§ 9-3. Rules and regulations—Generally.
The following rules shall apply in all of the Waxahachie City Cemetery:
(a)
No planting shall be allowed on any new plots sold or used in any part of the cemetery, except for grass.
(b)
Every casket in any grave used in the future may be enclosed in a permanent type of box of concrete or equal material.
(c)
No flower containers may be placed anywhere in the cemetery except on markers or monuments or on the concrete monument supports. This requirement is not to be in effect while funeral services are being held for a burial on a particular tract.
(d)
The cemetery is open to the public only during daylight hours, and is closed after sunset.
(e)
Funeral homes shall be responsible for the opening and closing of graves, and shall be responsible for leveling of graves and cleanup of the site after each funeral service. In the event that a contractor does not level a grave site within a reasonable time after the service, the city may prohibit the opening or closing of any other graves in the cemetery by said contractor until said grave is leveled. A twenty-five dollar ($25.00) inspection fee, or such fee as is set by the city council, shall be paid to the City of Waxahachie before each grave is opened, said fee to pay for inspection of the site for removal of excess rock and debris and for cleanup, and to help defray any expense the city may incur in following up on said matters. The city may require completion of any suitable forms for grave openings.
(f)
Funeral homes shall be responsible for any damage to monuments, trees, etc., in the cemetery caused by their operations or that of their contractors for opening and closing graves or other subcontractors, and shall carry insurance against said damage.
(g)
The City of Waxahachie reserves the right to compel all persons coming into the cemetery to obey all rules and regulations. The rules and regulations may be changed without notice to any owner by the city council of the City of Waxahachie, Texas.
(h)
The city shall take reasonable precautions to protect the property rights of owners within the cemetery from loss or damage; but it disclaims all responsibility for loss or damage caused by the elements, an act of God, common enemy, thieves, vandals, strikers, malicious mischief makers, explosions, unavoidable accidents, invasion, insurrection, riots, or an order of any military or civil authority, whether the damage be direct or collateral, other than herein provided.
(i)
Persons within the cemetery grounds shall use only the avenues, walkways and roads.
(j)
The right to enlarge, reduce, replat or change the boundaries or grading of the cemetery; the right to lay, maintain, operate, or change pipe lines of gutters is expressly reserved. The City of Waxahachie reserves to itself, and those lawfully entitled thereto, a perpetual right of ingress and egress over lots for the purposes of passage to and from other lots.
(k)
The sale or transfer of any cemetery lot by any owner or purchaser, shall not be binding upon the cemetery unless same shall first be duly approved in writing by the properly authorized officer of the City of Waxahachie. This procedure is required in order that the cemetery may at all times have a complete and accurate record of all owners and purchasers.
(l)
The subdivision of interment rights is not allowed without the consent of the cemetery and no one shall be buried in any lot not having an interest therein, except by written consent of all parties interested in such lot and of the City of Waxahachie.
(m)
All work on the lots will be done by the employees of the City of Waxahachie under the direction of the City of Waxahachie, except when permission is otherwise granted by said City of Waxahachie. All grading, landscape work, and improvements of any kind, and all care of lots, shall be done, and all trees, shrubs and herbage of any kind shall be planted, trimmed, cut or removed, by the City of Waxahachie, or under its direct supervision.
(n)
No enclosure of any kind, such as a fence, hedge, or ditch, shall be permitted around any grave or lot other than that already existing at the date of passage of the section.
(o)
If any tree, shrub or plant standing upon any lot, by means of its roots, branches, or otherwise, be or becomes detrimental to adjacent lots or avenues, or if for any other reason its removal is deemed necessary, the City of Waxahachie shall have the right to remove such tree, shrub, or plant, or any part thereof, or otherwise correct the condition existing as in its judgment seems best.
(p)
No person shall pluck or remove any plant or flower, either wild or cultivated, from any part of the cemetery other than from their own family lots.
(q)
For the protection of all lot owners, it is required that persons other than lot owners or their families, erecting, cleaning, or repairing memorials, curbing, watering systems, etc., obtain a permit, and any person in doing such work must comply with the reasonable directions of the city. The persons or firms requesting such permit may be required to furnish evidence of their ability to properly perform the work performed. The charge for this permit shall be five dollars ($5.00), and shall allow such person or firm holding said permit to perform and work for a period of time from January 1st until December 31st of the year in which said permit is obtained and said permit must be renewed annually.
(r)
The cemetery will require all monument dealers or monument builders placing a memorial, mausoleum, or tombs in the cemetery to work under the direct supervision of the City of Waxahachie.
(s)
Should any monument, mausoleum or tomb become unsightly, dilapidated, or a menace to visitors, the cemetery shall have the right at the expense of the lot owner either to correct the condition or to remove the same.
(t)
Graves must be located by the family or its representatives and authorization signed by the lot owner or legal representative of the lot owner, at the cemetery office. This gives the cemetery legal right to open the grave space selected by the family on their lot.
(u)
When removal is to be made from a single grave to another grave, the formerly occupied single grave space and all rights therein shall revert to the cemetery. The removal of said bodies shall be done in strict compliance with all state requirements regulating same. Arrangements for the removal of a body must be made by someone other than the cemetery. The cemetery removal charge shall not be less than fifty dollars ($50.00), payable in advance. Application for removal permit must be signed by the next of kin, properly notarized prior to removal.
(v)
The following general regulations shall be enforced in the cemetery:
(1)
No wooden or cast-iron bench or chair, or any wooden or wire trellis shall be permitted to be brought upon the grounds.
