West Hollywood

A long-running controversy over who should be responsible for maintaining a median strip in the center of Santa Monica Boulevard appeared to end last week with an agreement between Los Angeles County and the city of West Hollywood.

Under terms of an agreement worked out last week, the county will temporarily allow West Hollywood to clean and maintain the strip that extends from Croft Avenue to Doheny Drive.

Both the county and Southern Pacific Transportation own portions of the median, which once housed a railroad line. The county has sued the railroad to take possession of the strip, but the trial has been delayed until October.

Last May, the railroad allowed the West Hollywood Beautification Corporation, a group interested in maintaining the median strip, to clean it up just before the Olympic Games. But after the Games ended, the legal battle over the strip reportedly prevented continuing maintenance of the area. Neighbors and nearby shopkeepers began complaining to the city that the strip was becoming an eyesore.

According to the new agreement, the city acknowledges that its right to clean the area is temporary and that “its landscaping improvements may be of a temporary nature,” depending on the outcome of the lawsuit.

Recently, according to council members, the county began maintenance work on the strip and plans to charge its work--about $3,000--to the new city. One council aide said the city will probably hire a private firm to do any future work on the median.