La Belle Cemetery Rules and Regulations Updated 10/28/2025 A. Introduction In compiling the rules herein, the Oconomowoc Cemetery Association Board has endeavored to safeguard the rights of individual lot owners, the La Belle Cemetery as a whole, and recognizes the principle that the deceased have the right to remain undisturbed. All lot owners, their heirs, visitors, and contractors when working in the cemetery and all property brought onto the premises shall be subject to said rules and regulations, as well as other rules, amendments, or alterations that may from be adopted by the Oconomowoc Cemetery Board. These rules and regulations are designed for the protection of owners of interment rights as a group. They are not intended to restrain but prevent individuals from taking unfair advantage of others. Their enforcement will help protect our Cemetery and preserve its beauty, as well as protecting those interred on these grounds. We trust that every lot owner is interested in the enforcement of these rules, as they are necessary to assure the proper management and development of a beautiful cemetery as well as the dignity that it deserves. The cemetery is hallowed in our hearts and in our memories and we trust that no one will intentionally violate any of its rules.
B. Definitions
1. The “Cemetery” is the La Belle Cemetery located at 700 E, Grove St. Oconomowoc, WI 53066. The governing board of the cemetery is called the Oconomowoc Cemetery Association. The Oconomowoc Cemetery Association Board shall mean the elected governing board, elected by the lot owners who are members of the Oconomowoc Cemetery Association, that has oversight authority for the overall operation and management of the cemetery, and to whom the Cemetery caretaker reports. 2. The cemetery is managed by the caretaker with the oversight of the Oconomowoc Cemetery Association Board 3. Cemetery space is a parcel of cemetery property which is intended or designed for the interment of a human being. 4. Interment shall mean niche inurnment, crypt entombment, ground burial or other permanent disposition of the remains of a deceased human being. 5. Niche shall mean a repository within a mausoleum or lot area for the inurnment of cremated human remains. 6. Crypt shall mean a repository within a mausoleum for the entombment of human remains that is in a suitable metal or wooden casket or coffin having built-in leakage protection. La Belle Cemetery requires that entombed bodies be embalmed. 7. Cemetery Lot shall mean a designated area of land within a section set forth and appropriately numbered on the master plat for the cemetery. 8. Memorial shall mean any marker or structure on any lot, crypt, niche or building placed there for the purpose of memorialization. 9.Mausoleum shall mean a building that contains crypts for the final disposition of human remains and/or niches for the disposition of cremated human remains. 10. Contractor/Vendor shall mean any person, firm, corporation or any person engaged in, or performing any work on the Cemetery grounds, other than an employee of the Cemetery that has permission to perform such work by Cemetery management. 11. Vault shall mean an outer burial container that surrounds a casket. 12. Lot Owner is a person who has the rights of interment. 13. A Right of Burial (formerly known as a Deed) is the document that conveys a right of interment. 14. Embalming is the temporary preservation of a body for viewing and transportation. 15. Embalming Fluids are chemicals which are a variety of preservatives, sanitizing and disinfectant agents and additives used in modern embalming to temporarily prevent decomposition and restore a natural appearance for viewing a body after death. A mixture of these chemicals is known as embalming fluid. Typically, embalming fluid contains a mixture of formaldehyde, methanol, ethanol and other chemicals. 16. The Cemetery caretaker (designated manager of the cemetery by the cemetery board) shall be the person with overall authority and final decision-making responsibility at the Cemetery as defined by the Oconomowoc Cemetery Association Board.
C. Disclaimer of Warrantees
La Belle Cemetery makes no representation or warranties regarding any products sold by the cemetery. The only warranties expressed or implied, granted in connection with the products sold by the cemetery are the expressed written warranties, if any, extended by the manufacturers thereof. No other warranties, expressed or implied, including the implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for a purpose, are extended by the cemetery. The cemetery does not extend any warranties for products supplied by, or services performed by, any outside vendor.
