[HISTORY: Adopted by the Cemetery Commission of the Town of Marblehead 4-19-1945, as amended through 7-1-1998. Subsequent amendments noted where applicable.]
A. 
The Town Board of Cemetery Commissioners and election of members are set by MGL c. 114, § 22. Duties of the Cemetery Commissioners are set by MGL c. 114, § 23.
B. 
It is the duty of the Commissioners to see that the bylaws of the Town and these rules and regulations are complied with and to protect and promote the best interests of the cemetery. To that end they are authorized to make additional rules which may be needed from time to time to meet emergencies which are not covered by these rules and regulations or to amend, alter or repeal any rule.
C. 
Special cases may arise in which the literal enforcement of a rule may impose unnecessary hardship. Proof of hardship may be required by the Commission. The Commissioners, therefore, reserve the right, without notice, to make exceptions, suspensions, or modifications in any of these rules and regulations when, in their better judgment, the same appears advisable, and such temporary exception, suspension or modification shall in no way be construed as affecting the general application of the rule.
A. 
All rules formerly adopted which are contrary to these rules and regulations are hereby repealed and declared void.
B. 
These rules and regulations of the Marblehead Cemetery are adopted to protect and promote the general welfare of the cemeteries as a whole.
C. 
Because of space restrictions, pre-need burial purchases have been limited to two graves.
D. 
This chapter containing the rules and regulations of the Marblehead Cemetery is the result of the thought that there existed a need for such a chapter. We trust it will be found instructive and helpful. One will be included with all bonds and deeds issued to the new lot owner.
E. 
Deed and bond instruments with the Town of Marblehead Corporate Seal affixed thereto will be issued by the Cemetery Department upon receipt of payment for graves, lots and niches.
A. 
Burial rights in the Marblehead Cemetery are for the residents of Marblehead or taxpayers only. This means that when you purchase these burial rights you do so with the understanding that they are to be used for members of your family. When a plot is purchased, only the exclusive right of burial is secured, not the land itself. Rights purchased in the Marblehead Cemetery are not transferable. If the owner finds the same cannot be used, he shall release them back to the Town and receive the original purchase price for the same.
B. 
No transfer or assignment by a lot owner of any interest in his lot will be valid, except to the Town.
C. 
Residents purchasing burial rights in the Marblehead Cemetery will have just two interments to a grave, with the understanding that at least one will be for the interment of ashes, or three cremains maximum will be allowed per grave site with a dimension of three feet by 10 feet. Only one flush-type marker properly inscribed will be allowed to be placed on said grave site.
D. 
Perpetual care bonds are mailed from the cemetery office to the owner. In case of loss by the owner, a copy is kept in the office and may be obtained. No person, not an inhabitant or taxpayer of the Town, shall hold title to burial rights, except as provided in the Town bylaws or MGL c. 114, § 29.
E. 
On the decease of a proprietor a lot passes to his heirs at law, unless specifically devised by will or by a deed or trust. A notarized statement should be filed with the office listing the names and addresses of all the heirs, and a majority of the heirs should also designate one of their number as representative. If no such statement is filed, the Superintendent may designate one of the heirs as representative.
F. 
Descent and distribution forms may be obtained at the office.
G. 
In transactions where legal papers are necessary, there will be nominal charge made for the same.
H. 
Those purchasing niches in Chapel will adhere to rules and regulations as compiled by the Cemetery Commissioners as set forth.
A. 
In order that the office records may be accurate and complete in every detail, persons having business with the cemetery must conduct the same through the office during regular working hours. Full instructions can there be obtained regarding these rules and regulations. All fees or charges are payable at the office. Patrons of the cemetery are requested not to pay any fee or gratuity to any employee, as this is contrary to the policy of the Cemetery Department.
B. 
All plots in the cemetery and all charges for the openings must be paid for at the office before an interment takes place. Make all checks payable to the Town of Marblehead. Burial permits must be presented at the office before an interment takes place. When a body or cremated remains are brought into the commonwealth from outside, a permit must be obtained from the Town Board of Health.
