[HISTORY: Adopted by the Cemetery Commission of the Town
of Nantucket and approved at Town Meeting, 5-2-2022 ATM by Art. 68. Amendments noted where applicable.]
A.
Town cemeteries are open daily from dawn to one-half hour after sunset.
B.
The license holder (owner of a lot) is limited to interring human
remains or cremated human remains in that site. The owner also has
a limited right to place a monument and plant flowers or shrubs. These
limitations are outlined in other sections of these regulations.
C.
Cemeteries are places for contemplation and quiet reflection. They
are not recreation areas. Please respect these sacred grounds and
use common sense: No loud noise, bad behavior or trash.
D.
No person shall remove, cut, break or mark any tree or shrub; or
mark upon, deface or injure any monument or structure on the grounds.
E.
Gravestone repairs require prior authorization of the Cemetery Commission
or its designated agent. Rubbings are not permitted. Take photographs
only.
F.
Firearms shall not be discharged in the cemeteries, except for salutes
at military funerals, Memorial Day or Veteran's Day.
G.
Dogs must be leashed at all times and be under control of their handler.
Dog walkers must clean up after their dogs and must ensure that dogs
do not trespass on any grave.
H.
All trash must be removed from Town cemeteries, as there are no trash
receptacles available.
A.
Polpis Cemetery is open to cremation interments only.
B.
Cremation lots are four feet by six feet and shall have no more than
four cremations in each lot.
C.
Only one monument or marker per cremation lot will be allowed. A
foundation must be placed under each monument. Only a professional
who normally provides such a service in the community shall be permitted
to place the foundation and monument, unless the Commissioners explicitly
waive this requirement in writing. Markers may not be set to embrace
two or more grave lots. All markers shall be flush with the ground.
No wooden crosses shall be allowed.
D.
The Town shall not be liable for damage to monuments or markers.
Markers may be of granite, marble or bronze; the use of limestone,
sandstone, cast or cement stone and metals for monuments shall not
be allowed. Monuments may be made of native boulders.
E.
Because Polpis Cemetery is a natural setting, no additional planting
will be allowed on lots.
F.
No other structure but approved markers or monuments may be placed
on a lot.
G.
No vehicles are allowed in the Polpis Cemetery.
H.
No lights of any kind will be allowed.
For the purpose of these Rules and Regulations, the following
words shall have the following meanings, unless a different meaning
is ascribed to such terms under the General Laws:
All property owned by the Town of Nantucket dedicated for
the burial of deceased human remains.
The person charged by the Cemetery Commissioners with the
day-to-day administration of Town cemeteries in accordance with these
Rules and Regulations, the directions of the Cemetery Commissioners
and applicable federal and state laws.
A monument erected in honor of persons buried at sea, or
whose remains lie elsewhere.
A permanent structure, room or space in a mausoleum or other
structure containing niches or other suitable spaces for the permanent
placement of cremated human remains.
The final physical remains of a human being after having
been cremated and processed.
An area of land specifically designed for the interment and
placement of cremated remains only.
See "niche."
A chamber in a mausoleum of sufficient size, generally used
to contain the casketed remains of a deceased person.
All burials, except for approved green burials, of bodies
and cremated remains shall be placed in a durable outer container.
Durable outer containers shall be made of reinforced concrete or fiberglass
and may include:
A flush to the ground memorial made of granite or bronze,
which is placed at the foot of a grave.
The Nantucket Cemetery Commission.
A space in a cemetery used or intended for use, for the in-ground
burial of one or more deceased persons. The size of a grave may vary
as laid out by the Cemetery Commission.
The burial of human remains, full body or cremated, with
the intention of their return to the soil through natural decay processes;
green burial necessitates the use of nontoxic and biodegradable materials,
such as caskets, shrouds and urns.
The permanent placement of a dead human body either in a
green burial or placed in a casket within a durable outer container
and buried in the ground.
The permanent placement of cremated human remains in a niche,
space in a columbarium or burial in a grave.
The original purchaser of a right of burial and others entitled
to a rights of burial.
A place designated in a cemetery comprised of one or more
grave spaces.
A monument or memorial usually made of granite, a flush-to-the
ground memorial usually made of bronze or granite or a foot marker,
any of which is used for commemorating the life of a deceased person.
A discrete chamber, space or recess in a columbarium used
for the permanent placement of cremated human remains, encased in
an urn.
The activities of routine cemetery maintenance such as, but
not necessarily limited to, mowing, brush cutting, repair of fences
and laneways, and signage.
