Council updates public‑property and park rules, adopts cemetery code, policies and fee schedule

Saratoga Springs City Council on June 3 approved a new city code title that combines rules covering regulation of speech on public property, parks/trails/open space management, and cemetery regulations, and separately adopted a city cemetery policy manual and a cemetery fee schedule.

Why it matters: the code and policy package establishes how the city will manage public forums, set and post park rules, restrict certain electric motorcycle‑style e‑bikes on trails, and operate the city’s new cemetery — including pricing, reservations and procedures for burials and cremation interments.

Code and parks rules: City staff described the new title as three chapters: (1) regulation of speech on public property, (2) regulation of parks, trails and open space, and (3) cemetery regulations, plus relocation of a prior disposal‑of‑real‑property provision into the new title. Staff told council the draft follows Supreme Court forum‑analysis precedent, allows time, place and manner restrictions where appropriate, and lets the city designate particular areas as traditional public forums or more limited forums.

Council members asked staff to ensure references to state law appear where relevant (for example, statutory definitions related to violent or unlawful speech and to e‑bike classifications). Staff and the city attorney said the code already cites some state and federal requirements and that future updates will incorporate statutory changes where needed.

The parks chapter includes a requirement that additional, site‑specific rules beyond the baseline code must be posted on‑site; staff said updating the language to read “any restrictions other than those found in this chapter must be posted on the property” will give the public notice and allow administrative enforcement. The council discussed enforcement options for violations such as unauthorized motorized vehicles and fishing in prohibited swim areas and agreed to use infractions enforceable by police in some cases and administrative citations in others.

E‑bikes and motorized vehicles: staff noted state law defines class 2 and class 3 electric bicycles (faster, higher‑powered vehicles sometimes likened to electric motorcycles) and said the new code would let the city post restrictions at trailheads and make violations administratively enforceable once posted.

Cemetery policies and fee schedule: the council adopted the city cemetery Policy and Procedures manual (Resolution R25‑301) and a cemetery fee schedule (Ordinance 25‑41). Staff presented resident pricing of $1,300 for a basic in‑ground burial plot in the north or south lots and $2,000 for plots intended for raised headstones. The manual contemplates special handling and reservation privileges for infant burials: staff told council the city intends to allow families a period (discussed in staff conversation as about five years) to reserve adjacent plots rather than forcing immediate purchase during a tragedy.

Cremation options, opening and closing fees, and disinterment fees were presented with separate pricing in the fee schedule. Staff said the cremation garden will open when construction is finished and that the city will contract for engraving, charging cost plus a markup (staff cited cost plus 20%) where applicable. The fee schedule includes an annual 2.5% automatic increase beginning July 1, 2026, subject to future council review.

Reservations and sales process: staff described a $100 reservation deposit (applied to purchase, refundable minus a transaction fee of about 2% if the buyer later cancels) and said the city will offer reservations during the community “Splash” week and begin sales once the cemetery plat is recorded and the site available for inspection.

Council action: the council voted unanimously to enact the new title for public property regulations and cemetery code (business item 1), to adopt cemetery policies and procedures (Resolution R25‑301, business item 2), and to adopt the cemetery fee schedule (Ordinance 25‑41, business item 3). Council directed staff to make a small wording edit to the parks posting requirement (so only rules beyond the baseline code must be posted on site) and discussed whether fishing prohibitions should be infractions enforceable by police or administrative citations; council elected to keep certain park enforcement as infractions for police enforcement when appropriate.

Staff and some councilmembers thanked developers (including Lennar) for construction assistance to provide road and utility access to the cemetery site; staff said Lennar provided easements and extended utilities during site work. Staff also noted policy manual material came in part from experience shared by staff with other municipal cemetery operators.

Next steps: staff will finalize code language edits, produce sign posting and enforcement procedures for parks and trails, queue the cemetery’s reservation system (including QR checkout and deposit processing), and begin sales after plat recording and site availability.