C. 
All openings and all foundations must be made by the employees of the Department.
D. 
Removal orders, furnished by the cemetery office, must be filled in and signed by the owner of the plot, or his or her representative, before a grave is opened. However, when this is impossible because such a person is absent from the Town, notarized written permission will be accepted in lieu thereof.
E. 
Due to possible existing ledge in the older sections of the cemeteries, reasonable advance notice for openings is required by owners and funeral directors.
F. 
It is recommended that the inquiries be made in advance to see if there are any existing encumbrances on the lots.
G. 
Persons within the cemetery shall use only the avenues, roads and paths, and no one is permitted to walk upon or across lots or lawns unless it is necessary to do so to gain access to one's own lot.
H. 
The Superintendent, at his discretion, may exclude or eject from the cemeteries any persons or vehicles for violations of any of these rules and regulations.
I. 
The Cemetery Department will not be held responsible for monuments, flag holders, containers, flowers or decorations placed on graves.
J. 
No temporary markers will be placed on any plots without permission from the Superintendent.
K. 
It is forbidden to pick flowers, mark trees or monuments, break glass, throw stones, or injure anything within the cemetery. No shooting is allowed except at a military service. Wildlife must not be disturbed. No fast driving or riding is permitted over 15 miles per hour, and motorcycling and bicycling, skateboarding, roller-blading and horseback riding are prohibited. No snowmobiling, skiing or tobogganing is allowed.
L. 
No dogs will be allowed in the cemeteries under the jurisdiction of the Town. Dog bylaws and ordinances apply and are in effect within the cemeteries and will be enforced.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: See Ch. 13, Art. III, Dogs.
M. 
Rubbish, or anything which would render unsightly the cemetery grounds, shall be deposited in the receptacles which are provided at convenient locations.
N. 
No person will be permitted to peddle flowers or plants or to solicit the sale of any commodity within the cemetery.
O. 
No signs, notices or advertisements of any kind will be allowed in the cemetery, except those placed by the Cemetery Department.
P. 
There shall be no drinking of intoxicating liquors whatsoever on Town cemetery grounds.
Q. 
There will be no abandoning of cars for parties, boating, fishing, skin diving, or swimming. Those violating will be towed at the car owner's expense.
R. 
There will no wading in or throwing of debris into the Hour Glass Pool.
S. 
There will be no fishing on cemetery grounds.
T. 
Loitering in or about the cemetery buildings or pavilions or on the grounds is prohibited.
U. 
There are penalties and fines imposed for vandalism and desecration of graves within cemeteries per MGL c. 277, as amended, also pertaining to defacing of memorials. The Commissioners are empowered to enforce the same.
V. 
Any complaints should be made to the Superintendent in the Department office, who, if he is unable to make a satisfactory adjustment, will refer the matter to the Commissioners for final decision.
W. 
Stone rubbing permits are required and permission will be granted at the office for a fee.
X. 
The Cemetery Commission reserves the right to make changes in the price schedules as warranted without notice.
The section in the cemetery called "veterans lots" may be used for the interment of any resident veteran, with the opening and container charge only, predicated on and subject to available space in said veterans lot and subject to the rules and regulations. Said space will be set aside for the burials of honorably discharged veterans residing in the Town at the time of their enlistment into the service and/or at the time of their death, proof having been established by the Veterans Agent and subject to the approval of the Superintendent. The lifting of the turf for flower beds is prohibited on any veteran's grave.
A. 
There shall be no section within the cemetery designated as the "welfare lot." In case of persons on government programs not covered by reimbursement or those indigent who pass away within the Town, a single grave will be used in the single grave areas, and there will be the normal charge made for opening and closing. Current federal laws govern the reimbursement for the purchase of graves both pertaining to Social Security and Veterans Administration. The Cemetery Department will be so advised by the funeral directors making arrangements.
B. 
Memorials will be restricted to rules and regulations as set by the Commission for single graves.
