LYNNFIELD — Nearly everyone has heard this old joke — that cemeteries are so popular people are dying to get into them.
The town’s Forest Hill Cemetery apparently is so popular that people are lining up in droves to purchase plots. In response to a recent spike in sales, the town has imposed a temporary moratorium on advance purchases.
According to Select Board Chair Dick Dalton, almost half of the cemetery’s new plots have been scooped up by residents recently.
“Despite the recent purchase of 30 plots at Forest Hill Cemetery, an increasing number of Lynnfield families have been purchasing cemetery lots,” Dalton said. “The town is now facing a potential shortage of lots for those in immediate need.”
Dalton went on to say that while town bylaws permit the advance sale of cemetery plots, any attempt to revise the bylaw must be approved at Town Meeting. The moratorium will give Town Administrator Rob Dolan and Department of Public Works Director John Tomasz time to review the problem and “research options to increase the number of plots,” Select Board member Joe Connell said in his motion.
Under the current bylaw, the sale of all lots at Forest Hill Cemetery and Willow Cemetery are “restricted to residents or former residents of the Town of Lynnfield or employees, or former employees with 10 years of cumulative service to the town.”
A maximum of four graves may be purchased by any one household. Any requests for more than four graves must be first approved by the Board of Selectmen after a recommendation is received in writing by the director of public works.
Former residents of the Town of Lynnfield who do not already own lots in either Forest Hill or Willow Cemetery will be allowed, after first showing satisfactory proof of former residency, to purchase a maximum of two graves.
Grave sites are limited to the interment of the owner and spouse and their immediate family. The immediate family is defined as: father, father’s brother or sister, mother, mother’s brother or sister, son, daughter, son-in-law, daughter-in-law, or grandchild.
Lots are sold for cash only and payment is to be made to the Town of Lynnfield. The deed for any lot shall not be delivered, no stone or marker may be erected, and no work will be done on the lot until the purchase price and/or any other fees are paid in full.
Graves may only be resold to the Town of Lynnfield at the original selling price.
