CHICOPEE, Mass. — Chicopee is urging residents to remove all plantings they’ve placed in the ground at the Fairview Cemetery.

Parks and Recreation Superintendent Benjamin Strepka told Spectrum News Monday that artificial ornaments like flowers, as well as small trees, can cause a lot of harm to the gravestones.

"See these shrubs too, they can create an issue where roots get into the foundation of the stone," Strepka said. "And cause issues with the stone."

Strepka said plantings at grave sites have been an issue for years, and the city has updated its rules and regulations in recent years. 

They are posted online and the city has sent several reminders to people about regular clean-ups.

He said another challenge they’re facing is people aren’t maintaining items they planted around loved ones' graves.

"We also have sites [where] stuff that was planted years and years ago," he said. "Its an annual — it continues to come back but no one visits the grave anymore. So it becomes unsightly and then becomes more work for our staff to try to maintain."

Strepka said the plantings can create safety issues for city workers and visitors.

"If debris falls into them, our workers are trying to trim around them," he said. "It creates a hazard for both of them and those around when machinery start spraying debris everywhere."

Strepka said plantings mounted into the gravestones are allowed in addition to other opportunities.

"We do allow, however, several times during the year flower pots and planters to be placed at loved ones' graves and those times a year are posted at both entrances," he said.

The city said residents have until Tuesday to remove all grounded plantings before it begins their cleanup and removal process.