D. Conduct within the Cemetery
1. Visitors are reminded that cemetery grounds are considered sacred and strict observance of accepted decorum shall always be required. The Cemetery caretaker or cemetery board members may order the removal of individuals who are deemed to be acting inappropriately or otherwise conducting themselves in a manner that may be deemed offensive. 2. Visitors will use the walks and roads provided. Walking off the roadways or walkways is permitted but is done at the self-assumed risk to the visitor. Owing to the very nature of a cemetery, the ground may be uneven, depressions may develop, and obstacles abound. In the event of injuries, the Cemetery is in no way liable. 3. It shall be unlawful for any person to interfere with the proper conduct of a funeral or with the burying or exhuming of a body in the La Belle Cemetery without legal cause. 4. No person shall drive any vehicle within the cemetery except upon the driveways prepared and designated for that purpose, and such vehicles shall be operated within the posted speed limit of 10 mph. Vehicles shall drive on the right side of the road and shall not drive or park off the hard-surfaced roads. Parking or leaving any vehicle on any road or driveway within the cemetery in a location or in a position that prevents another vehicle from passing is prohibited. If so, parked management reserves the right to have the vehicle removed. 5. It is unlawful for any person to desecrate or damage the cemetery, or any lot, grave, tomb, gravestone, monument, fence, tree or shrubbery therein, or to injure, or disturb any wildlife within the cemetery. No excavation is permitted except by authorized cemetery personnel. 6. Receptacles for cemetery waste materials are placed at convenient locations throughout the cemetery. The placing or disposing of debris at any other location is prohibited. These receptacles are not intended for public, general waste or garbage disposal.
7. The sale of any item or service or solicitation on cemetery property is strictly prohibited unless authorized by the Cemetery Board. Approaching the bereaved for the purpose of soliciting any business within the cemetery is recognized as not in good taste and is therefore prohibited. 8. No cameras or other recording devices are permitted to be used on cemetery property without the express, written consent of an authorized representative of the La Belle Cemetery. Solicitation by outside vendors on cemetery property is strictly prohibited. No signs, notices or advertising may be placed on Cemetery grounds or buildings without the express, written consent of authorized cemetery personnel. The Cemetery may remove any unauthorized advertising without liability.
E. General Cemetery Care:
1. Cemetery personnel or its designees shall be exclusively responsible for the management and maintenance of the Cemetery and its grounds. 2. The Cemetery shall take reasonable precaution to protect Owners, and the property rights of Owners within the Cemetery from loss or damage; but it disclaims all responsibility for loss or damage from causes beyond its reasonable control, and especially from damage caused by the elements, an act of God, common enemy, thieves, vandals, strikers, malicious mischief makers, explosions, unavoidable accidents, invasion, insurrections, riots, or order of any military or civil authority, whether the damage be direct or collateral, other than herein provided. 3. The Cemetery Board reserves, and shall have, the right to correct any errors that may be made by it, including, but not limited to making interments, disinterment, removals, memorial inscriptions, placements, transfers, or conveyances, without incurring liability of any kind whatsoever. 4. La Belle Cemetery shall not be held liable for errors or damages, which may occur because of improper, or misinterpretation of, telephone instructions from lot owners, their legal representatives, or funeral directors acting on behalf of the owner or his heirs. 5. The right to enlarge, reduce, replat or change the boundaries or grading of the cemetery or of a section or sections, from time to time, including the right to modify or change the location of or any part thereof or remove or regrade roads, drives, and walks, or waterlines is hereby expressly reserved. The right to lay, maintain, and operate, or remove, or alter or change pipelines or gutters for sprinkling systems, drainage, lakes, etc. is also expressly reserved, as well as is the right to use Cemetery property, not sold to individual owners, for Cemetery purposes. The Cemetery reserves to itself and to those lawfully entitled thereto, the right of ingress and egress over all lots. 6. All grading, roadwork, landscape work, and improvements of any kind, and all care of property and buildings, shall be done by the Cemetery or its contractors. All trees and shrubs shall be planted, trimmed, cut or removed by the Cemetery or its contractors. 7. The Cemetery or its contractors shall make all interments, disinterment, and removals. 8. The Cemetery may determine what plants may or may not be used on the grounds and reserves the right to remove any plant which it deems to be inappropriate or improperly maintained. 9. If any tree, shrub or plant standing upon any lot, by means of its roots, branches, or otherwise, be or become detrimental to adjacent lots or avenues, or if for any other reason its removal is deemed necessary, the Cemetery shall have the right to remove such tree, shrub or plant, or any part thereof, or otherwise correct the condition existing as in their judgment seems best. 10. No tree shall be removed for the purpose of interment unless an official of the Cemetery deems such removal in the best interest of the Cemetery lot owners. 11. It is the right of the Cemetery Board or the caretaker to regulate the restrictions of each section as to planting privileges and the size and types of memorials. 12. If any memorial or inscription thereon shall be determined by the Cemetery to be offensive, it shall have the right to remove, change or correct the offensive or improper object or objects. Should such action be required, the Cemetery may charge the current lot owner the cost of restoration and/or removal. 13. The Cemetery may set and charge fees for any service it provides including, but not limited to researching lot owner records, providing interment site locations, recording service requests, and for providing services not included under normal care. 14. It is the duty of the property owner to notify the Cemetery of any changes due to marriage, divorce, change in heirship or change in mailing address. The Cemetery shall be deemed to have fulfilled all legal obligations it may have to property owners by mailing any legal notices to the last address of record provided to the Cemetery by the property owner. 15. Special cases may arise in which the literal enforcement of a rule may impose unnecessary hardship. The cemetery reserves the right to make exceptions, suspensions, or modifications of any of these rules and regulations without notice when, in the judgment of the management, such action appears necessary. Any such temporary exception, suspension, or modification shall in no way be construed as affecting the general application of these rules and regulations and shall not act as a waiver of any of the provisions herein.
