Cemetery Regulations 

The grounds of the Andrew Chapel Cemetery (the “Cemetery”) are owned, operated, administered and maintained by the Andrew Chapel Cemetery Association (the “Association”). 

The Association is governed by a Board of Directors (the “Board of Directors”). The Board of Directors is represented by a Superintendent who is empowered to carry out the directives of the Board and enforce the regulations of the Cemetery. 

The Association, acting by and through the Board of Directors, has promulgated the following rules and regulations which are necessary and appropriate for the perpetual care and maintenance of the Cemetery and the safety and comfort of visitors. 

VISITATION 

Visitors to the Cemetery are limited to those individuals visiting specific interment sites, conducting genealogical research or having business with the Association. 

Visiting Hours: Seven (7) days a week during daylight hours – The Cemetery is closed to visitation at sunset each day. 

No dogs are permitted on the Cemetery property except for guide dogs for visually impaired individuals and specially trained dogs providing medical services to individuals. 

Firearms and weapons of any type are strictly prohibited on Cemetery property except for those in the possession of a military guard of honor and only then in connection with a military service. 

Visitors are prohibited from leaving any candle, lamp, lantern or any other device having a flame unattended while visiting the Cemetery. Open fires or flames are strictly prohibited. 

The possession and/or consumption of alcoholic beverages, intoxicating liquids, narcotics or controlled substances of any type are strictly prohibited on Cemetery property. 

Loud or profane language, or noise making that disturbs the quiet order of the Cemetery are strictly prohibited. 

No visitor shall deface, disturb or vandalize any structure, monument, head stone, or personal property of any kind located upon the Cemetery property. 

No individual shall litter the Cemetery property or discard trash or rubbish on the Cemetery property except in receptacles for waste material. 

Children under the age of fourteen (14) are not permitted on the Cemetery property unless accompanied by a supervising adult. 

The Association and/or the Superintendent are empowered to exclude from the Cemetery any individual violating the Cemetery Regulations. Such individuals shall be considered trespassers, and shall otherwise be subject to criminal and/or civil action by the Board of Directors. 

BURIAL POLICY
Please click here to read our current burial policies regarding scheduling, requirements, lead times, limitiations, pricing and more.

LOT USAGE LIMITATIONS: The use of cemetery lots and niches are limited to the interment of human remains only, along with the placement of monuments and decorations, in accordance with our monument policies.

Virginia law prohibits the use of human cemeteries for pet remains. No exceptions.

We allow a maximum of TWO human remains in a single ground lot, either as one vault with an urn on top, or two urns. This limit of two remains is common in the cemetery industry, and it has been the cemetery policy for many decades. This limitation is not negotiable. Please do not inquire for any variance in lot usage.

For ground subsidence reasons, we require vaults or "liners" with lids for all full-body burials. We do not require a casket. We do not require urn vaults. Urns may be placed directly in the ground.

Due to safety considerations for grave diggers, we no longer permit double depth vault burials. No exceptions.

We permit two urns in a single niche, only if they are placed at the same time, and of course, must fit in a 12 x 12 x 12 inch niche.

NO OTHER USE OF LOTS IS PERMITTED, WITHOUT EXCEPTION.

Except for the conduct of memorial services, all structures, equipment, furnishings and signage of any type are not permitted on lots or within cemetery grounds, and they will be removed immediately without notification. Allowable structures and furnishings are strictly limited to canopies, chairs and tables, and must be removed within 24 hours of a memorial service.

Mobile facilities, such as food trucks, broadcasting vehicles, mobile offices and meeting rooms, mobile restrooms, recreational vehicles, and all other types of mobile service vehicles are not permitted on cemetery grounds. Broadcasting from cemetery grounds is not permitted. All service vehicles will be considered to be trespassing and subject to immediate removal by towing at the vehicle owner's expense. There are no exceptions.

Lots may not be used for habitation, to conduct business or fundraising, or to promote public policy or causes of any manner. The cemetery may not be used for the promotion of events that are not strictly memorial services for the interred in the cemetery. No ancillary activities are permitted at a memorial service, including food service. All other forms of congregation and events will be considered trespassing, and appropriate authorities will be asked to remove violators immediately.

These policies are for the benefit and protection of ALL lot owners. The cemetery is intended to be a solemn place of remembrance. Any activity that distracts from that goal is subject to trespass proceedings.

PAYMENTS; INTERMENT REGULATIONS; MARKERS; MONUMENTS 

PAYMENT TERMS: As is common practice by cemeteries, all payments due to the Cemetery and/or our designated grave digger for lot fees, interment management fees, deed transfer fees, and grave digging fees MUST be received prior to or at the interment service. There are NO exceptions to this requirement. 

Payment by check is acceptable. 

If a funeral home is managing the interment, the Cemetery requires that all funeral directors indicate to the Superintendent that they are in receipt of the payment check(s) prior to the interment. If not, the interment will be postponed. 

Further, at their discretion, the Cemetery Superintendent may elect to disallow any interment that is not properly and fully paid, even if the decedent body and the interment party are present at the Cemetery. The funeral director will be instructed to re-schedule the interment if full payment has not been presented. 

