The term “memorial” as used in all of the Rules and Regulations and specifications shall include marker, monument, footstone, stone, permanent fixture, and any bronze or metal military marker. Memorials are designed to commemorate, honor, or mark a grave site. General markers or memorials signifying historically significant matters are to be addressed individually by the Board of Trustees.
1. Markers generally:
a. Markers that go on the ends of lots shall be no higher than sixteen (16”) inches.
b. Markers placed in the middle of 20’ by 20’ lot, so designated by one letter and a number, may be any size.
c. No stone or monument may extend onto another lot.
d. Footstone is a stone placed at the foot of a grave.
e. A “base” is defined as that portion of the memorial or marker on which the die stands.
f. A foundation includes the poured concrete footer or base installed by the Cemetery personnel on which the memorial stands.
2. No memorial shall be placed on any gravesite or lot with existing indebtedness.
3. No memorial may be placed on any lot or gravesite in the Cemetery without Cemetery approval.
4. No memorial may be removed from any lot in the Cemetery without the Cemetery Board of Trustees approval.
5. Only one central or family memorial may be placed on any family lot. The location of the memorial shall be determined by the Board. On multiple gravesite lots or combined single gravesites, family memorial stones must be centered in the middle of the lot or gravesites. Footstones must be centered at the edge of the grave.
6. Only one marker is permitted per burial site, with the exception of a veterans or government footstone, which shall be flush with the ground. The Board may, from time to time, make exceptions to this provision when the veteran’s footstone may be raised in order for the area in which it is located to appear consistent with other footstones in the area placed close by before 2009.
7. Specifically, any central or family memorial that has the names with dates of birth and or death will be considered as the marker permitted for a burial site. All family monuments and centered stones must have the family name inscribed on them unless prior Board approval is given.
8. Granite and marble are recommended as the most durable materials for memorials. Memorials, for temporary or permanent use, of wood, concrete, composition, tin, iron, or artificial stone are not permitted.
9. The expense for the removal of the broken memorial may be charged to the lot or grave site owner.
10. The Cemetery’s approval is needed to inter two people in one grave space, inscriptions for both must appear on one memorial.
11. Foundations for memorials shall be installed only in accordance with the rules and regulations of the Richmond Cemetery. No third party installers shall be permitted except by approval by the Board of Trustees.
12. No permanent markers or memorials may be installed or placed in the Richmond Cemetery unless the marker or memorial is placed on an approved foundation built or installed by the personnel employed by the Richmond Cemetery Company. The foundations will install according to the specifications approved by the Board of Trustees.
13. Memorial and monument dealers and their employees are subject to the control and direction of the Director of Grounds or his designee while in the Cemetery. All work performed by memorial and monument dealers must be done during the working hours of the Cemetery’s employees.
14. Memorial or monument dealers shall furnish the Richmond Cemetery staff, for approval before installation, a blue print or sketch of the proposed memorial showing the proposed location on the lot or burial site, design, complete inscription, all dimensions, and the name of the quarry-producer furnishing said memorial or monument. Approval must be given by the Cemetery staff or Board of Trustees before any memorial or monument is installed.
15. Memorial or monument dealers and their employees shall abide by all rules and regulations of the Richmond Cemetery. Any producer or retail dealer or their employees who fail to abide by the Cemetery Rules and Regulations may be barred from performing services or furnishing memorials or monuments in the Cemetery under such terms as determined by the Board of Trustees.
16. Some grave site owners or others may elect to purchase a memorial or monument from a dealer who does not routinely do business with the Richmond Cemetery. Such memorials or monuments may be placed only on foundations as set forth above. Further, the person or people furnishing such memorial or monument must assume responsibility for the placement of said memorial or monument. The employees of the Richmond Cemetery Company are prohibited from placing memorials or monuments. The Cemetery will refuse to accept delivery of any memorial or monument shipped to the Cemetery unless prior consent is given by the Board of Trustees.
17. For the protection of all lot and gravesite owners, the length of the base of a memorial or monument shall not exceed 60% of the width of the lot in which it is to be located. The actual front face area of a memorial or monument shall not exceed 15% of the square foot of the lot. A standard grave is 40 inches wide and 10 feet long.
