Riverside Cemetery
Rules & Regulations

1. Spring clean-up starts April 1. Christmas wreaths and flowers must be removed by April 15, or they will be discarded by Riverside Cemetery personnel.
   
   Fall clean-up starts October 1 and ends October 15. All materials on grave sites must be cleaned up or they will be removed by Riverside Cemetery personnel.
   
   
2. Plantings of shrubs, trees, or any landscaping must be approved by Riverside Cemetery management.
   
   
3. Riverside Cemetery hours are 8:00 a.m. to dusk. No person shall be within the Riverside Cemetery grounds after dusk, unless otherwise permitted by City personnel.
   
   
4. No person shall drive any vehicle on other than established drives, except for maintenance personnel. Off-the-road vehicles are not permitted in Riverside Cemetery.
   
   
5. No person shall deposit rubbish or debris on Riverside Cemetery grounds, except in receptacles provided.
   
   
6. No person shall pick or mutilate any flowers, either wild or domestic, or disturb any tree, shrub, or other plant material.
   
   
7. All dogs or other domestic animals shall be restrained at all times by adequate leashes. Owners of such animals shall be responsible for cleaning up the defecation left by their animals.
   
   
8. No person shall place any form of advertising on Riverside Cemetery premises.
   
   
9. No person shall discharge a firearm in or adjacent to the Riverside Cemetery. This prohibition shall not apply to authorized volleys at burial services or VFW affairs.
   
   
10. Possession or use of alcoholic beverages, including beer and wine, is prohibited in Riverside Cemetery.
    
    
11. Tents are the responsibility of the vault company are allowed year round
    
    
12. Foundations for markers are required and may be poured only by City personnel.  Foundations are poured twice a year, in the Spring and in the Fall.
    
    
13. Riverside Cemetery Mausoleum will be open during Memorial weekend from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Individuals wishing entrance at other times must make arrangements with Riverside Cemetery management.
    
    
14. Riverside Cemetery shall be considered a park for all purposes under Chapter 97: Parks and Recreation.

Right of Burial

Condition of Space Purchases - A Riverside Cemetery space is defined as any plot of ground within any platted section of the City cemetery. All spaces shall be sold subject to these rules and regulations or those subsequently adopted. No space shall be used for any purpose other than the burial of human remains and the placing of appropriate memorials. Interments of the remains of any person other than the owner of the space or any member of the immediate family will be permitted only after written consent by the owner, owners, or authorized agent has been filed with the Riverside Cemetery management. The guardian or authorized agent of a minor shall give such consent upon proof of authority to act. Burial spaces are exempt from ordinary taxes and cannot be seized on execution. The City may impose specific charges against spaces. The owner of the space may not mortgage or encumber the space.

Purchase Procedures - The purchase of a space shall be evidenced by execution of a deed furnished by the City of Mt. Pleasant, describing the space and stating the purchase price paid. When a space is paid in full, a deed for Riverside Cemetery purposes only shall be issued to the purchaser by the City Clerk or Riverside Cemetery management. All sales shall be cash or check only.

Transfer of Spaces - The transfer of spaces to another party shall be recorded in the office of the Riverside Cemetery management and the City Clerk. No person shall be recognized as the owner or part owner unless so recorded in the office of Riverside Cemetery management and City Clerk.

 

Space Care

The City shall be responsible for the general maintenance of the Riverside Cemetery, including its overall appearance and condition. General maintenance shall include annual spring and fall clean-ups, periodic cutting of grass and raking of leaves. General maintenance shall apply to all spaces and graves in Riverside Cemetery, including the trimming of trees and shrubs.

 

Decoration and Landscaping

Definition - Space decorations shall be deemed to include all structures, ornaments, plantings, or other embellishments, with the exception of monuments and markers, which are placed on Riverside Cemetery spaces with the intention of improving their appearance. Because certain types of individual space decorations are not in harmony with the development of the Riverside Cemetery as a whole or because they may intensify maintenance problems, the City enforces certain rules regarding the decoration of Riverside Cemetery spaces. The following rules shall be observed with regard to the decoration of Riverside Cemetery spaces:

1. Copings, fences, curbs, benches, steps, structures of wood or other equally perishable material are prohibited, unless approved by Riverside Cemetery personnel. Those structures or enclosures established on any space prior to the adoption of these regulations which have, in the judgment of the Riverside Cemetery management, become unsightly by reason of neglect or age shall be removed.
   
   
2. No elevated mounds shall be built over graves and no space shall be filled above the grade established by the City.
   
   
3. Receptacles for cut flowers will be permitted if installed flush with the surface of the lawn or as part of the monument. The use of glass jars or bottles as receptacles for cut flowers is strictly prohibited and will be removed without notice.
   
   
4. Winter decorations may be maintained on graves until April 1. If such decorations are not removed by April 15, they shall be considered abandoned and will be disposed of by the Riverside Cemetery management.
   
   
5. Plantings shall be allowed only by permission of the Riverside Cemetery management. Plantings placed on a space without permission may be removed without notice.
   
   
6. The planting of hedges is strictly prohibited. Existing hedges will be removed whenever they become unsightly or encroach upon an adjoining space or path.
   
   
7. The City will remove all flowers, trees and shrubs which have become unsightly or dangerous.
   
   
8. No deciduous tree or conifer shall be removed or pruned except under the direction and with the consent of the Riverside Cemetery management.

 

Funerals and Interments

Funeral directors making arrangements for burials shall be responsible for all interment charges if not paid by the owner or owner’s agent. When an interment is to be made in a space other than a recorded grave space, a written request must be filed with the Riverside Cemetery management requesting such location.

Funerals - All funerals conducted within the Riverside Cemetery shall be under the direction of the Riverside Cemetery management. The Riverside Cemetery management reserves the right to remove funeral designs and floral pieces as soon as they become unsightly.

Permanent Outside Containers - In all interments, the casket shall be enclosed in a permanent outside container. The following are considered permanent outside containers: concrete boxes, concrete, copper or steel burial vaults.

General Interment Restrictions - Only one interment in any one grave shall be permitted, except that cremated remains may be buried above, at the foot or head of a grave. The Riverside Cemetery management shall not be held responsible for errors in location of graves on spaces arising from improper instruction of space owners. Orders from funeral directors shall be construed as orders from owners. Under no circumstances shall the City assume responsibility for error in opening graves when orders are given by telephone. No graves shall be opened except by workers employed by the City of Mt. Pleasant. Funeral directors shall arrange the time of a funeral in order to permit the Riverside Cemetery workers to complete interment by 3:30 p.m. on any day.

Disinterment - Disinterment of a body once properly interred shall not be made without proper authorization of the Riverside Cemetery management. Graves shall not be opened for inspection except for official investigation. Any markers or monuments designating the location of an interment shall be removed at the time a disinterment is made.

Markers & Monuments -

1. *Exceptions may be permitted by Riverside Cemetery to conform to existing markers.
   
2. Not applicable to government issued markers.
   
3. Only one marker per grave with the exception of veterans and in cases of double burials in space.
   
4. Only one monument per lot.
   
5. Foundations for markers are required and may be poured only by City personnel.  Foundations are poured twice a year, in the Spring and in the Fall.
   
6. The cost of the foundation shall be the responsibility of the requesting party.