PLEASE be prepared to make full payment prior to interment. Again, there are no allowances, grace periods, or exceptions. 

Please note that any check returned for insufficient funds will be charged an additional $50 insufficient funds service fee. 

The Cemetery board reserves the right to enforce all insufficient funds collection options to the full extent of the law. This may include the filing of criminal fraud charges and any other actions that are within the rights of the Cemetery. Further, no monument placements will be permitted on any lot for which a payment is due. 

The Cemetery has no provisions for payment-over-time, discounts, or partial payments. Full payment of all fees are due at time of interment. 

Credit card and electronic transfer payments will incur an additional 3.5% fee on the balance due, and must be processed through Paypal. 

LICENSED FUNERAL DIRECTOR REQUIREMENT: Full-body ground burials (with a required vault) MUST be arranged and managed by a funeral home that is DPOR-licensed to do business in the state of Virginia. This requirement is to protect both the family and the Cemetery from any failure to comply with various laws regarding death certificates and transfer of remains. 

In addition, funeral homes have the proper equipment and experience to manage the transfer of the body, vault requirements, and other practical matters. 

Family-managed full-body vault burials are not permitted in Andrew Chapel Cemetery. 

THE URN EXCEPTION: Please note that urn interments, either in the ground or in the columbarium DO NOT require oversight by a Virginia licensed funeral director. Families may make their own interment arrangements with the Cemetery Superintendent. 

VAULT REQUIREMENT: All full-sized interments shall be made in vault (a non-permeable container) constructed of metal, concrete, asphalt, plastic, fiberglass or other approved material. Caskets are not vaults. No full-sized casket interment shall be made in a wooden casket unless such wooden casket is enclosed and sealed within a non-permeable container or vault, made of metal, concrete, asphalt, plastic, fiberglass or other approved material. 

All labor in connection with any interment or installation and sealing of a vault or other container may only be performed by persons approved in advance by the Association, which includes Virginia-licensed vault vendors. 

GRAVE DIGGING: The Cemetery has a designated grave digger. For operational reasons, alternative grave digging vendors are not permitted in the Cemetery unless our designated grave digger cannot fulfill a scheduled interment. Grave digging costs are payable directly to our designated grave digger, and payment and scheduling should be coordinated through your funeral home director. 

For any interment service that requires grave digging, we respectfully ask that the family limit the service length to 1 hour maximum, unless extended scheduling is approved in advance by the superintendent. The grave digger often has additional obligations to complete at other cemeteries, and we ask that he be permitted to begin closing the grave no later than one hour after the commencement of the service, unless exceptions are approved in advance. 

LOTS: Each single Burial Lot (3.5 ft. x 10 ft. in dimension) may be used to inter either one or two individual remains. If a single interment is made, the interment may be in either a casket or an urn. If two remains are interred in a single Burial Lot, only one may be interred in a casket. One or both of the two sets of remains must be in an urn. 

NICHES: A niche in the columbarium may hold one or two urns. If two urns are to be placed in a niche, they must be interred at the same time. Niches, once sealed with an interred urn(s) are not intended to be re-opened. 

INTERMENT SERIVCE CANOPIES, CHAIRS, ETC.: For full body interments, we strongly suggest that families coordinate with their funeral director regarding any chairs, canopies, tables and other features that may be wanted at an interment. Your funeral director will coordinate this with your vault company. 

For urn interments in the ground, where no funeral home is involved, families may coordinate directly with vault companies for the rental of chairs, canopies, tables and other features. Please contact our Superintendent for a list of preferred vendors. 

Families may also place their own chairs, canopies, and tables at any interment, but these items must not interfere with the timely closing of the grave by our gravedigger, and families must remove all materials within one hour of the completion of their interment ceremony. 

Families should also keep in mind that rental canopies are much larger and more weather resistant than recreational canopies. 

MONUMENTS: 

MONUMENT LIABILITY WAIVER: The Cemetery assumes no risk for the placement of any monument in the Cemetery. This includes damage or loss due to any reason, including the necessary conduct of Cemetery operations. 

The Cemetery has limited financial resources to protect itself from risks inherent with the placement of high-value monuments that are becoming common today. We expect all lot owners to understand that the placement of a monument is undertaken fully at their own personal financial risk. 

ALL NEW MONUMENT INSTALLATIONS at Andrew Chapel Cemetery now require the monument owner to agree to and present the Cemetery with a signed copy of our Monument Liability Waiver, available here. 

No new monument installations will be permitted without the receipt of the signed waiver by the monument owner. No exceptions. 

Only one monument may be placed at the “head” of each single Burial Lot (2 ft deep by 36 inches wide, per lot). 

Monument Regulations: For the safety consideration of all lot owners and visitors to the Cemetery, and to prevent monuments from excessively blocking the view of monuments placed behind them, the following size restrictions will apply. All newmonuments must comply with ALL of these limits: 

- All new monuments shall not exceed five (5) feet in height. 

- Single lot monuments are limited to 9 square feet of "face area", including the base. Example: A 36 inch wide single is limited to 3 feet in height (9 sq ft).  