C. 
Stillborn, or very young infants, may be buried in the area designated as "stillborn lot." There will be no markers or memorials placed on said areas.
A. 
There will be a restriction on memorial sizes.
B. 
There will be no planting without clearance through the Superintendent.
C. 
There will be no decorations in said area without office clearance. Memorial restrictions will be obtained from the office.
A. 
Perpetual care of the plots shall consist of the following services only: grading, seeding with grass seed, the cutting of the grass and raising of the graves as depressions occur, the latter process requiring the removal of sod, addition of loam and sod replacement.
B. 
Lot owners desiring additional care of their lots may arrange for such care with the cemetery office, where an estimate of the cost of the work desired may be obtained.
C. 
Heirs at law will pay perpetual care charges on available unused graves in plots obtained by inheritance or transfer, where there is no perpetual care and/or annual care on plots.
A. 
There will be no plantings of trees, evergreens, shrubs, rosebushes, etc., allowed on any lots. No plantings of any kind will be allowed on the graves and the turf must not be disturbed. It is not allowable to outline a plot with anything, including curbings, railings, bushes or plants. It is not allowed to build mounds on any grave.
B. 
Small flower beds will be allowed directly in front of a memorial (not to the rear or the side) in the areas designated for upright stones only. This flower bed shall not come out any further than one foot from the base of the memorial. No flower bed shall be outlined with anything such as fencing, rocks, etc.
C. 
Where planting of any kind has been done and is not being cared for, the cemetery reserves the right to remove the same and to seed down with grass seed, at the expense of lot owners.
D. 
No artificial flowers or ornaments will be allowed.
E. 
Permanent plantings will not be permitted in the single grave areas, or on the knoll or in the hour glass pool areas.
F. 
Employees of the cemetery are not permitted to do any work for lot owners, except where arrangements have been made for the same through the office. A printed order must be signed by the owner of the plot in this case and bear the Superintendent's approval.
G. 
If any tree or planting situated in any plot of land shall, by means of its roots or branches or otherwise, become detrimental to said lot or adjacent lots, avenues, or paths, the cemetery reserves the right to remove said trees or plantings or such parts thereof as are determined dangerous or inconvenient or which detract from the general appearance of the cemetery.
H. 
All floral designs and cut flowers shall be removed by the cemetery employees as soon as they become unsightly. Persons desiring to retain seasonal flower baskets, pots or containers shall remove them when requested in ads in local papers announcing cemetery cleanup. The Cemetery Department will not be responsible for anything left on lots at any time unless the office has been notified to save until called for.
I. 
Memorial Day decorations and winter decorations will be removed by the cemetery personnel when they become unsightly in hot, humid weather and in early March prior to spring cleanup within the cemeteries. Lot owners are urged to remove the same if they wish to save decorations. They will be destroyed by Department personnel unless the office is notified.
J. 
The Cemetery Department reserves the right to fill in depressions and charge for the same to the lot owner.
K. 
The Cemetery Department reserves the right to cut the grass on all the lots within cemeteries under its jurisdiction and bill the lot owners or heirs for the same.
L. 
There is available a Flower Endowment Fund established for grave decorations for perpetuity. Decorations will be placed by the Superintendent at Memorial Day, Christmas or on stated dates by the endower. A consultation should be held with the Superintendent as to the amounts needed to be endowed, etc.
A. 
The placement of an upright memorial or a flush-type ground level marker is a privilege granted by the Commission, with restrictions and sizes and placement locations to be in conformance with current rules and regulations.
B. 
The placing of monuments and markers is at the lot owner's risk. The Town, the Commission or an employee cannot be held responsible for any damages that may occur on a monument or marker.
C. 
Orders for foundations, inscription work, cleaning, repairing, or removal of monuments must be in writing and notarized if deemed necessary by the office. They will be filled in and signed by the owner or his representative of the plot. Memorial dealers will see that rules and regulations pertaining thereto are adhered to.
D. 
