Rules and Regulations

Hours of Operation

The office maintains normal business hours from 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday through Friday, subject to change. Appointments are preferred and can also be scheduled outside of these hours. 

General Supervision

1. The following rules and regulations have been adopted by the Columbia Cemetery Association to provide consistency in the management and operation of the Cemetery. 

2. These rules and regulations may be changed by the Association without notice.

3. Parker-Millard or CCA must be contacted, and written permission granted in advance, before any functions, activities or stonework is performed. 

4. The cemetery abides by the City of Columbia leash laws. Dogs must be leashed at all times while on the premises, and feces must be bagged and removed from the Cemetery. 

5. While the Cemetery will take all reasonable precautions to protect and maintain the gravesites within its boundaries from loss or damage, it is not responsible or liable for loss or damage beyond its control, such as harm from natural elements, thieves, vandals and civil disorder.

Care and Maintenance

All lots are sold with the benefit of continual care. Maintenance is done by ParkerMillard and staff, under the direction of the Columbia Cemetery Association, without cost to lot owners. Perpetual or endowed care of a cemetery means the general maintenance and repair of cemetery grounds such as mowing and trimming, landscaping, upkeep of roads, and signage. It also includes repair of old headstones of those buried when their descendants are unknown. Families, on the other hand, are responsible for the upkeep of their headstones and keeping their gravesites clean and neat. The Cemetery is dedicated to the concept of perpetual care and will do all it can to maintain and enhance the beauty and reverent atmosphere.

Burial and Lots

1. All lots will be used for the burial of human remains only. 
2. All graves will be level with the adjoining ground. None will be mounded. 
3. No full-sized gravesite may contain more than four urns of cremated remains, or two if using an urn vault.
4. The cemetery sells 4-foot-by-4-foot areas for the interment of infants less than 2 years old or two cremated remains without an urn vault. 
5. One full-sized burial and two urns of cremated remains are allowed in a full-sized grave. 
6. Cremated remains may be scattered only with advance written approval from ParkerMillard or CCA, and only in a designated scattering garden or ossuary. A fee will apply. 
7. The burial of two or more bodies within one gravesite is allowed in certain instances, with prior approval. One of the burials will be buried twice as deep. An extra charge applies. 
8. Only cemetery staff may conduct disinterments. Prepayment is required. 
9. All transfers of lot ownership must be in writing and must be recorded in the Cemetery Office Lot Ownership Record. 
10. A funeral director must be present for all casketed or non-casketed human remains burials. A Certificate of Cremation from a licensed crematory must be received, and a cemetery official must be present for all cremated remains burials. 
11. Notification of burials must be made 24 hours in advance unless other arrangements are approved by Parker-Millard or CCA. 
12. Burials at an angle, other than the standard east-west orientation, are subject to approval by Parker-Millard or CCA, and will incur an extra cost. 
13. All payments are due in advance of grave preparation, including opening and closing costs and the price of the interment space. 
14. The Columbia Cemetery will perform the opening and closing of the grave. Handfuls of dirt may be placed in the grave by those in attendance. The grave will be filled after family and friends have left the cemetery. 
15. A vault is required for burials, except for religious reasons. In that case, Parker-Millard or CCA must give written permission. 
16. Soil conditions below the surface are unpredictable. The Columbia C

Monuments, Markers and Headstones

A monument or headstone is considered a memorial measuring six inches to four feet above ground level. A marker is considered a memorial measuring six inches or less above ground level.

1. All headstones or monuments must be approved by Parker-Millard or CCA prior to installation. 

2. A maximum of one headstone or monument and one marker are permitted on a fullsized gravesite. One headstone or monument is permitted on a 4-foot-by-4-foot area. 

3. On multiple lots for entire families where a headstone or monument serves two or more bodies, the headstone or monument will be on a line centered between the lots. Markers may then denote each individual grave. 

4. A headstone or marker on a single gravesite may be up to three feet wide and 16 inches deep. A headstone or marker on a double gravesite may be up to 5 feet wide and 16 inches deep. 

5. Every monument must be set on a concrete foundation four inches wider than the base for a depth of at least 30 inches. Bronze markers must be set on a concrete base of no less than 18 inches. 

6. Headstones must be made of certified granite that will not discolor. 

7. If any headstone, marker, memorial, structure or inscription is determined by the cemetery to be offensive, the cemetery shall have the right to require the offensive item be replaced or altered at the patron’s expense. Should the patron not comply, the cemetery retains the right to remove the item. 

8. Enclosures around a gravesite or lot are not permitted. 

9. Corner markers are allowed if they are set flush with the sod. 

10. Memorial headstones or markers may be placed without interment of a body or urn for a fee equal to an urn burial. 11. Second headstones or markers on a grave will be at ground level.

Decorations

1. Approved decorations are welcome on gravesites. To protect and prevent damage to decorations, we require these items to be off the ground or in containers that will not be affected by grass trimmers, from April 1st to October 31st. Exceptions are made for 10 days following: interments, Easter Sunday, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day and Memorial Day. Your cooperation is requested.
2. Between November 1 and March 31, wreaths, tripods, and seasonal decoration are allowed.
3. The cemetery will, at its discretion, remove decorations when they become unsightly or inhibit maintenance.
4. Shepherd’s crooks, hanging baskets, glass containers, balloons, and free-standing decorations including solar lights are not allowed.
5. Digging holes around grave markers to set jars or cans in the ground is not permitted.

Landscaping

1. The Cemetery staff is responsible for gravesite maintenance.
2. Planting of live trees, shrubbery, or flowers around gravesites is welcome. Such plantings are subject to prior written approval by the Cemetery and shall be done at the lot owner's expense. Before planned removal of owners’ plantings, the Cemetery will attempt to notify the lot owner.
3. Live trees, shrubs, or flowers may be trimmed or removed by the cemetery if they become unsightly, diseased, encroach on adjacent lots or otherwise become inconsistent with the cemetery's overall landscaping.
4. The cemetery is not liable for plantings that die due to natural or other causes. While cemetery staff will take every precaution to work around patron-supplied plantings, it is not liable for damage done to such plantings during the normal course of cemetery maintenance.

Mausoleums

1. Mausoleum construction and other above-ground structures on the lot(s) is permitted. However, prior written approval by the Columbia Cemetery Association is required. The cemetery reserves the right to ensure such a structure, its location, size and design is in keeping with the overall appearance of the cemetery.
2. The prevailing lot rates, at time of purchase, do not apply to the purchase of a lot for erecting a mausoleum. Cost, size and design will be evaluated at the time of the request, and the cost of the plot(s) determined by the Columbia Cemetery Association for the buyer’s mausoleum project. The price will be guaranteed for one year from the date of the signed contract. Additional information is available from Parker-Millard Management Company and the Columbia Cemetery Association.