- Double width lot monuments are limited to 20 square feet of face area. Triple width monuments may not exceed 30 square feet of face area, including the base. Double or triple width monuments may not exceed 3 feet in height.

- The aspect ratio (height/width) of any upright may not exceed 1.5. Example: A 24 inch wide single may not exceed 36 inches in height.

Such "header or upright monuments" must be located entirely within the boundaries of the burial lot and within the top two (2) feet of the boundary delineated as the “head” of the Burial Lot. For Cemetery maintenance reasons, in no case shall upright or above-ground markers be permitted outside of the two foot header boundary. 

Additional markers may be placed at the “foot” of each single burial Lot. ALL such monuments shall be installed at ground level so as not to interfere with mowing, trimming and other ground maintenance operations. Such monuments must be located entirely within the boundaries of the burial lot. 

Full ledgers are permitted if the top surface is flush mounted with the ground. Raised ledgers and other types of above-ground monuments located outside of the header portion of the lot ARE NOT PERMITTED, for Cemetery maintenance purposes. 

Installations of decorative rock beds and/or gravel beds ARE NOT PERMITTED in Andrew Chapel Cemetery. 

Benches are permitted if they are placed within the header boundaries and made from granite material. 

All other monument configurations (triple-wide bases, etc.) that do not meet these regulations will need the approval of our board of directors prior to installation.

Monuments that exceed the height of ground level shall be set on footers. Footers must be installed as poured concrete wet mix, at least 18 inches deep. Dry packing concrete mix is not permitted for use as footer material! This standard is intended to address the problems attendant to ground freezing and thawing, which causes monuments to tip and tilt. 

Monument Removal Rights: The Andrew Chapel Cemetery board of directors reserves the right to remove any monument from the Cemetery grounds, for any reason. 

Monument Content and Public Promotion Policy: 

The Cemetery is intended as a place of respect for loved ones, and it is not to be used for the promotion of causes or for tangential publicity purposes of any kind. Any party who encourages general public traffic to visit the Cemetery risks monument removal. 

The Cemetery strongly discourages the use of controversial monument designs, images and inscriptions on any monument. This includes racism, political activity, promotion of illegal activity, and other provocative subject matter. 

Again, the Andrew Chapel Cemetery board of directors reserves the right to remove any monument from the Cemetery grounds, for any reason. 

Exceptions to the foregoing regulations concerning interment, markers and monuments must be requested in writing and submitted to the Board of Directors for consideration at least ninety (90) days in advance of any such interment or placing of monuments or markers. Such request may be denied or approved within the sole and absolute discretion of the Board of Directors. 

ACCOMMODATION OF CEMETERY OPERATIONS 

Lot owners agree by default that ordinary Cemetery operations will take place as necessary on their lots, whether the lots are interred or still open for burial. The Cemetery cannot set aside specific lots as "not to be disturbed" by foot or vehicle traffic. Bordering or fencing a lot is specifically not permitted and any such features WILL be removed. 

Cemetery operations include regular mowing and grounds maintenance, as well as all foot traffic and equipment related to the accommodation of funeral service functions and monument placement tasks conducted on behalf of nearby lot owners. The Cemetery will make all necessary repairs in the event of grounds damage. 

FLOWERS; PLANTS; ORNAMENTATION 

Flowers & Plants: Cut or artificial flowers arranged in a vase or other container may be placed proximate to grave markers at any time, preferably in a container attached to the grave marker. With respect to niches located within the columbarium, cut or artificial flowers may only be arranged in the cup and holder provided by the Association. 

Flowers, wreaths, special holiday plants and other adornments will be removed and discarded by the Board of Directors (“Board”) after thirty (30) days or at any time that the Board, in the Board’s sole discretion deems them to (i) be unsightly and not in keeping with the general appearance of the Cemetery, or (ii) unduly interfere with mowing, trimming and other ground maintenance operations. 

No plantings of trees, shrubs, bushes or plants of any nature shall be permitted by lot owners at any location within the Cemetery. 

Ornamentation: Subject to the following prohibitions, decorations and ornaments may be placed on or attached to grave markers provided that (i) they are placed in such a manner so as not to interfere with mowing, trimming and other ground maintenance operations and (ii) they are not unsightly or otherwise not in keeping with the general appearance of the Cemetery as determined in the sole discretion of the Board of Directors. 

Benches, chairs, tables, trellises, fencing or any structures other than permitted markers and monuments are prohibited. Benches made from granite, and permanently placed as monumnets, are permitted. 

Unattended candles, lamps or lanterns are prohibited. Fires or open flames of any type are strictly prohibited. 

Ornaments or devices that emit electronically produced sound, music, noise or light may not be left unattended in or about the Cemetery. 

Authority of Association: The Association and/or the Superintendent shall have authority to remove and dispose of any flowers, plants, ornamentation or structures of any type deemed by the Board of Directors to be in violation of the Cemetery rules and regulations. 

The Association shall not be liable for any lost, discarded or damaged flowers, plants or ornamentation placed on or about the Cemetery property. 

 

Subject to Change Without Notice

 

The Association reserves the right to change policy and regulations without notice.