The Twentynine Palms Cemetery Board of Trustees met last night in what became a very heated discussion over of new rules on what can and cannot be placed on grave sites. Residents present all spoke against the policies regarding the color of rocks, number and height of items placed, and the use of solar powered lights on graves. While only 153 of the nearly 4,000 graves are non-compliant with the current policies, the audience at the meeting all said they should be allowed to place what they want on their loved ones’ final resting place. Public comments involved the regulations not allowing families to portray their cultural and religious beliefs, along with some audience members almost ready to remove their loved ones from the cemetery and on the verge of tears. After nearly one hour of heated public debate, the cemetery board and residents present were able to agree on more reasonable policies including completely eliminating the limit on number of items, raising the height limit and allowing the use of different decorative rocks. The board plans to release a draft of the policy changes on the 20th of October for the public to view and will vote on the new policies at their next meeting on the 30th of October in the cemetery office.