A fund authorized by the General Laws, whereby funds are
set aside, the income of which is used for the perpetual care and
maintenance of the cemetery or lots therein.
The exclusive right of burial granted by the Town to a license
holder for the use of a specific grave, lot, crypt, or niche or other
burial space in a cemetery.
A container to hold human cremated remains. An urn can be
placed in a columbarium niche or buried in the ground within a durable
outer container.
A.
Lots in the cemeteries shall be used for no other purpose than a
place for the interment of human remains as full casket burials, green
burials or inurnment of cremated remains.
B.
No interment or inurnment shall be made until the Cemetery Administrator
or designee has been furnished with a burial permit and/or cremation
certificate as required by law, together with a written interment
or inurnment order on a form approved by the Cemetery Commission and
endorsed by the license holder, or the legal representative of the
license holder in the lot in which interment is to be made. No grave
shall be opened for interment, inurnment or removal unless authorized
by the Cemetery Commission and cemetery personnel have flagged the
area.
C.
Green burial applications, on forms specific to green burials, will
be reviewed by the Department of Health for minimal environmental
impact before review and potential approval by the Cemetery Commission.
D.
Except for green burials, all interments and inurnments shall be
enclosed in a durable outer container or vault.
E.
Each grave (minimum four feet by 10 feet) includes the right of interment
of either one full casket or one green burial for regular depth burial
and one cremation burial.
G.
A cremation lot includes the right of inurnment of up to four cremation
burials.
H.
Additional regulations will be drafted if a niche wall is constructed.
A.
When a right of burial is purchased, the license holder will be given
a written deed, granting the license holder rights of burial in a
specific grave, lot, crypt, or niche or other burial space in a cemetery.
The deed may contain certain specific terms and conditions for use
of the rights of burial and grant the right of erecting a monument
or memorial on such terms and conditions as the Cemetery Commissioners
may prescribe. Such deeds and all subsequent deeds of such rights
of burial made by owners thereof shall be recorded by the Cemetery
Administrator or designee in the records maintained by the Department
of Public Works in files kept for that purpose. Copies of lost deeds
may be obtained by contacting the Nantucket Town Clerk or the Cemetery
Commission. It shall be the duty of the license holder and his/her
heirs to notify the Commission of any changes in their mailing address.
Notice sent to the license holder at the last address on record shall
be considered sufficient and proper legal notification.
B.
The Cemetery Commissioners shall establish the cost of a burial right
and fees related thereto and may amend the same from time to time.
Cemetery personnel shall furnish, to those who desire to purchase
rights of burial, information relative to the cost of the same and
the conditions upon which interments or inurnments may be made. See:
Nantucket Cemetery Commission Schedule of Fees.
(1)
A license holder, or his/her heirs, shall not sell, transfer or convey the rights of burial, but such rights of burial shall pass to family members as permitted under Chapter 114 of the General Laws. The Town of Nantucket shall have the option of buying back rights of burial, subject to availability of funding. The price to be paid by the Cemetery Commission shall be no greater than the original purchase price, provided that all remains, if any, have been removed from the lot.
(2)
Should the Town not exercise its option to buy rights of burial,
a license holder may assign or transfer such rights of burial only
as permitted by the Cemetery Commissioners, who may limit such assignment
or transfer to individuals who are current residents of the Town of
Nantucket, past residents or relatives of such individuals. A license
holder wishing to assign rights of burial should contact the Cemetery
Administrator. An assignment form needs to be completed, notarized
and submitted to the Cemetery Administrator in order to ensure accurate
recording of all assignments.
(3)
Upon the death of the license holder, rights to burial shall pass
in accordance with the laws of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
(4)
An existing single grave (minimum four feet by 10 feet) containing
recorded remains may also accommodate one cremation burial, provided
the cremated remains are that of a family member, heir or others with
verified rights of interment.
(5)
Graves for the interment of any indigent (by state definition) resident
veterans are provided at no cost and are set aside for burials of
indigent resident veterans residing in the Town at the time of their
entry into service and/or at the time of their death, verified by
the Veterans Agent and subject to the approval of the Cemetery Commission.
(6)
Single grave space may be made available for the burial of the stillborn
or infants without charge to the resident parents residing in the
Town at the time of death.
(7)
Under MGL c. 115, § 8, the Town shall provide grave space
for interment or inurnment of the indigent. Heirs may place monuments
on indigent burials only if the interment rights are purchased and
paid in full prior to placing a memorial. The Cemetery Commission
will determine indigent status based on state regulations and definition.
