Committee forwards amended cemetery ordinance, defining aprons, decoration limits and solar-light rules

The Cemetery Advisory Committee on Wednesday agreed to forward a revised draft cemetery ordinance (No. 2025-08) to the town council after resolving competing rules about gravesite decorations, defining an “apron” and setting lighting limits.

Committee members revised the ordinance to define “apron or base” as the permanent foundation surface installed at the head of a burial space, built of durable material such as concrete or stone, and to anchor size limits for headstones and decorations to that feature. The committee settled on an apron dimension of 4 feet by 30 inches; decorations, shepherd’s hooks and markers must fit inside that area.

The change was intended to remove conflicting language in the draft. “It should read, all decorations must be placed within the apron,” a committee member said during the meeting. Committee members agreed to delete a separate clause that had limited decorations to 12 inches beyond the base, calling that repetition confusing.

Members also removed the draft’s separate categories for temporary, semi‑permanent and permanent decorations and replaced them with a single, objective standard for removal. The committee adopted a definition of “deteriorated” for enforcement purposes: deteriorated means any condition in which a structure, surface, sign or material is visibly faded, peeling, rusting, corroding, decaying, damaged, broken, weathered, or otherwise not maintained, resulting in an unattractive or unsafe appearance. A staff member read the proposed language aloud during the meeting.

The revised draft also clarifies cremation‑plot sizing: committee members agreed that only one cremation urn is permitted per cremation vault unless the urns clearly fit within the vault dimensions.

On lighting, the committee agreed on technical limits for solar accent fixtures. The ordinance draft states that solar landscape or decorative lighting shall not exceed 100 lumens per fixture, must be shielded or full‑cutoff to prevent glare, be directed downward so the light source is not directly visible beyond the property line, and only one fixture shall be allowed per interment unit (one per grave). A committee member summarized the drafting language as “Solar accent decorative or landscape lighting shall not exceed 100 lumens per fixture…Only 1 fixture is allowed per grave.”

The draft also adds a planting restriction: “No plants, shrubs, trees, bushes, ground cover, vegetation, or root‑bearing material shall be planted within the apron, base area or foundation of any burial plot,” a provision members inserted to prevent permanent plantings at individual graves.

The committee made several other clarifications to enforcement language including changing the notice reference from “plot owner” to “family” for purposes of notifying relatives about damaged items.

After reviewing the edits, a member moved to forward Ordinance 2025‑08 to the town council for adoption and another member seconded the motion. The committee approved the motion by voice vote.

What happens next

The committee’s action forwards the draft ordinance to the town council; the council will receive the draft for its agenda and may adopt, amend or return the draft for further committee action. Committee members and staff noted several items that can be finalized later, such as placing additional detail in administrative rules rather than repeating language in the ordinance.

Committee members also asked staff to add a concise illustration to public rules showing the apron area so families and volunteers can easily see the allowed decoration area.