Memorial Day Reminder over Gravestone Decorations

With the Memorial Day weekend approaching, the City of Cedar Falls would like to issue a reminder to the public on decorating ordinances for our area cemeteries.

The City welcomes families and friends to help honor holidays by decorating gravestones; however, staff does have to preserve the area to help accommodate all of our citizens that use the facility.

In order to keep the cemeteries maintained, the City ordinance mandates that those that decorate the gravestones should abide by these guidelines:

• Visitors may place temporary placements at the gravesites. However, these must be removed in a timely fashion after the holiday weekend so that staff can properly maintain grass growth throughout the cemetery. The City rules state that residents have three days after the holiday to remove any temporary items. A temporary placement is one that is not in an urn or attached to the monument foundation. Flower bouquets and additional mementos such as figurines or flags that are not affixed to the gravestone are all considered temporary.
• Shepard hooks are allowed at gravesites, but they must be drilled into the monument base if they are intended as a permeant fixture. This ensures that staff does not damage any decorative item that is placed in the grass while mowing.
• For safety purposes, no glass bottles shall be allowed upon a gravesite.
• No artificial flowers, wire structures, or other urns shall be placed directly into the ground at a gravesite.

The goal of the City Parks staff is to provide a well-maintained final resting place for families and avoid damaging any personal items.

If you have any additional questions regarding gravestone decorations, please email Chase Schrage, Cedar Falls Public Works Director, at [email protected].