Vegetation Management
Section 5.01 Holiday Arrangements and Floral Pieces
Holiday arrangements and floral pieces shall be removed by the Department of Cemeteries from the cemetery grounds after fifteen (15) days of the holiday or when they become wilted and unsightly.
Owners desiring to retain holiday arrangements and/or floral pieces must remove them within fifteen (15) days after the holiday.
Only the owner of the burial rights or cemetery maintenance personnel may remove any holiday arrangements or floral pieces from a cemetery lot.
Section 5.02 Landscape Installation or Removal Permits
Work permits are required for the addition or removal of soil, mulch, turf, groundcover, flowers, shrubs, trees, tree parts (roots, stumps, or limbs), or vegetation of any sort by a contractor.
The Director shall have the authority to prune, remove, or transplant any tree, shrub, plant, or other vegetation upon any lot when he or she may deem such a course necessary or advisable.
The Director of Cemeteries, acting for the best interests of the Cemeteries, shall have the authority to approve or disapprove the installation or removal of any vegetation.
Section 5.03 Planting in New Cemetery Sections
The planting of flowers, shrubs, or trees shall not be permitted on lots in Greenwich Cemetery or in Sections S or T of Bonaventure Cemetery.
Section 5.04 Flowers in New Cemetery Sections
Potted plants or flower arrangements must be placed on permanent structures and not on the grass in Greenwich Cemetery or in Sections S and T of Bonaventure Cemetery.
Glass, ceramic, metal, or wire plant containers or accessories are not permitted at any time in these sections.
Section 5.05 Tree Maintenance Responsibilities
Trees on cemetery lots are the responsibility of the owner(s) of the burial rights. Any maintenance or removal must be done at the owner’s expense.
Trees in which the trunks are situated on more than one lot may be the responsibility of multiple owners.
The maintenance or removal of trees more than six (6) inches in diameter at four and one-half (4 ½) feet above the grade on lots must be performed by a licensed tree service contractor with proof of insurance and bonding.
The City will maintain trees in which the trunk is partially or wholly on City property.
Section 5.06 Tree Maintenance Rights of the City
The City shall have the right to enter a cemetery lot and remove any trees or such parts thereof that are detrimental to the structures, adjacent lot or infrastructure, or become dangerous or inconvenient to passengers, interfere with the scheme of development, or are diagnosed with an epidemic disease.
The Department of Cemeteries will attempt to notify owners when trees on their cemetery lot become potentially hazardous to adjacent property in order to provide them the opportunity to correct the hazardous situation.
Charges for any tree maintenance on cemetery lots completed by the Department of Cemeteries or its representative shall be billed against the lot.