Local News in Brief : Fence Now a Barrier Between 2 Counties

San Bernardino County has filed suit to force Los Angeles County officials to remove a fence and other barriers placed across Grand Avenue in Diamond Bar.

Supervisor Pete Schabarum ordered the installation of a chain-link fence and barricades Feb. 24 at the boundary of the two counties, where an extension of the road is scheduled to open next month into Chino Hills, a rapidly growing community in San Bernardino County. Complaining that traffic from the area would threaten public safety in Diamond Bar, Schabarum said the fence would remain until San Bernardino County builds additional roads serving Chino Hills to divert traffic from Grand Avenue.

In its suit, San Bernardino County insists that Los Angeles County had no right to construct the barricades. “It’s a public road,” Deputy County Counsel Paul St. John said Monday.

Schabarum believes the Riverside County Superior Court suit has no basis, according to his press deputy, Judy Hammond. “If he felt we were not on firm legal standing, (the barriers) would not have been authorized in the first place,” she said.