Rules & Regulations

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All plots (lots) in SUNSET HILL CEMETERY, Franklin Avenue, Clinton, New York, are owned by the CLINTON CEMETERY ASSOCIATION. Deeds to plots (lots) are sold in accordance with the provisions of the laws of the State of New York. Those purchasing deeds become members in the Clinton Cemetery Association and receive three (3) privileges from the association: a) the right of burial of human remains, including cremated human remains, per the requirements of the laws of the State of New York; b) the right to memorialize per the laws of the State of New York and these Rules and Regulations; and c) the right to vote at the annual Membership (“Plot Owners’ or “Deed Holders’”) Meeting of the Clinton Cemetery Association, held at 6:00 p.m. Eastern Time on the third Wednesday of May, at a place advertised per legal notice in The Waterville Times.
These Rules and Regulations are written in an attempt to delineate practices that demonstrate thoughtful and considerate stewardship of cemetery land and which serve the general purposes of the association, which are to provide for the disposal of human remains, to promote and serve socially and culturally accepted activities related thereto, and to encourage an environment of quiet dignity and a refuge for meditation and contemplation.
The business of the Clinton Cemetery Association and Sunset Hill Cemetery is managed by a board of trustees elected by, under the terms and stipulations of association’s By-laws, and serving at the pleasure of the deed holders, and by a superintendent, appointed by and serving at the pleasure of the board of trustees.
Deed holders are required to notify the Clinton Cemetery Association of any changes of legal name and/or address. Any required notices will be sent to the last recorded name and address so reported to the association, and such notices shall be deemed adequate.
Access to the cemetery shall be allowed to all persons observing the rules of and the propriety due the cemetery.
The Sunset Hill Cemetery shall be open to the general public from dawn (20 minutes before sunrise) to dusk (20 minutes after sunset.)
No through traffic shall pass through the cemetery.
Pets shall be under the direct control of the owner and not allowed to run free in the cemetery.
Except as provided for in Section 1513(c) of the Not-for-Profit Corporation Law, no deed holder may transfer his or her plot.
The full purchase price must be paid before a deed will be conveyed or a burial allowed on the plot.
All work done in the cemetery shall be done by cemetery employees, as directed by the superintendent, or under the control or with the permission of the superintendent or the board of trustees.
Any and all disposal of human remains at Sunset Hill Cemetery, whether in-ground or above ground, will be defined, for the purposes of these Rules and Regulations, as an interment.
All interments shall be supervised by the superintendent or his or her representative.
Interments in a lot are restricted to those entitled to burial therein according to the terms of Section 1512 of the Not-for-Profit Corporation Law. Permission for burial of those not entitled to burial according to the said Section must be filed with the Clinton Cemetery Association by the deed holder.
No more than one (1) burial per grave will be permitted. However, two (2) cremation interments, or one (1) burial and one (1) cremation interment will be allowed, provided that only one (1) double-marker headstone or marker is used. Also, newborn or stillborn burials may be on top of an existing burial vault, as long as no separate marker is used.
No interment shall be allowed without permission first being obtained from the Clinton Cemetery Association. At the time of applying for permission, the following information shall be furnished:
1. Name of deceased.
2. Age of deceased and date of birth of deceased, if known.
3. Place of birth of deceased, if known.
4. Date of death.
5. Time and date of interment.
6. Name(s) of parent(s) or legal guardian(s), if the deceased is not an adult.
Deed holders may not allow interments to be made on their plots for compensation.
Funerals are permitted Monday through Saturday, except holidays, per arrangement with the superintendent.
Funerals on weekdays must be at the cemetery by 3:00 p.m. in order that cemetery employees will have sufficient time to properly close the grave and remove equipment before 4:30 p.m.
Funerals on weekends must be arranged and scheduled with the superintendent and will be governed by these Rules and Regulations and the New York State Cemetery Board Directives 201.8 and 201.12.
All gatherings and activities in the cemetery, including but not limited to funerals, services, processions, and burials, as well as all pedestrian and vehicular traffic, will be under the control of the superintendent or his or her representative, in accordance with the requirements, restrictions, and spirit of these Rules and Regulations.
