Section 1................... Purchase of Lots
Section 2................... Interments
Section 3................... Care and Decoration of Lots
Section 4................... Cemetery Memorials
Direct all inquiries to:
Town Clerk, Town of Cape Elizabeth
320 Ocean House Road, P.O. Box 6260
Cape Elizabeth, Maine 04107-0060
Cape Elizabeth Town Hall is open-
Monday - 7:30 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Tuesday - Friday, 7:30am - 4:00pm
Telephone: 207-799-7665
Fax: 207-799-7141
Section 1
Lots are sold to citizens of Cape Elizabeth or non-resident taxpayers. Sale of lots to other non-residents may be made at the discretion of the Riverside Cemetery Committee. Former long term residents and those with family buried at the cemetery may be considered by the Board. Purchase of more than four lots must be approved by the Riverside Cemetery Committee.
Persons desiring to purchase a lot or lots should contact the Town Clerk of the Town of Cape Elizabeth. The Town Clerk will make arrangements concerning the details of the purchase including a visit to the cemetery to view the available lots.
The purchase price of cemetery lots is set by the Town Council upon the recommendation of the Riverside Cemetery Committee. It is customary for the full price to be paid at the time of purchase. In cases of hardship, special arrangements may be made with the Town Clerk
Upon full payment, the Town Clerk will issue a deed for the lot.
Sale of lots by the lot owner to any other person or entity is prohibited. However, the Town may purchase unused lots from an owner who no longer requires the space, subject to the approval of the Riverside Cemetery Committee. The price paid by the Town will be the original price paid to the Town for the lot(s) but not more than seventy-five percent of the current selling price of lots in the cemetery.
SECTION 2
The cemetery will be open from 8:00 AM until 4:00 PM, Monday through Saturday. There will be no interments on Sundays, Memorial Day weekend (Friday through Monday), Independence Day, Labor Day or Thanksgiving Day. However, this rule may be relaxed at the discretion of the Riverside Cemetery Committee.
All grave openings shall be arranged through the Town which shall be the sole agent for all openings. The fee for the opening is set by the Town Council upon recommendation of the Riverside Cemetery Committee. Payments for the grave opening shall be paid to the Town of Cape Elizabeth prior to committal unless other arrangements have been made with the Town Clerk. Any committal service extending beyond the established hours, or on Saturday interments, or on other established holidays, will be subject to an additional charge.
No interments will be allowed between December 1 and April 15. This period of winter closure may be varied at the discretion of the Town Manager if warranted by weather and/or soil conditions. Interments are arranged by contacting the Town Clerk. The Town requires at least a twenty-four hour notice of any interment and at least a one week notice for any disinterment or removal. The Town reserves the right to postpone any interment due to acts of God and national emergencies.
No interments of a body other than that of a human being, cremated or otherwise shall be permitted in the cemetery
No interments of two or more bodies shall be in one grave except in the case of a parent and infant or infant twins buried in one casket or the burial of cremated remains within a single lot. Every interment must be in a cement, marble, slate or plastic outside case of permanent type. Funeral directors will provide artificial grass and lowering devices for committal services.
The Town of Cape Elizabeth will not be responsible for the actions resulting from errors, omissions or incorrect information provided to the Town.
SECTION 3
All lots are sold with perpetual care provided by the Town. Perpetual care includes keeping the turf even and in good condition, filling in sunken graves, the grass properly cut, and the trees and shrubs trimmed It does not include care and cleaning of monuments and markers, nor the planting of flowers or ornamental plants, nor watering or sprinkling lots, nor any other special work. The planting and care of all trees is the sole responsibility of the Town. No lot owner may plant a tree on his or her lot.
Permission to plant shrubs on lots must in all cases be obtained from the Town. The Town reserves the right to remove any tree, shrub or vine or any part thereof which may have become unsightly, dangerous or encroaches on other lots and not in keeping with the general landscaping of the cemetery. No lot may be defined by a hedge, fence, railing, wall, curb nor any other structure.
