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Pets banned from Amesbury cemeteries
Published: June 14, 2007
AMESBURY - Dogs are no longer welcome in town cemeteries.
The Municipal Council quietly voted to ban dogs and other pets as part of a stricter, more detailed set of regulations for the burial grounds.
The ban will be enforced by public works employees, the animal control officer and police. Owners who violate it face a $50 fine for the first offense and $100 for each subsequent infraction.
Three years ago, the council rejected a pet ban on the heels of a strong public outcry from dog owners. But on Tuesday, councilors passed the measure, 7-1, with little discussion. No residents came forward to speak for or against the ban.
Members of the Cemetery Commission, which worked with the mayor's office to draft the new rules, said the ban is a matter of respect.
Commission member Joe Sielicki said Amesbury is a town rich in history, with many prominent historical figures and veterans buried in the four town cemeteries: Union, Friends, Old Corner and Mount Prospect.
"Every grave has a history," Sielicki said. "Why would you want to let your animal mess on our American history?"
The council held a public hearing on the bill during its last meeting on May 8 but postponed a vote until this week to allow public comment on the last-minute inclusion of the dog ban.
Mayor Thatcher Kezer had removed that section before sending the ordinance to the council, saying he wanted it considered separately because of the controversy three years ago.
Councilors who supported the ban said the town has ample open space outside the cemeteries for dog owners to walk their pets.
A cemetery is a place of reverence, not a park, at-large Councilor Donna McClure said.
"This is long overdue," District 2 Councilor Mario Pinierio said. Pinierio was the sponsor of the failed 2004 pet prohibition.
District 3 Councilor Ann Connolly-King cast the only vote against the ban, calling it "an extreme measure." Connolly-King said she would prefer to see the town put up signs instructing dog owners to clean up waste.
The newly adopted measure will take effect 15 days from the date of the vote.
In addition to banning pets, the ordinance addresses issues of conduct by cemetery visitors, decorations, burial lots and fees, grave markers, interments and cemetery maintenance and repairs.
The Municipal Council quietly voted to ban dogs and other pets as part of a stricter, more detailed set of regulations for the burial grounds.
The ban will be enforced by public works employees, the animal control officer and police. Owners who violate it face a $50 fine for the first offense and $100 for each subsequent infraction.
Three years ago, the council rejected a pet ban on the heels of a strong public outcry from dog owners. But on Tuesday, councilors passed the measure, 7-1, with little discussion. No residents came forward to speak for or against the ban.
Members of the Cemetery Commission, which worked with the mayor's office to draft the new rules, said the ban is a matter of respect.
Commission member Joe Sielicki said Amesbury is a town rich in history, with many prominent historical figures and veterans buried in the four town cemeteries: Union, Friends, Old Corner and Mount Prospect.
"Every grave has a history," Sielicki said. "Why would you want to let your animal mess on our American history?"
The council held a public hearing on the bill during its last meeting on May 8 but postponed a vote until this week to allow public comment on the last-minute inclusion of the dog ban.
Mayor Thatcher Kezer had removed that section before sending the ordinance to the council, saying he wanted it considered separately because of the controversy three years ago.
Councilors who supported the ban said the town has ample open space outside the cemeteries for dog owners to walk their pets.
A cemetery is a place of reverence, not a park, at-large Councilor Donna McClure said.
"This is long overdue," District 2 Councilor Mario Pinierio said. Pinierio was the sponsor of the failed 2004 pet prohibition.
District 3 Councilor Ann Connolly-King cast the only vote against the ban, calling it "an extreme measure." Connolly-King said she would prefer to see the town put up signs instructing dog owners to clean up waste.
The newly adopted measure will take effect 15 days from the date of the vote.
In addition to banning pets, the ordinance addresses issues of conduct by cemetery visitors, decorations, burial lots and fees, grave markers, interments and cemetery maintenance and repairs.
Cemetery Commission member Jane Snow, who has relatives buried in Mount Prospect Cemetery and volunteers to mow the grass there, said it's important to remember that every person buried in the town cemeteries was special to someone.
Snow said nine local communities do not allow dogs in cemeteries, though Connolly-King said she had contacted neighboring communities and found none with such a ban. Neither Snow nor Connolly-King identified the communities they contacted.
How they voted
Alison Lindstrom: Yes
Donna McClure: Yes
Mario Pinierio: Yes
Michelle Thone: Yes
Roger Benson: Yes
Ann Connolly-King: No
Tom Iacobucci: Yes
Christopher Lawrence: Yes
Robert Lavoie: Absent
