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Oakwood Cemetery

Rules & Regulations

New York State Cemetery Laws allows cemetery boards to pass rules and regulations for the cemetery which the board oversees. The purpose of these regulations is to facilitate proper landscaping and maintenance of the cemetery and to assure the safety of visitors.

It is very important that lot owners follow the rules, especially regarding the decoration of the graves. We understand that flowers, flags, and other decoration helps with the grieving process and help families maintain connections with their loved ones, but too often these decorations interfere with the mowing and trimming or become neglected over time. The rules below can served to guide you in the process and help keep the grounds respectful and beautiful.

We appreciate your cooperation. If you have any questions please contact the Oakwood Cemetery Association.


Photograph by Patty Piper

Rules & Regulations
Oakwood Cemetery Association,
Nunda NY

click here to download a pdf version of the rules

Revised Fall 2018
Approved by State Division of Cemeteries December 2018

All Lot Owners and visitors are subject to the following RULES and REGULATIONS passed by the Oakwood Cemetery Association. The purpose of these regulations is to facilitate proper landscaping and maintenance of the cemetery and to assure the safety of visitors.

A. Cemetery Grounds

1. No digging or planting of perennials, trees, or shrubs without written permission.

2. No glass containers or styrofoam of any kind.

3. No new borders, including mulch or decorative stones, are allowed after January 1, 2019. Borders created before January 1, 2019 must be maintained, cannot be expanded, and must be on the owner’s plot.

4. Place urns, flags, flowers and decorations in line with headstones. Oakwood Cemetery is not responsible for damage or loss of items left in front of headstones that interfere with mowing and trimming.

5. Cemetery clean up is done during the months of October and April.

6. The Oakwood Cemetery Association reserves the right to remove flowers, wreaths, and decorations that are dead, worn, broken, or otherwise deemed unsightly by the majority of the board or that do not follow these regulations.

7. The Oakwood Cemetery Association reserves the right to remove any perennials, shrub or trees deemed dangerous to the public or that interfere with the maintenance of the cemetery, upon due notice to the lot owner.

8. The Oakwood Cemetery Association reserves the right to remove, upon due notice to the lot owner, any embellishment on the lot or effigy which, in the opinion of the majority of the board is unsightly, inappropriate or dangerous.

9. Cemetery grounds are closed from dusk to dawn.

10. All persons shall be allowed access to the cemetery during daylight hours, observing the rules which are in effect and the propriety due the Cemetery. No groups of persons or gatherings deemed inappropriate by the Oakwood Cemetery Board are allowed.

11. All pets must be on a leash. Owners must not allow animals to urinate on gravestones or decorations and must clean up all animal waste.

12. No parking or driving on the cemetery lawns. The grass covered roadways can be used.

13. Visitors must obey posted speed limits and traffic signs. Traffic must move counter-clockwise on the main roadway.

14. No alcohol or illegal drugs are allowed on cemetery grounds.

15. All work done in the cemetery shall be done by cemetery employees, or under the control and with the permission of the Oakwood Cemetery Association

16. Heavy trucking or other vehicular traffic shall be refused entrance to the cemetery when, in the opinion of the Oakwood Cemetery Association injury to roads and driveways might result.

17. The West Street gate, main cemetery road, and the circle at the end of K/L Road will be closed from December 1st to April 1st, weather permitting. Visitors can access sections J, K, & L using the Gibbs Street Entrance.

B. Cemetery Lots

1. A 4’ X 10’ plot lot may only have one of the following:


A. 1 full burial
B. 1 full burial with 1 cremains
C. 2 cremains

2. Only one upright gravestone per 4’ X 10’ lot, one additional memorial may be added but must be flush with the ground.

3. A 4’ X 5’ plot is limited to 2 cremains. One monument is allowed for a 4’ X 5’ plot. In the designated cremation sections of Section J only markers flush with the ground are allowed.

4. Lot owners may not sell or transfer lots or burial rights except as provided for in Section 1513(c) of the Not for Profit Corporation Law.

5. The full purchase price must be paid before a deed will be given or burial allowed on the lot.

C. Interments

1. Cemetery Grounds are for the burial of human remains only.

2. Cremated remains will not be permitted to be scattered in any part of the cemetery.

3. No interment shall be allowed without permission being first obtained by the Oakwood Cemetery Association.

4. Internments in a lot are restricted to those entitled to burial therein according to the terms of Section 1512 of the Not for Profit Corporation Law. Permission for burial of those not entitled to burial according to the said Section must be filed with Oakwood Cemetery Association by the lot owner(s).

5. Concrete vaults or concrete grave liners shall be required for all graves purchased on or after January 1, 2019, in accordance with the provisions of Cemetery Board Directive 201.6. The interment of cremated remains shall be permitted only in appropriate rigid receptacles constructed from wood, metal, plastic, or concrete.

6. At the time of application for a full burial, a burial permit is required before an internment can be made. Before a cremation burial, the following information is required.


Name of the deceased
Age of deceased, including date of birth, if known.
Place of birth of deceased, if known
Date of death
Date of interment
If not an adult, the names of parent(s) or legal guardian(s).

7. Burials on weekends and holidays are subject to additional charges.

8. Burials in adverse weather conditions are subject to additional cost. If frost and weather conditions warrant, families may choose to use the cemetery’s vault until conditions permit burial. Vault storage and interment costs will be paid by the family.

10. Disinterments shall be allowed between June 1st and September 30 provided there is compliance with all provisions of Section 1510(e) of the Not for Profit Corporation Law.

D. Monuments

1. All graves must be permanently marked (memorialized) within six months.

2. Monuments must be approved by the Oakwood Cemetery Association.

3. All monuments or markers must be constructed of granite or bronze. ( Wood, plastic, and styrofoam not permitted.) No monuments or markers shall be permitted which utilize colors other than those of natural stone. Color inserts are allowed.

4. All monuments shall be set in accordance with the general plan of the cemetery (including individual sections), and shall conform with said plan in shape, size and material.

5. All foundations must be installed or constructed by a contractor approved by the Oakwood Cemetery Association.

6. No monument will be allowed to be delivered in the cemetery until the foundation is installed and ready to receive the monument.

E. Amendments

These rules and regulations may be amended by the board of directors of the Oakwood Cemetery Association, but no such amendments shall be effective until approved by the New York State Cemetery Board.