CALIFORNIA, USA — The Roseville City Council voted Wednesday to approve the first reading of an ordinance that would limit the duration temporary memorials can be displayed on public property.
Jill Geller, the director of Parks, Recreation and Libraries, said this would create clear and consistent guidelines for handling temporary memorials. Without clear guidelines, these temporary memorials could remain indefinitely, according to Geller.
This can cause safety issues or affect public spaces when left for a long time, preventing city staff or contractors from performing regular maintenance and upkeep among other issues. But, Geller said the city needs to balance addressing these needs while being considerate of those who are grieving.
Deputy City Attorney My Tien Doan said the city looked at the policies from other cities in the area and out-of-state. Locally, Elk Grove and Escondido both have a 30-day timeframe for temporary memorials. Other cities have timeframes of six months, a year, or other timelines. Most of the cities also had a stipulation for immediate removal if a temporary memorial was a hazard.
Once the ordinance goes into effect, a temporary memorial could be in place on public property for no more than 45 calendar days from the date of the underlying incident. The physical restrictions include temporary memorials being 30 inches tall, 2 feet wide, and 1 foot deep, according to Doan.
"We understand that this is a difficult and delicate issue. We recognize that grief and the process of grieving a loved one who has passed away should not be limited to a certain period of time. At the same time, we believe that it is important to have some parameters in place to maintain public property and to reduce hazards to the public. The proposed 45-day period is actually more time than what many agencies currently allow," Doan said.
There are also standards of conduct for memorials that if they are broken, could result in a temporary memorial being removed. The standards are broken down into eight general categories and include guidelines such as not being distracting to drivers, not damaging property, and not emitting music or amplified sound among others. Find the full guidelines HERE.
Doan said items that remain at a temporary memorial after 45 days are considered abandoned and may be removed. The nonperishable items will be stored for up to 30 days at a city facility so people can claim them.
Council members asked how the start of the 45 days would be determined if the incident date is unclear or not widely known. Doan said they spoke with city staff, including the police department, when creating the proposed ordinance.
"For the most part, our staff are pretty on top of being able to identify when an incident such as a fatality occurs within our city just because it doesn't happen too often so when it does, happen, unfortunately, at least our staff are aware of it and should be able to identify a date associated with that," Doan said.
She added that in the event the city can't identify a date, they would just go off the date they were notified, which ensures a temporary memorial could be up for 45 days.
The Roseville City Council will approve a second reading of the ordinance at a later meeting.
Find more about the ordinance HERE.
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