GATE CLOSING PROCEDURES: April 2024

  1. OVF members receive 8 hours of community service credit for successfully completing one week of gate closing.
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  2. All gates and sheds are locked at sunset. View all of this year's gate closing times here.
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  3. Members may sign up for a maximum of 2 one-week gate closing assignments. (Sign up sheets are initially posted in the main shed during the last Saturday Workday in December.)
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  4. Gate closers are to arrive at the garden before sunset and walk the property and give any members present polite notice the gates will be locked at sunset.
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  5. The gates and sheds to be locked nightly are:
    • The tool shed and wheelbarrow shed located between Phase I and II. (Slide the latch all the way to the right and make sure the door does not lift up.)
    • Gate at the bottom of the orchard along Centinela Avenue
    • Four gates at the top of Phases I, II and III along the parking area
    • Double gate at the top of the garden near the stable waste bins
    • Both the shredder shed and chipper shed in the lower compost area
    • The three gates along the Phase IV fence.
    • Tool shed located at the bottom of Phase IV
    • Main gate (driveway) on Centinela Avenue. (Wrap the chain around the two gates and put the lock through the eyebolt to secure the lock.)
     
  6. OVF shares the property with Little League. During Little League season (February - June), and whenever LL volunteers are present the gate closer must do the following:
      ✔ Once the garden is secure find a responsible Little League volunteer (usually someone in the snack bar) and remind them that they must lock the driveway gate.
      ✔ Get the name of the person you spoke with.
      ✔ Make sure that the lock on the driveway gate is unlocked as you leave.
     
  7. The City of Los Angeles occasionally allows film crews to use the parking facilities on the property. Follow the same procedures as for Little League.
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AS REPRESENTATIVES OF OVF, GATE CLOSERS SHOULD ALWAYS BE POLITE

If a garden member gives you trouble about leaving, get his or her plot number, perhaps their name, and report this to the Gate Closing Monitor . Members may receive a citation from either the Garden Master or Chair for refusing to leave in a prompt manner when notified by the Gate Closer. Please avoid confrontations.

If you cannot honor your commitment to close the gates, it is up to you to find a replacement. The replacement must be a garden member. Once you have a substitute, email the Gate Closing Monitor with the replacement closer’s name and contact info. There is a list of Back-up Gate Closers posted in the main shed.

Thank you for your service in keeping OVF safe and secure.

NOTICE to GARDEN MEMBERS May 2024

Per OVF’s By-laws, the gates close nightly at sunset.

Garden members must finish their tasks when notified by the GATE CLOSER that the gates will be locked shortly. Gardeners must be prepared to leave the garden at sunset. Refusing to leave or otherwise arguing or acting discourteously with the gate closer, may result in a citation.

Little League volunteers or film crews may be staying after sunset. THIS DOES NOT GIVE PERMISSION for OVF members to do the same! Our volunteer GATE CLOSERS ARE REQUIRED TO LOCK THE GARDEN AT SUNSET.

New annual gate closing sign-up sheets are posted in the Main Garden Shed at the last General Meeting in December.

To reach the Gate Closing Monitor, please click here.