Cemetery Regulations

BURIAL INFORMATION
AND GENERAL REGULATIONS

Removing or Defacing Monuments and Tombstones

As provided in G.S. 14-140 , if any person shall, unlawfully and on purpose, remove from its place any monument of marble, stone, brass, wood, or other material, erected for the purpose of designating the spot where any dead body is interred, or for the purpose of preserving and perpetuating the memory, name, fame, birth, age, or death of any person, whether situated in or out of the common burying ground, or shall unlawfully and on purpose break or deface such a monument, or alter the letters, marks, or inscription thereof, he shall be guilty of a misdemeanor.

Trees, Plantings, Landscaping

No person may plant, prune, or remove any tree, shrub, flower, grass or other plant of any kind located within the cemetery. No person may place on or around any grave site a fence, border, picture, toy, handmade ornament, or other self-described memoriam between the first day of March and the last day of October each year. The Town’s Public Works Supervisor may enter any lot and remove any tree, shrub, or other plant that hinders the maintenance of any part of the cemetery. The Town’s Street Superintendent may also remove from the cemetery all floral designs, flowers, weeds, or plants of any kind from the cemetery as soon as they deteriorate or otherwise become unsightly.

Hours of Operation

The Town Cemetery shall remain open to the public throughout the year from sunrise until sunset. No person may enter the cemetery at any time other than these established hours of operation.

Purchase of Burial Rights

Differential fees shall be charged according to whether the person intended to be buried in the space with respect to which a burial right is purchased is a bona-fide resident of the Town or owns property inside the Town limits at the time such Burial Right is purchased. The fee for each burial plot for a Town resident is $500 and a non-resident is $1,000 (fees are subject to change). The same fees shall apply whether the burial plot will be used for an interment or cremation. A Certificate of Burial Right shall be issued to the person who purchases a Burial Right. The Certificate shall identify the purchaser and the specific lots and plots to which the Certificate applies.

Rights of Owner of Certificate Burial Right

The Certificate of Burial Right entitles the owner thereof (i.e. the purchaser) to use the designated spaces as a place of burial for any person they choose (provided that the purchaser does not violate the regulations surrounding the purchase) subject to the terms and conditions of the Hillsborough Cemetery Ordinance and subject to the Town’s authority to operate, regulate, control, and abandon cemeteries. Upon the death of the owner of a Certificate of Burial Right, all rights evidenced by such a certificate shall pass to the owners heirs, legatees, or devisees in the same manner as other interests in personal property.

Speculation in Burial Rights Prohibited

No person may sell or exchange any burial right for a profit or gain. No bona-fide town resident may purchase or otherwise acquire any burial right(s) at an in-town purchase rate for the intended burial of an out-of-town resident.

Burial Procedure

No grave may be opened and no burial may take place in a Town cemetery except by a licensed Funeral Director or his employees under the supervision of the Town's Public Works Supervisor, or other designated representative of the Town. The Town shall be notified at least one work day in advance of any funeral for which a grave shall be opened. Marking of graves prior to opening shall be accomplished according to the specifications and in the presence of the Town's Public Works Supervisor, or other designated Town representative. The Town will not provide this service on weekends or Holidays which fall on a Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday. No grave shall be opened to a depth of less than 5 feet to the bottom thereof except in the case of cremations. All graves shall be level with surrounding areas and no mounds shall be allowed. Each burial plot shall be limited to one of the following:

1) the interment of one human body;

2) the interment of one human body and one crema tion urn; or

3) the interment of no more than four (4) cremation urns.

Disruptive Activity Prohibited

No person may drive any motor vehicle of any kind in any cemetery except upon the main roads and avenues provided therein for vehicular traffic. Excluded from this prohibition are any types of equipment necessary for grave preparation or monument setting. No person may drive any motor vehicle or park any motor vehicle in any cemetery unless in attendance at burial services or otherwise engaged in activities consistent with the use of a cemetery.

No person may take any dog (unless on a leash), horse, or other animal into a Town cemetery or allow any animal to run at large therein. No person may post or attach any bills, posters, placards, pictures, or any form of political or commercial advertising with the cemetery or on the inside or outside of any wall or fence enclosing any cemetery.

Monuments and Markers

No monument or marker shall be placed on any site except under the supervision of and according to the instructions of the Town's Public Works Supervisor, or other Town representative. Grave space markers shall be composed of either a marble or granite base and shall be a maximum size of 52" x 18" inches (double) and 28" x 16" (single). No marker composed of a brick or concrete base or border shall be permitted. All markers in Zones 9, 10, 11, and 12 must be flat markers level with the surrounding ground.

Installation, Repair, or Removal

If any monument or marker in the Town’s cemetery at any time becomes unsafe, unsightly, or in need or repair or resetting, the Cemetery Administrator (Public Works Supervisor) shall attempt to notify the owner of the relevant Certificate of Burial Right(s) of such condition and shall request such person to make any needed repairs under the administrator’s supervision. This does not mean that the Town is obligated to place, replace, or repair any monument or marker in the Town’s Cemetery even though case by case repair is considered.