lot owner or a holder of a deed to a lot or portion of a lot, shall pick any flower or break any limb of any tree or shrub in any cemetery or remove any tree or plant from the cemetery unless he has received permission from the cemetery supervisor. This regulation shall apply to all trees and plants brought into the grounds by friends or relatives of a deceased person as well as to those furnished by the city.

      B. Cut flowers and potted plants in containers are allowed on graves as long as the container remains atop the confines of the marker or memorial or in a foundation floral cup. Wilted flowers and dead potted plants will be removed when they become unsightly. No glass containers will be allowed and such container and items in the container will be disposed of immediately.

      C. Flowers, floral designs, wreaths, easels, flags, and temporary markers may placed at any burial site at the time of a funeral and shall be removed no later than five days after the funeral, either by the family or family representative.

      D. Flowers, floral designs, wreaths, easels, flags, and artificial flowers and plants may placed on graves during the time set for Easter observance, which shall begin the Friday before Easter and end the Sunday following Easter, and the time set for Memorial Day observance, which shall begin the Saturday before Memorial Day and end the Monday following Memorial Day, and shall be removed by the end of the observance days.

      E. Excepting for burials, Easter observance days, and Memorial Day observance days, artificial flowers and plants and shepherd hooks shall not be placed on the cemetery grounds during the mowing season, which is April 1st to October 31st. Artificial flowers and plants and shepherd hooks may be placed at the edge of headstones, markers, or monuments during the non-mowing season, November 1st to March 31st, and shall be removed by March 31st.  Artificial flowers or other decorations found to have been blown, scattered, or misplaced due to weather or other causes will be discarded.

      F. If items are not removed by the family or a representative by the designated time limits, items will be removed by City personnel to a designated area. Items which are moved to the designated area and which are not claimed within one month will be discarded.

      G. The city is not responsible for damage to or theft of cut flowers, potted plants, displays or containers. Anyone leaving such articles in the cemetery does so at their own risk. The placing of balloons, toys, ornaments, settees, and similar articles upon plots shall not be permitted and if so placed, City personnel may remove the same.

      H. Only personnel authorized by the City shall plant, trim, prune, or remove any part of the trees or shrubs in the cemetery.  If any tree or shrub situated on any lot by means of its roots, branches, or otherwise become dangerous to the adjacent lots, walks, or avenues, or to persons within the cemetery, the City shall have the right and it shall be its duty to enter upon the lot and remove the trees or shrubs, or any parts thereof as it may see fit.

 

      2.44.250 Lot enclosures, monuments, markers, posts.
No person shall place improvements or cornerstones indicating the boundaries of lots except on the lot or portion of a lot itself, nor shall anyone place fences of wood or iron, or walls, coping or curbs of brick, stone or marble on any lot or portion of a lot as an enclosure thereof.

 

      2.44.260 Markers, Corner Posts, and Monuments (Includes headstones, plaques, plates)

      A. Headstones, Markers, Plaques, Plates:

      (1). Developed Lots: In lots which have a majority of headstones elevated, new headstones may also be elevated. Initial headstones must be placed at the head, and in line with the adjacent stones on other graves within that lot so as to present a uniform appearance. In the event that an eighth portion of a lot has cremated remains interred beyond the first internment, only flush, flat markers or stones will be allowed for those interments.

      In newly developed areas, only flush, flat markers/headstones will be allowed.

      Headstones and plate or plaque markers must be installed with foundations.

      Elevated headstones must be at least four inches in height above the foundation. The foundation shall correspond to the contour of the soil surface. The foundation shall be at least four inches wider on all sides than any elevated headstone or other marker. Polished foundations polished to the ground are not recommended due to possible scratching during mowing. Vertical stones shall be at least four inches thick.

      (2) Newly Established Lots: In newly developed areas, only flush, flat markers/headstones will be allowed.

      Initial headstones must be placed at the head, and in line with the other headstones on other graves within that lot. In the event that an eighth portion of a lot has cremated remains interred beyond the first internment, only flush, flat markers or stones will be allowed for those interments.

      Headstones and plate or plaque markers must be installed with foundations. The foundation shall be at least four inches wider on all sides than the stone or other marker. Polished foundations polished to the ground are not recommended due to possible scratching during mowing.

      B. Temporary Markers. After receiving authorization from the City, temporary flush markers may be placed on graves for up to a maximum of eight weeks.

      C. Corner posts: No person shall place any post of stone, concrete or marble at the corner of any lot or portion of a lot which shall be less than two and one-half feet in length, and the same shall be placed so as not to project above the surface of the ground.

      D. Family lots—Monuments. No person shall place more than one monument on a family burial lot; provided, however, that this shall not include headstones, markers, or plaques.

      E. Foundations of monuments.

      (a) Foundations. All foundations for monuments shall be one foot deep and shall extend six inches on all sides beyond the base of the monument stone.

      (b) Bases. Monument bases shall not be larger than the following dimensions:

            (1) On a two-grave lot, eighteen inches by three feet.

            (2) On a three-, four-, or five-grave lot, eighteen inches by four feet.

            (3) On a six-grave lot, two monuments, eighteen inches by four feet, each.

      F. Monuments, Headstone, Markers—Removal prohibited-—Exception. After any monument, headstone, cornerstone, marker or other property has been placed on any lot sold in any city cemetery; it is unlawful to remove the same except with written authority from the cemetery Director of Public Works. It shall be a violation of this chapter for anyone willfully to damage any such property or any city property in the cemeteries.

      G. Memorial or marker setting. Memorial or permanent marker setting shall be scheduled with the City at least one working day prior to the work. The City reserves the right to remove any memorial which was set or engraved without permission of the city and/or does not conform to the standards set forth in these rules and regulations.

 

      22.44.270 Violations – penalties.

      A.  Notwithstanding any provisions to the contrary set forth in any of the Codes adopted pursuant to this Chapter, any person firm or corporation who shall violate any of the provisions of this Chapter or who shall fail to comply with any order made thereunder, or who shall build in violation of any detailed statement of specifications or plans submitted and approved thereunder, or any certificate or permit issued thereunder, and from which no appeal has been taken, or who shall fail to comply with such an order as affirmed or modified by the City Council, or by a court of competent jurisdiction, within the time fixed by the provisions of this Chapter, shall severally for each and every such violation or noncompliance, be guilty of a misdemeanor, subject to penalty as set forth in Chapter 1.12 of the Pomeroy Municipal Code, as now exits or as may be hereafter amended.  The imposition of one penalty for any violation shall not excuse the violation or permit it to continue.  When not otherwise specified, each ten days that prohibited conditions are maintained shall constitute a separate misdemeanor offense.

      B.  The instigation of misdemeanor proceedings in accordance with subsection A of this Section shall not prevent the City from exercising all available civil remedies to force removal of prohibited conditions or compliance with this Chapter.

 

Section 4.  If any section, sentence, clause or phrase in this Ordinance shall be held to be invalid or unconstitutional by a court of competent jurisdiction, such invalidity or unconstitutionality shall not affect the validity or the constitutionality of any other section, sentence, clause or phrase of this Ordinance.

 

Section 5. Effective date. This ordinance shall take effect five days after publication of the ordinance or a summary thereof in the East Washingtonian

 

Passed by the city council in regular session, April 4, 2006.

 

 

_______________________________________

Alan Gould, Mayor

 

Attest:

 

_______________________________________

Shaun Martin, Clerk Treasurer

Date Published:

​

​

​