On certain lots, graves and sections all memorials must conform to special rules and regulations as to numbers, sizes and types allowed and may be restricted to stone, marble, granite or bronze. Some must be of the flush type and level with the turf.
E. 
The inscribing and setting of monuments will be permitted only during working hours of staff. Current hours can be inquired about at the office. There is no weekend work to be performed by dealers.
F. 
Permission will be granted at the office during these hours and a prescribed fee will be charged to dealers, payable prior to any work being performed.
G. 
No markers or memorials shall be placed without notifying the office, and no inscription work shall be placed without notifying the office.
H. 
No memorials or markers will be placed or allowed on any plot that is unpaid for either on an annual basis or perpetual care basis. These encumbrances must be cleared before placement is allowed.
I. 
Foundations ordered between May 15 and Memorial Day will not be built until after Memorial Day.
J. 
Foundations cannot be built when there is frost in the ground.
K. 
Foundations must be paid for in advance at the office before they are built. Advance payment will be by the plot owner or memorial dealer.
L. 
A foundation for a memorial shall not be built in any plot against which there is a claim for any indebtedness.
M. 
Restrictions on memorials.
(1) 
Hour glass pool: outside hedgerow memorials are to be 32 inches in height including the base; inside hedgerow memorials are to be flush markers only.
(2) 
Bell tower knoll: memorials are to be flush bronze markers only. These memorials are to be two feet by one foot per grave or three feet by one foot centered on two grave lots.
(3) 
Single grave: a flush marker only is allowed. This marker will be two feet by one foot.
(4) 
Multiple graves: the height of the base is not to exceed six inches above sod and width of base three feet maximum, with overall height of monument not to be over three feet. All memorials shall be six-inch minimum thickness.
N. 
Memorials must be in the center of three grave lots and larger (four-foot maximum base), and all head and foot markers must be flush with the ground. Only one memorial above ground is allowed on a lot.
O. 
Rights of adjoining plot owners must be respected, and if a memorial of unusual design or size is contemplated the matter must be presented to the Commissioners for their approval.
P. 
The Cemetery Department reserves the right to remove corner posts and curbings (which are not allowed) deemed necessary for the benefit of the cemetery.
A. 
The Nonsectarian Chapel at Waterside Cemetery is a building where memorial services may be held for the residents of the Town of Marblehead.
(1) 
The Chapel may be used for private meditation during office hours daily.
(2) 
The Chapel will accommodate approximately 50 people. It may be used for all types of services prior to burial within Waterside Cemetery or elsewhere. For those citizens residing in Marblehead who desire to avail themselves of the convenience of holding service use of the Chapel prior to interment or inurnment elsewhere, these services may be obtained and fees connected therewith are obtainable at the office of Waterside Cemetery.
(3) 
Organ music is available at all services. There is no fee attached. It will be provided for those who wish music.
B. 
It is fitting and highly desirable to have a memorial service at the time the urn containing remains is placed in a niche. The memorial can be made as simple or elaborate as the family desires in keeping with Department rules and regulations.
(1) 
Niches can only be purchased by a citizen and a taxpayer of the Town of Marblehead.
(2) 
There are two types of niches: those with a glass front where the urn itself is visible and which becomes a memorial; and those with a closed bronze front where the bronze panel suitably engraved memorializes the departed.
(3) 
Urns must be permanent and engraved with the name and dates as an identifying protection in the event of removal and reinurnment. Nothing of a nonpermanent nature is permitted or may be inurned as an accompaniment.
(4) 
Urns may be selected at the office of the Superintendent. Designs are available in a wide range of prices. Supervisory personnel will be pleased to inform you of the details and prices. Not metal or nonmetal name plates or other ornamentation is permitted. Urns placed in glass front niches must be of a design, kind and quality of materials approved by the Cemetery Department.
(5) 
Niches may be obtained singularly and double. Sizes of the urns selected must be suitable for the particular niche. Price will vary with location, type and capacity, and includes the perpetual care. Prices of niches and urn vaults storage are available upon request.