F. Cemetery Grounds:
1. Cut natural or artificial flowers are permitted when placed in an approved type vase. 2. Decorations that become unsightly or are inappropriate in the judgment of the caretaker may be removed and disposed of by cemetery personnel at any time. 3. Decorations that are lying loosely on the grounds will be disposed of by cemetery personnel. 4. Cemetery fall cleanup will commence on October 1st (weather permitting), each year. Items placed on graves or elsewhere on the grounds will be collected and disposed of. 5. Wreaths and/or evergreen crosses will be permitted as a grave decoration only during the non-growing season, November 15th through April 1st. All wreaths and winter decorations will need to be removed by April 1st. Any wreath or winter season plant placement that is in a condition of deterioration may be removed at the discretion of Cemetery caretaker at any time. Grave blankets are prohibited and will be removed by cemetery personnel at the lot owner's expense. 6. The management assumes no responsibility for vase units that are set above the ground during the winter months. 7. No enclosure of any kind, such as a fence, coping, hedge, or ditch, shall be permitted around any grave or lot. Grave mounds are not allowed, and no lot shall be raised above the established grade. 8. The Cemetery is not responsible for the theft or damage to anything placed on the graves, crypts, niches or other property. 9. No vehicle shall be driven in the Cemetery at a speed greater than 10 M.P.H. All vehicles must be operated in a safe and responsible manner. All vehicles and motorized equipment shall be restricted to the cemetery roads and shall be driven on the right side of the road. No undue noise shall be permitted in operating a vehicle through the Cemetery, and only licensed drivers may operate vehicles within the Cemetery grounds. Vehicles with a gross weight of 15,000 lbs. or more are not permitted on cemetery roads (except for delivery trucks which are restricted to the road leading to the shop). Larger vehicles must have prior authorization from the cemetery Sexton. The Oconomowoc Police Department will be notified of violators of this cemetery rule. 10. The Cemetery reserves the right to exclude any vehicles from the property when it is deemed necessary for the safety of the public or cemetery protection. The Cemetery also reserves the right to prohibit any vehicle, which might in any way damage cemetery property, from entry into the cemetery. 11. Dogs and other domestic animals will be allowed in the cemetery if the owner has control of his animal by leash or electronic control. Animal owners must clean up after their animals. Aggressive animals or owners who do not clean up after their animals will be removed by the caretaker. 12. Firearms, other than those carried by law enforcement or used in military funeral services, shall be prohibited on the cemetery grounds. 13. All persons are strictly prohibited from picking flowers, removing turf, trees, or shrubs, or in any way altering or marking any property within the cemetery not specifically belonging to them. 14. Cemetery employees are not permitted to do any work for lot owners except at the direction of the supervisor. No money shall be paid to Cemetery employees to perform cemetery services or grounds maintenance. All orders, inquiries and complaints must be registered at the cemetery office. 15. All persons are reminded that the grounds are sacredly devoted to the burial of the dead and that the provisions and penalties of the law will be strictly enforced in all cases of wanton injury, disturbance, or disregard of the rules. 16. The cemetery is open 7 days a week from Dawn to Dusk all year long. The office is open Monday through Friday 8:00 AM to 4:00 PM.
