On Memorial Day, Robert Lau went to visit Mountain View, the historic Oakland cemetery where several of his family members are buried and others have paid a hefty price to be interred in the future.

Lau said he observed dogs running off leash, trampling over graves. Teens and young adults were playing baseball on top of plots. Others were drinking alcohol. There was a loud jam session going with drums and acoustic guitars.

Lau was furious and blamed what he called an ongoing problem on Mountain View’s active promotion of the 223-acre sprawling oasis as a public park — which he says has come at the expense of those who deserve a dignified and peaceful final resting place for their loved ones.

“It’s resulted in activities that are outrageous and painful to those of us who have family members interred,” Lau said. “I’m re-thinking my plans to buy there and be with my family. Do I want to be in a place where dogs are going to be pooping all over me?”

At issue is whether Mountain View, a private, nonprofit cemetery, should be encouraging the space to be a community gathering place for members of the public, or whether it should have more restricted access to those seeking funeral services or visiting someone buried there.

People come from all over to enjoy the serenity of the beautiful grounds designed by Frederick Olmsted, the architect of Central Park in New York City. They hike the hilly walking paths and take in stunning unobstructed views of San Francisco Bay and Mount Tamalpais.

Which, says Jeff Lindeman, general manager for the Mountain View Cemetery Association, is as it should be.

“We’re a nonprofit, and we want a good relationship with the community by giving people a place to visit in a garden-like setting,” Lindeman said. “That said, people need to observe proper decorum.”

He said most visitors are respectful of the fact that Mountain View is a cemetery where more than 163,000 people are buried, but a relatively small number misbehave. That includes those who don’t keep their dogs on leashes as required or allow them to wander off the marked paths onto burial plots.

In response to Lau’s complaints, Lindeman said cemetery officials set out new sandwich board-style signs near the cemetery entrance and at other select locations about three weeks ago. They have also instructed Bay Alarm, which patrols the grounds, to step up its enforcement. That includes giving brochures explaining the rules to owners caught with dogs off leash and escorting them off the premises.

Three months ago, the cemetery installed speed bumps to slow down fast-traveling cars, which was a major improvement, according to Dorian Laird, an Oakland resident who often walks the grounds for exercise.

“Before, you’d see some carload of teens flying through, and there’d be people with their babies and sometimes elderly people walking along taking their time and taking in the view,” Laird said. “It was really disturbing.”

But Lau said cemetery officials haven’t done enough to stop behavior that is painful for families visiting loved ones and disrespectful of the dead. He has filed a complaint with the Department of Consumer Affairs’ Cemetery and Funeral Bureau. The funeral bureau, which licenses and regulates private cemeteries, has 90 days to complete its investigation.

He’s further contacted the trustees who oversee the cemetery, Oakland, Piedmont, Alameda County and state government officials, as well as news agencies. Lau said he got in touch with Piedmont Mayor Jeff Wieler because teens from that city are the ones causing most of the problems, which Wieler disputed via email. The mayor told Lau the cemetery is not in Piedmont’s jurisdiction and invited him to present his concerns at a Piedmont City Council meeting.

“First of all why would anyone want to walk a dog in a cemetery?” Lau said. “If you challenge them, they want to challenge you to a fistfight or duel you to death because they think they have a right to walk a dog on a gravesite or play football on a gravesite.”

Lau wants dogs banned altogether, as they were in Mountain View before the rules changed in 1997.

That struck a sour note with dog owners.

“Oh My God, it’s a beautiful place to come, and I think if I were buried here I would rather it be a place for people in the community to visit rather than a somber place,” said Jane Fisher, an Oakland resident who was walking her dog, Lovina, on leash one recent morning. “I just don’t want a few bad behavers to screw everything up for everybody.”

Dane Fairfield brings his dog, Duke, to the cemetery about four times a week and said he sometimes sees other owners letting their pets roam among gravesites. “He wants to smell the headstones, but I keep him off of them out of respect,” the Oakland resident said.

Lau said that in the absence of a ban, he wants Mountain View to at least enforce the existing dog rules.

“I wouldn’t be happy,” he said, “but I wouldn’t be as outraged as I am.”