Graves will not be opened when frost and weather conditions warrant such refusal, in compliance with Sections 1510-b and 1509 (d) of the Not-for-Profit Corporation Law.
Only human remains will be interred in Sunset Hill Cemetery.
Concrete vaults or concrete grave liners are required for all interments on plots purchased on or after January 1, 1985, except when exempted for religious reasons, per the provisions of New York State Cemetery Board Directive 201.6.
Cremated remains will not be permitted to be scattered in any part of the cemetery.
The interment of cremated remains will permitted only in either a) an urn or other appropriate receptacle or b) a permanent rigid receptacle made of metal, plastic, or concrete designed for cremains.
Where the Clinton Cemetery Association has granted “Perpetual Care,” the Association has agreed, by legal definition, to cut the grass on the plot a minimum of two times between the months of May and October.
The Clinton Cemetery Association reserves the right to remove all flowers, wreaths, or other decorations from plots as soon as they become unsightly.
Deed holder is responsible for the maintenance of the stones, markers, monuments, shrubs, bushes, and trees on his/her plot. The Clinton Cemetery Association reserves the right to remove, after due notice to the deed holder, any embellishment on the lot, or any effigy or inscription which, in the opinion of the majority of trustees, is unsightly, inappropriate, or dangerous.
Trees, shrubs, bushes, plants, and rooted flowers are prohibited in the Terrace of the Maples.
Deed holder may plant trees, shrubs, or bushes only upon prior written approval of the Clinton Cemetery Association. The Clinton Cemetery Association reserves the right to restrict such plantings and to repair or remove, upon due notice to the deed holder, any such planting deemed unsightly or dangerous or that has outgrown the boundaries of the lot. Any such repair or removal shall be at the expense of the deed holder.
Glass blocks or vases as receptacles for flowers, either artificial or grown, are prohibited.
One (1) marker per plot, flush with the ground and placed in the middle of the plot, is permitted in the Terrace of the Maples.
Monuments and markers must be constructed of granite or bronze.
No monuments or markers utilizing colors other than those of natural stone will be permitted.
All foundations will be constructed by or under the direction of the Clinton Cemetery Association.
Only one (1) monument shall be allowed on a plot, and it shall be set in accordance with the general plan of the cemetery and shall conform to said plan in size and material.
A monument shall be at least four inches (4”) in thickness.
A monument is restricted in size to dimensions that do not cover more than ten percent (10%) of the surface area of the plot.
The bases of all monuments shall be finished true and level so as to fit on foundations without wedging or sprawls.
No monument will be allowed to be delivered in the cemetery until the foundation is installed and ready to receive the monument.
Heavy trucks or other vehicular traffic shall be refused entrance to the cemetery when, in the opinion of the superintendent, damage to the roads and driveways may result.
No vault, mausoleum, or columbarium shall be built above ground without the permission of the board of trustees, and then, only in such location as it may approve.
Disinterments shall be arranged by a funeral service company, shall be in compliance with Section 1510 (e) of the New York State Not For Profit Corporation Law, and shall be arranged and scheduled with and at the convenience of the superintendent.
All disinterments shall require the consent of a judge of a Supreme Court.
Disinterments will be performed at Sunset Hill Cemetery only when weather permits between April 1 and November 1.
Only cemetery staff and representatives from the funeral service and/or the vault company shall be allowed at the disinterment.
The family shall accept any and all liability for situations that should arise during the disinterment process.
The Clinton Cemetery Association, Inc., is not responsible for any damage to the burial vault, markers, monuments, stones, bushes, shrubs, plants and trees during the disinterment process.
These Rules and Regulations may be amended by the board of trustees of the Clinton Cemetery Association, subject to approval by the New York State Cemetery Board.

Adopted: June 2, 1857
Amended: June 6, 1995; April 2, 1996; April 3, 2001; June 14, 2002; January 21, 2003; April 6, 2004; May 1, 2007; May 6, 2014; May 3, 2016; May 1, 2018; and August 18, 2020; and May 17, 2023

Approved by New York State Division of Cemeteries: November 2, 2023

https://dos.ny.gov/cemetery-disclosures-and-information