Diamond Bar Fence to Go, Roads to Come

The six-foot-tall chain-link fence and wooden barricades stretching across Grand Avenue have reminded passers-by of the city’s defiant stance against cars coming from the east.

At times, the structures have served as an emotional rallying point for citizens groups and politicians.

Next year, they’ll be removed.

That’s welcome news to San Bernardino County, which after locking horns with Diamond Bar over the issue for months, has agreed to drop a suit against the city and pay $1.2 million for extra traffic signals and other road improvements in Diamond Bar so cars can pass through it to and from the rapidly growing community of Chino Hills.

The settlement, reached Monday, ended a longstanding, bitter dispute that centered on the barricades, which were placed just a few feet inside the Los Angeles County line amid concerns that a single road through Diamond Bar would exacerbate already serious traffic problems there.

Under the agreement, San Bernardino County will pay for construction to extend Chino Hills Parkway northwest. The highway is expected to siphon traffic from Grand Avenue. In addition, the county said it will limit development in Chino Hills to 25,810 housing units, and lift that ceiling only with Diamond Bar’s approval.

“We ended up with a very good deal for Diamond Bar,” said Councilman Gary Miller, who negotiated for the city. “We don’t have litigation staring at us in the face anymore.” Miller said the total for construction and improvements promised by San Bernardino County is “close to $10 million.”

Had the case gone to court, Miller said, “we would not have had the funds to improve Chino Hills Parkway or Grand Avenue.” He continued, “Now we have those funds. This is much better than going through a trial.”

The five months of bargaining have exhausted Diamond Bar. Shortly after its voters approved cityhood in March, San Bernardino County sued, seeking a court order to tear down blockades ordered erected by Los Angeles County Supervisor Pete Schabarum. San Bernardino County officials said the barricades illegally obstructed a public right of way.

Under the 24-page agreement, Diamond Bar promises to remove the fence and barricades on Sept. 1, 1990, provided that San Bernardino County has completed construction of Chino Hills Parkway from Grand Avenue to the county line.

In addition, that county must proceed with construction of another part of Chino Hills Parkway, from Scenic Ridge Drive in Pomona to Chino Avenue, and try to complete that segment by July 31, 1990. At the same time, Diamond Bar will build its part of the parkway, from Chino Avenue to the county line.

The county and city also agreed to cooperate in building Tonner Canyon Parkway, proposed to run north-south through Orange and San Bernardino counties, crossing Grand Avenue and connecting with Chino Hills Parkway in Diamond Bar. Both sides will jointly develop plans for Soquel Canyon Parkway, which is proposed to connect southern Chino Hills with the Corona Expressway.

The roads are expected to relieve some of the traffic from Grand Avenue, which provides a direct route between Chino Hills and the Pomona Freeway. When officials went to the bargaining table earlier this year to try to resolve the Grand Avenue impasse, they often disagreed over the timing of the removal of the fence, and the terms of construction on Chino Hills Parkway.

San Bernardino County Supervisor Larry Walker, who represents Chino Hills, said Diamond Bar originally opposed the extension of Grand Avenue altogether and wanted the barricades to remain in place permanently.

“The fact is, they refused to negotiate,” Walker said. “They said from the beginning they wanted Grand Avenue to be a cul-de-sac.”

Miller and Diamond Bar Mayor Phyllis Papen said they always acknowledged that Grand Avenue had to open eventually, and that negotiations were stalled because Walker at first did not offer to pay for the entire cost of traffic signals, turn lanes, signing, stripping and other improvements.

“The council (members) have all been supportive of the road opening,” Papen said. “We considered it an issue of safety for the people of Diamond Bar versus the convenience of the people of Chino Hills.”

A San Bernardino County study completed in January by the traffic engineering firm Kunzman Associates predicted serious traffic congestion on Diamond Bar streets from the extension of Grand Avenue and the rapid growth of Chino Hills. Without any road improvements, traffic on Grand Avenue would reach 38,100 vehicles a day, 127% of the road’s designated capacity, according to the report. Even with mitigation measures, such as more signals, traffic would exceed the road’s capacity by 5%.

Fees Set Aside

When the study was released, Walker announced that San Bernardino County had set aside $400,000 in developer fees for payments to Diamond Bar to mitigate the impact of more cars. But the $1.2-million settlement--$800,000 more than originally offered--was not a steep compromise on the county’s part, he said.

A month after the study was released, a Diamond Bar residents’ group, Stop Grand Avenue Expressway Committee, sued San Bernardino County seeking an injunction blocking the opening of the extension, which the group believed would create gridlock in their community.

The plaintiffs also argued that San Bernardino County’s construction of roads and other infrastructure improvements has failed to keep pace with residential development as required by the Chino Hills Specific Plan. At the time, more than 30% of the homes planned for Chino Hills were already in place, but only 10% of the roadwork envisioned in the Specific Plan had been completed.

Because of the imbalance, the suit alleged, commuters using the Pomona and Orange freeways would pour onto Diamond Bar streets via Grand Avenue.

Gary Lawson, founder of the committee, said Tuesday his group will probably drop its suit as a result of Monday’s settlement. But, he added, he believes that the addition of Chino Hills Parkway “would actually add to traffic on Grand Avenue.”

“It connects Grand Avenue to about 5,000 new houses,” Lawson said. “That’s 10,000 new cars. The minute Grand Avenue opens (traffic congestion) will go to the worst possible level.”