AUSTIN, Texas — The City of Austin is once again putting forward new proposals for its five cemeteries. For years, the City has been trying to find the balance between respecting personalized remembrances and maintaining the safety of its staff. 

The Austin Parks and Recreation Department, which manages the cemeteries, received more than 100 responses during the public review period. Many people were worried about having to remove benches and ornaments, which the parks department believes makes mowing and maintenance challenging. 

The revisions would allow existing benches, but they must be on the owner’s designated burial space.

There is also going to be a “memorialization space,” which is within two feet from the top of the space and no more than 42 inches high. Stones, flowers, and other memorabilia can be placed there or on the headstone.

“We want to respect people’s way of grieving, we want to culturally sensitive to, you know, ornamentation, and that is why we implemented this memorialization space,” Tonja Walls-Davis, cemetery manager, said. 

The cemetery administrator would need to approve any trees, shrubs or plants. If any of these items become safety hazards or if plants are dead or deteriorated, parks staff will have the discretion of removing them. 

“If a family comes in and they request us to go out and kind of show them what we have in mind, what they could keep that would be in compliance. We’re open to that,” Walls-Davis said.

The revised cemetery rules will be posted to the City Clerk’s Office later this month and then there will be another 31-day public comment period.