The Town will not be responsible for flowers, wreaths, emblems, or containers for the same, used at funerals or placed on graves at other times. When any of these items become unsightly and faded, they will be removed by the Town in keeping with the overall maintenance of the cemetery. Artificial flowers may not be used. The use of glass or other breakable containers is prohibited.
The placing of unauthorized items upon lots such as toys, ornaments, chairs settees or similar unauthorized items not keeping with the general appearance of the cemetery will not be permitted. The Town reserves the right to remove any such unauthorized items.
Any plantings on a lot must be placed adjacent to the monument. If there is no monument, then plants and flowers shall be placed in line with plantings located by nearby monuments or markers. In Memorial Park (Sections A-0), and Section EE, designated for the burial of cremains, no plantings of any kind are allowed. Moveable planters, baskets, or bouquets should be used.
The placing of the flag of the United States of America and service flags are deemed a mark of respect for the deceased. They will not be disturbed except by direction of the Riverside Cemetery Committee.
SECTION 4
The Riverside Cemetery Committee reserves the right to refuse permission to erect any cemetery memorial which, in their opinion, is not in keeping with the appearance of the lot and the cemetery as a whole.
All lots must be paid for in full before the erection of any type of cemetery memorial.
In order to assure a high quality installation, all memorials must have a foundation constructed before the memorial may be placed. (Click here for Memorial Foundation Worksheet form). The excavation for and the construction of all foundations will be completed by the Town or its agent, for which there is a reasonable charge. No foundation shall be constructed on any lot while the frost is still in the ground, as determined by the Department of Public Works. All foundations shall be not less than 4 feet in depth and shall be finished to 2 inches below the surface of the ground at its lowest point.
The Town reserves the right to supervise and control the installation of all memorials.
Large memorials are normally set on the foundation by the memorial company furnishing the item. The foundation fee will be charged by the Town or its agent to the memorial company.
Smaller memorials may be set on the foundation by the Town. If the memorial is set by the Town, the foundation fee will be charged by the Town or its agent to the person requesting the work.
In no case may a memorial be installed in an area designated as a walkway on the cemetery plans.
The maintenance and care of all memorials after they are set is solely the responsibility of the lot owner.
In order to perpetuate the rural characteristics of the cemetery, all memorials must conform to the following restrictions:
MEMORIAL PARK SECTION
In the Memorial Park (Sections A-0), all memorials are set flush with the ground. No upright memorials of any kind are permitted. Single
lot memorials must not exceed thirty (30) inches in length. Double lot memorials must not exceed forty-eight (48) inches in length. No more than two memorials on one lot are allowed.
SECTION EE - DESIGNATED FOR THE BURIAL OF CREMAINS
Section EE, designated for the burial of cremains, all memorials are set flush with the ground. No upright memorials of any kind are permitted. Single lot memorials must not exceed thirty (30) inches in length. Double lot memorials must not exceed forty-eight (48) inches in length. No more than two memorials on one lot are allowed.
ALL OTHER SECTIONS
FAMILY LOTS: A family memorial may be placed on two or more contiguous lots in keeping with normal tradition of identifying a family grave site. Such memorial will be set at the center head or foot of the lots in conformance with adjacent memorials in that particular section of the cemetery. No family memorials may exceed thirty-six (36) inches in height or forty-eight (48) inches in length. In addition to the family memorial, no more than one memorial may be placed on each individual grave within the family group. Such memorial will be flush with the ground and not exceed thirty (30) inches in length.
SINGLE LOTS: Only one upright memorial will be allowed on an individual grave not in a family group and will be set at the center head or foot of the lot in conformance with adjacent memorials in that particular section of the cemetery. No upright memorial, placed on a single lot, shall exceed sixteen (16) inches in height or twenty-four (24) inches in length. Such memorial may be placed on a base, providing the base itself does not exceed thirty (30) inches in length and six (6) inches in height. The combined height of the memorial and the base shall not exceed twenty-two (22) inches in height. No more than two memorials may be placed on a single lot. If two memorials are placed on one individual lot, one must be flush with the ground and not exceed twenty-four inches in length.
Cemetery memorials in Section N and Section 0 shall face from Oak Lane.