(8)
No work shall be performed on graves or lots by or on the direction
of license holders unless authorization has been obtained from the
Cemetery Administrator, in order to preserve as much as possible the
natural appearance of cemeteries.
(9)
The Town shall not be responsible for the maintenance of any flowers,
flags, decorations, holiday arrangements or other objects placed on
a lot, and shall have the right to remove the same if, in the opinion
of the Cemetery Commission, they are unsightly. The Town of Nantucket
shall not be liable for items left at a grave, or damage to flowers,
flags, decorations, monuments or other objects due to weather, vandalism,
theft or wear and tear.
(10)
Annual/Perennial flowers may be planted at the base of and within
12 inches of a monument/marker, so as to not interfere with the Cemetery
Commission's maintenance procedures.
(11)
Fences, borders, curbing, hedges, shrubbery, trees, rampant-growing
plantings and crushed stone are prohibited. No signs or lettered wooden
boards of any kind are permitted on a gravesite, unless the Cemetery
Commission has granted prior approval.
(12)
Any materials placed on a grave that are not in compliance with
these regulations are subject to removal without notice.
(13)
The Town may take over the ownership of an unoccupied grave
after a minimum of 75 years has elapsed after the issuance of a license
for the grave by the Town and provided that the Town cannot locate
the owner or the owner's successor in interest after a diligent
search. If the ownership of the license is ascertained after such
a taking occurs, then the Town shall pay to the owner the fair value
of the license at the time of taking.
C.
Reuse of an occupied grave will not be permitted except: upon the
request and with the consent of a relative or descendant of the decedent
occupying the grave, providing that no other descendant objects; to
provide for the burial of a relative or descendant of the decedent
occupying the grave; and if the remains of the decedent occupying
the grave will remain in the grave.
A.
The Cemetery Commission must approve any memorial, including gravestones,
markers, benches or other structures, in writing prior to installation.
(1)
All inscriptions to be made on memorials shall be approved by the
Cemetery Commission prior to carving. The Commission reserves the
right to prohibit offensive language or imagery within the cemetery.
(2)
Monument dealers, masons, stonecutters and all workmen working at
any Town cemetery shall comply with the directions of the Cemetery
Commission and must carry off all rubbish and restore roads, avenues
and paths damaged by their operations. The Town of Nantucket will
not be responsible for any errors made by any improper inscription
on any memorial.
B.
Memorial sizes shall be based on the following; except at Polpis
Cemetery, where only flush memorials are permitted:
(1)
Types of lots.
(a)
Single lot: sixteen-inch by twenty-four-inch flush memorial
or twenty-four-inch-wide slant in designated areas.
(b)
Cremation lot: twelve-inch by eighteen-inch flush memorial or
eighteen-inch-wide slant in designated areas. If two or more names
are to be inscribed in the memorial, it may be 12 inches by 24 inches
wide.
(2)
Where family lots have been established in inactive cemeteries (a
list of such cemeteries is provided below), those families will be
allowed to place memorials that duplicate the style of the existing
surrounding markers or headstones or, alternatively, use flush markers.
(3)
No headstones, monuments, curbing or other structure will be permitted
to be erected in the cemeteries without a sufficient foundation. All
markers, headstones, monuments and other structures shall be made
of granite, marble, slate or other approved material. All monuments
are to be centered at the head of grave/lot. Flush foot markers may
be placed at the center of the foot of a grave.
(4)
A marble or granite bench will be allowed on a lot with three or
more graves. If a bench is placed on a lot, no other memorials are
permitted other than foot markers on individual graves within the
lot.
(5)
Special permission for alternate memorial sizes may be requested
of the Cemetery Commission for consideration.
(6)
The Cemetery Administrator is required to have written notification
prior to any foundation work/memorials placement, with all information
outlined and submitted on a Cemetery Department Monument Permit Order.
Prior to the initiation of any monument work, the lot must be marked/flagged
by Cemetery Department personnel. Monuments are required to be set
in such manner that they will not conflict with the alignment of neighboring
monuments.
(7)
Memorials and structures that are not in compliance with these regulations
are subject to removal without notice.
A.