G. Memorials and Foundations:
1. Generally, only one stone (Maximum 36” length for the marker and a maximum 46” for the foundation) or marker can be placed on each grave space. In the event a family monument is to be erected over multiple gravesites it is advised that the owners confer with caretaker on placement. Government markers may be placed on a Memorials (headstone), however flush to the ground government markers in addition to Memorial’s (headstones) are not permitted on a gravesite. 2. The Cemetery is not responsible for the preservation and care of memorials installed in the cemetery. Neither are they responsible for damage to such memorials or foundations, unless directly caused by cemetery personnel or equipment. The cemetery is not responsible for the natural weathering or natural deterioration of memorials or foundations. 3. The cemetery caretaker shall determine the types of memorials that may be placed on the grounds with guidance from the cemetery board. 4. A foundation work order shall be submitted by the monument company and must be approved by the sexton before any memorial may be placed in the cemetery. Work orders will not be approved until burial space is paid for in full. Government markers do not require a work order. 5. Fees for the placement of a foundation shall be paid within 30 days of placement of the foundation. Fees charged will be accordance to the fee schedule in effect at that time. 6. All memorials must be placed on a concrete or granite base. 7. The Cemetery Board reserves the right to reject all work which, because of design, workmanship, material or faults of any kind, is in its opinion unsatisfactory. 8. All foundations shall be installed by authorized cemetery personnel. 9. Foundations made of concrete, while long lasting has a finite life. The cemetery is only responsible for the quality of material or workmanship of foundations it has installed, not normal weathering or deterioration that may occur over time. 10. Multiple crypt mausoleums are allowed however; placement of such mausoleums must have prior approval by the cemetery. 11. All markers in the cemetery shall be of granite, marble, stone, or bronze and shall be delivered by a licensed memorial dealer or their designated representative, or cartage company. 12. The bottom of all bases and memorials must be at cut level. A minimum of four (4) inch thickness is required for all flush granite memorials. 13. No memorials shall be delivered or installed by outside vendors from November 15th to April 1, unless prior arrangements have been made with the Cemetery management. 14. Should a monument dealer or vault company need to access areas off hard-surfaced roads, they must receive approval from staff as to where the vehicle may be driven on the grounds. Payment for any damages that may occur during the installation of a monument shall be the responsibility of the monument dealer or vault company. 15. Only Cemetery approved vendors are permitted to do lettering or any other inscription or engraving on cemetery structures or memorials (i.e. Crypts, niches, benches, rocks, curbing, paver stones, etc.) Work of this nature must be approved by cemetery management who will collaborate with authorized representatives of families wishing to have this work done. 16. Vendors must provide to the cemetery, proof of workman’s compensation and comprehensive general liability coverage, with a minimum amount not less than $300,000.00. 17. The Cemetery Board reserves the right to stop all work of any nature, when, in its opinion, proper preparations have not been made, when tools or equipment are insufficient or defective, when work is being executed in such a manner as to threaten life or property, when the contractor has been guilty of misrepresentation, when any reasonable request on the part of the Management has been disregarded, when work is not being executed according to approved specifications, or when any person employed on the work violates any rule of the Cemetery. 18. Memorials placed with the approval of the cemetery caretaker on an occupied grave may only be removed or relocated with the written permission of the person(s) who authorized the initial placement of said memorial(s).
H. Interment/Disinterment
A La Belle Cemetery Interment request, from the funeral home or authorized family members, must be received by Cemetery personnel before an interment may proceed. 1. All outstanding debts, including payment for property purchased, must have been settled before an interment may proceed. All interment, entombment, inurnment, overtime, or other service charges must be paid prior to or at the time of the burial service. 2. Interments are scheduled on a first-come, first-served basis. Charges are based on fees that are approved by the Cemetery Board. The cemetery will schedule services based on its ability to meet the needs of families. To best assure time of interment, entombment, or inurnment, a request for a time must be received three working days prior to the time of the service is required. (additional time may be required depending on weather conditions). The cemetery assumes no responsibility for a delay in the scheduled burial time when conditions are beyond our control. 3. We require the use of a concrete box with a domed or flat lid as a minimum requirement for a standard casket interment The cemetery must approve all other vault products. 4. Infants less than three feet long do not require the use of a vault. 5. Funeral homes must provide to the cemetery, proof of workman’s compensation and comprehensive general liability coverage, with a minimum amount not less than $300,000.00. 6. A body must be embalmed if it is to be entombed in a crypt. 7. No cardboard utility caskets or particle board constructed caskets will be allowed as a burial container in a crypt. If such a casket is used for a grave burial, we require at least a ½ inch plywood board the size of the box on the bottom of the box before it can be handled at the cemetery. 8. Funeral directors assume full responsibility for burial vaults and other products that they sell. 9. Disinterment ordered by a duly recognized court will be honored.
Resale of Lots
Grave spaces or niches may be resold by the owner to another authorized person or, under special circumstances, to the Cemetery Association. The Association will pay only the amount originally paid by the purchaser less any incidental costs which have been incurred because of the repurchase. No interest will be paid to the purchaser. Under either circumstance a properly executed right of burial (formerly known as deed) must be presented to the cemetery office. Anytime a Right of Burial is transferred to a new person(s) a transfer fee will be charged to handle the clerical costs.
The Cemetery management may, and it hereby expressly reserves the right, at any time, with or without prior notice to the public, adopt new rules and regulations or amend, alter, and/or repeal any rule, as it finds necessary.
La Belle Cemetery 700 E Grove St Oconomowoc, WI 53066 (262) 569-9217 [email protected]