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Jim Davis says, "They didn't try to stop me exactly, it was a delaying thing. They can't stop me. They got no ordinances here."
Jim Davis' wife Patsy died last Saturday.
He says she wanted to be buried in their yard next to the house he built for her.
Davis says, "That's my last promise I can do for mama."
Davis applied to the Stevenson City Council on Monday for a cemetery, but he was turned down because he didn't have all the required paperwork.
While Stevenson doesn't have any city laws, the state of Alabama does require certain things to be done.
Davis needed the Department of Health to approve the site.
Jackson County Health Officials say they have inspected the site for things like ground water concerns.
They plan to write a letter of approval to the city on Monday.
Davis says, "I've been told they can't turn it down. I've also been told if they turn it down, bring suit and I will."
City Attorney Parker Edmiston says the council will look at all the facts, plus things like the neighbors disapproval.
He says even with the Health Department's site approval, it's still within the council's discretion.
Edmiston says, "It's up to the council to decide, and you will realize that it is uncommon to have a family cemetery in the front yard of a home within a city, and so that's up to the council to decide."
Davis says he has all his final paper work in and now he's just waiting on the city for final approval.
In Stevenson, Alabama, Mandy Odom, WDEF News 12.
Davis hopes the mayor will call a special meeting to approve his application.
The Stevenson City Council's next meeting is in May.
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