The Cemetery Administrator shall have responsibility for the proper day-to-day administration of Town cemeteries in accordance with the administrative direction of the Town Manager and the policy direction of the Cemetery Commissioners, these rules and regulations and applicable federal and state laws. The Town of Nantucket Home Rule Charter and MGL Ch. 114 and Chapter 47 of the Acts of 2011 established the Cemetery Commission and the appointment of members. Duties of the Cemetery Commissioners are prescribed under MGL Ch. 114.
B.
There may be circumstances when the strict or literal enforcement
of these Rules and Regulations may impose unreasonable hardship. The
Cemetery Commission reserves the right to make exceptions, suspensions
or modifications to these Rules and Regulations, without notice, whenever
necessary in the judgment of the Cemetery Commissioners.
A.
Active Town-controlled cemeteries (Burial rights may be available.):
|
Cemetery
|
Location
|
Status
|
|---|---|---|
|
Newtown Cemetery
|
Sparks Avenue
|
Space available.
|
|
Polpis Burial Ground (Cemetery)
|
Polpis Road
|
Plots to be laid out; cremains only; flush monuments only.
|
B.
Inactive Town-controlled cemeteries (No burial rights available for
sale.):
|
Cemetery
|
Location
|
Status
|
|---|---|---|
|
Founders Burial Ground
|
Off Cliff Road
|
Closed to new interments.
|
|
The Historic Coloured Cemetery
|
Mill Hill
|
No known space available.
|
|
Miacomet Indian Burial Ground
|
Surfside Road
|
Closed to new interments.
|
|
New North Cemetery
|
New Lane (east)
|
No new plots; owners only.
|
|
Old North Cemetery
|
New Lane (west)
|
No new plots; owners only.
|
|
Quaker Cemetery (Friends Burial Ground)
|
Madaket Road
|
Closed to new interments.
|
C.
Private cemeteries not controlled or maintained by the Town of Nantucket.
As information only, the following cemeteries are known to exist within
the corporate limits, but the Town of Nantucket has no obligation
or involvement therewith:
|
Cemetery
|
Status
|
|---|---|
|
Saint Mary's Cemetery
|
Private; plots available.
|
|
Sconset Chapel Columbarium
|
Private; inurnments only.
|
|
Saint Paul's Memorial Garden
|
Private; ashes only.
|
|
Prospect Hill Cemetery
|
Private board and regulations; plots available.
|
|
Edward Lewis Memorial Cemetery and the adjacent Jewish Cemetery
on Somerset Road
|
Private; administered by the Prospect Hill Board.
|
D.
A cemetery owned and currently maintained by the Nantucket Conservation
Foundation:
|
Cemetery
|
Location
|
Status
|
|---|---|---|
|
Quaise Asylum Burial Ground
|
Polpis Road
|
Closed to new interments.
|
A.
The Cemetery Commission shall adopt a schedule of fees for the sale
of rights of burial and other rights and services provided by the
Cemetery Commission, which may be amended from time to time. All rights
of burial must be paid for in full at the time of sale unless there
are extenuating circumstances for which the Commissioners may offer
a payment plan to the purchaser. No interments, inurnments or improvements
shall be made to a lot, and no deeds shall be issued, until the rights
of burial have been paid in full.
B.
The following prices have been established by the Nantucket Cemetery
Commission for the sale of burial rights in plots laid out in Town-owned
cemeteries.
(1)
Newtown Cemetery. Newtown Cemetery can accommodate both full casket
burials and also offers cremation lots.
(a)
Single lot (four feet by 10 feet): $1,200. Each single lot (minimum
four feet by 10 feet) includes the right of interment of one full
casket for regular depth burial and up to two cremation burials.
(b)
Double-deep option: At time of lot purchase $600 additional:
$1,800. This option will accommodate two full casket burials. The
first burial will be at a depth of eight feet. This option offers
replacement of the second full casket with inurnment of up to four
cremated remains.
(c)
Cremation lots (four feet by six feet): $900. Each cremation
lot will accommodate up to four inurnments. Flush monuments only will
be allowed on cremation only lots.
(2)
Polpis Burial Ground. Only cremation burials are allowed at Polpis.
Each lot includes the right of inurnment of up to four cremated remains.
Only flush monuments are allowed at Polpis.
(a)
Single lot (four feet by six feet): $900. A cremation lot includes
the right of inurnment of up to four cremation burials.
(3)
Rules and Regulations adopted by the Nantucket Cemetery Commission
and approved by the Nantucket Town Meeting govern operation of Town-owned
cemeteries.
(4)
All plots include perpetual care. Plot cost does not include services
to open and close graves or funeral services.