(2)
The city has authority to enter upon any lot and to remove any objectionable thing or any erection that may have been placed there contrary to the regulations of said city council, and they may remove any dead or damaged tree, shrub or vine.
(3)
No person shall be permitted to enter or leave the cemetery except by the public gates.
(4)
Speed of over fifteen (15) miles per hour will not be permitted, and no person shall either ride or drive upon the lawns.
(5)
All persons are forbidden to hunt, or to fish, or to feed or disturb the fish, fowls, or other animals about the cemetery.
(6)
All persons are strictly forbidden to break, or injure any tree or shrub, or mar any landmark, marker, or memorial, or in any way deface the grounds of the cemetery.
(7)
No money shall be paid the attendants at the entrance or on the grounds. The entire time of the persons regularly employed on the grounds belongs to the cemetery. Visitors and owners must not otherwise engage them. All orders, inquiries and complaints must be left at the office of the city secretary of the City of Waxahachie.
(8)
All persons are reminded that the grounds are sacredly devoted to the burial of the dead and that the provisions and penalties of the law, as provided by statute, will be strictly enforced in all cases of wanton injury, disturbance, and disregard of the rules.
(9)
It is of the utmost importance that there should be a strict observance of all the properties due the place, whether embraced in the foregoing regulations or not, as no impropriety will be tolerated.
(10)
All well disposed persons will confer a favor by informing the cemetery of any breach of property decorum that may come under their notice.
(11)
Touch nothing in the cemetery that does not belong to you. This is the only safe rule to adopt in visiting this cemetery.
(12)
No persons, other than an employee of the City of Waxahachie, shall be permitted to bring or carry firearms within the cemetery except a military guard of honor and they only when in the charge of an officer and during a military service.
(13)
All work and all planting of any kind of all lots and graves is strictly prohibited, except as provided by (a), (m) and (q) of this section. Cut flowers or artificial flowers may be used at any time.
(14)
The cemetery reserves the right to remove all flowers, potted plants, summer wreaths or baskets when they become withered, or for any other reason, and the caretakers are ordered to make such removals when in their judgment it is to the best interest of the cemetery.
(15)
Special cases may arise in which the literal enforcement of a rule may impose unnecessary hardship. The city, therefore, reserves the right, without notice, to make exceptions, suspensions, or modifications in any of the rules and regulations when, in its judgment, the same appear advisable and such temporary exceptions, suspensions, or modifications shall in no way be construed as affecting the general application of such.
(w)
Addition Eleven to the city cemetery, in addition to the rules and regulations above stated, shall be subject to the following rules and regulations, with Addition Eleven being subject to the rules above stated where they do not conflict with the special rules for Addition Eleven, and subject also to the following rules, which are to control in case of any conflict:
(1)
All gravespaces are to be physically marked before opening for interment by the cemetery sextant.
(2)
Marker dimensions are to be no larger than twenty-eight (28) inches long by eighteen (18) inches wide by four (4) to six (6) inches thick.
(3)
All markers must be set with concrete footing and placed such that the top surface of the marker is flush with the surrounding lawn. All markers must be previously approved by the cemetery sextant and the installation must meet strict specifications to be established by the city engineer. The cemetery sextant must be established by the city engineer. The cemetery sextant must inspect the installation of all markers and has the power to refuse an installation if it does not meet city standards.
(4)
Only one (1) headstone and one (1) footstone is permitted per gravespace and must be oriented and placed on the gravespace in the manner specified on the plat of the Eleventh Addition of the section in which it is located. Any footstone markers are to be made of bronze or granite with top of the marker finished flat. Footstone markers dimensions are to be no larger than twenty-four (24) inches long and eighteen (18) inches wide by four (4) inches thick and the top surface thereof shall be flush with the surrounding lawn.
(5)
All grading, landscape work and improvements of any kind, and all care on lots shall be done solely by the City of Waxahachie employees. The ownership of right of interment in lots does not confer any right to do planting on those lots.
(6)
No cross-curbing of lots or covering of lots with concrete or ornamental materials of any type will be permitted.
(7)
In order to properly maintain lawns, it is necessary that all grave decorations be limited to fresh cut-flowers, placed in approved sub-surface, permanent, cemetery vases. The following exceptions to this rule apply on special occasions only:
Placement of artificial flowers, wreaths, pot plants, and baskets are permitted only on Valentine's Day, Easter, Mother's Day, Father's Day and Memorial Day. Placement may be made during the week before and will be removed by the cemetery on the 8th day following the occasion, and disposed of.
Christmas wreaths and pot plants may be placed on graves any time after the Friday before Thanksgiving and will be removed by the cemetery on or after January 15th.
(8)
Due to the city's obligation to maintain the lawn throughout the grass growing season, digging holes in the ground or placing of rods or brackets to support top-heavy pots and containers at places of interment is not permitted at any time of year since there is danger of bodily injury to employees using power equipment or possible damage to expensive maintenance equipment.
(9)
The cemetery reserves the right to reroute or remove roads in this addition without prior notice to lotholders.
(Ord. No. 1055, § 2, 8-28-72; Ord. No. 1443, 1-21-85; Ord. No. 1444, 1-21-85; Ord. No. 2339, 11-7-05; Ord. No. 2435, 10-1-07; Ord. No. 2512, 4-6-09)
Editor's note
Ord. No. 1055 being nonamendatory of the Code, §§ 2—4 thereof were added as §§ 9-3—9-5 at the editor's discretion.