18. Mausoleums: The Richmond Cemetery may permit the building of mausoleums in the Cemetery. The Board of Trustees must approve the location and plans in each case. Further, mausoleums, if permitted by the Board, will be restricted as follows:
a. The mausoleum must be built on a 12 grave lot.
b. Prior to approval, the dimensions and a sketch or picture must be presented to the Board.
c. The owner(s) must agree in writing that the Cemetery company, in consideration for permitting the mausoleum to be placed in the Cemetery, is not responsible for maintaining the mausoleum, and no future claim will be made against the Cemetery company for any physical damage that might occur to the mausoleum, excepting damages directly caused by the Cemetery employees acting within the scope of their employment.
d. The owner(s) must pay an additional 10% surcharge of the original cost of the mausoleum, which will be added to the Perpetual Care fund.
e. If there are other mausoleums located in the vicinity of the proposed mausoleum, the proposed mausoleum must be placed in line with the other mausoleum or mausoleums.
19. All markers, memorials, or monuments must have at least a family name inscribed thereon.
20. Placement of cornerstones: The purchaser(s) of any lots or half lots consisting of six or more gravesites will be required to place cornerstones at any unmarked corners of the area purchased. These cornerstones must be so placed within 9 months of the purchase of the gravesites. The purchaser(s) shall pay the costs of the cornerstones. Exceptions to this rule may be granted by the Board upon showing of good cause.
21. No Cemetery employee shall solicit business for any company in the monument or memorial business while on the Cemetery grounds or during working hours.
22. Before any memorial may be installed and the supporting footer poured, an application must be filed with the Cemetery staff. This application shall be on a form approved by the Board of Trustees.
23. General markers or memorials signifying historically significant matters existing in the Cemetery as of January 1, 2011, have been placed on the Cemetery grounds with Board permission. These markers are neither owned, nor maintained by the Cemetery. In all cases the Board has allowed the markers to be placed on the Cemetery grounds on certain terms and conditions. The primary consideration for the continued placement of the marker on Cemetery property is the requirement that the organization placing the marker shall adequately and properly maintain the markers in a condition consistent with the attractive beauty and serenity, esthetically appealing, tradition of the Cemetery. Failure of the placing organization to maintain the markers will result in the removal of the marker by the Cemetery personnel with costs to be assessed to the placing organization.
FOUNDATION RULES AND REGULATIONS - (As adapted and modified from “Addendum No. 1 prepared by Former Circuit Judge James S. Chenault”—April 1995)
“Due to the placing or pouring of many unsatisfactory foundations by person or firms otherwise unconnected with the Richmond Cemetery, causing unnecessary and improper settling of grave markers, the correction of which has fallen on the Cemetery lot owners and frequently, on the Richmond Cemetery, and due to the fact that no standard procedure or standard content of foundation materials has been established for the placing or pouring of foundations nor has heretofore existed, thus creating a haphazard type foundation construction both in size, depth, and of the materials used, thus increasing the maintenance costs for the Richmond Cemetery, the Board of Trustees, in fulfillment of its responsibility to the thousands of families who have entrusted the final resting place of their family members and loved ones, with the full and rightful expectation that the Richmond Cemetery would become, is and will perpetually remain a place of attractive beauty and serenity, esthetically appealing, and in keeping with the traditions of the other historical cemeteries in Kentucky such as Cave Hill Cemetery in Louisville and the Lexington Cemetery in Lexington, does hereby establish the following policy for the construction of foundations for all memorials to hereafter be placed in the Richmond Cemetery:”
- All foundations shall be located on the lot or gravesites in such a position as to be the same size as the base of the memorial that is to be erected.
- All foundations shall be poured by the personnel of the Richmond Cemetery Company and the Richmond Cemetery Company shall assume responsibility for the proper construction of such foundations. Third parties or lot owners are not permitted to install foundations.
- The foundation material shall be Ready-Mix #3500, PSI Grade, or stronger, available from a local concrete company.
- The Richmond Cemetery Company shall charge a fee as set by the Board of Trustees.
- In the event of some extraordinary circumstance dealing with the religious or moral beliefs of an owner, the Richmond Cemetery Company may permit a lot or gravesite owner to personally install his or her own foundation ONLY in the event the Board by a UNANIMOUS vote permits said owner to do so. In the event the Board approves such action, then the owner must comply with all of the additional provisions as set out by the “Addendum No. 1” adopted on April 20, 1995, before installing the foundation.