Repairing Vandalized Fence on Hwy 74 is Complex Issue

Holes cut in a fence bordering the south side of Highway 74 in Romoland allows dangerous pedestrian traffic onto a busy street.

Menifee city officials are investigating a complex jurisdictional issue to determine which entity has responsibility for maintaining a mile-long stretch of chain link fence running along the south side of Highway 74 in the Romoland community.

The fence borders inactive railroad tracks on a heavily traveled stretch of Highway 74 from Interstate 215 east to Antelope Road. Originally constructed by the now-defunct Riverside County Redevelopment Agency, the fence was designed partially as a barrier in front of the railroad tracks and as a deterrent to foot traffic across the highway in areas where there are no crosswalks.

The north side of Highway 74 in that area is primarily industrial and commercial, but there is a small market and other small businesses that attract customers from the neighborhood in a triangular area bordered by Highway 74, Sherman Road and Ethanac Road. Vandals have cut and torn holes in the fence in several spots along the fence, allowing pedestrians to cross over the vacant railroad tracks and attempt a potentially dangerous run across the highway.

"The fence was built for reasons of safety and aesthetics -- to keep people off the railroad tracks and from going across the street at that point," said Menifee City Council member John Denver, whose disrict includes that area of Romoland. "In my opinion, it's a very dangerous activity to go across Highway 74 in that area. I think we have, at minimum, a moral responsibility to keep the fence in repair."

So far, there has not been a resolution of the attempts to determine the party responsible for making repairs in the fence. Denver has asked for a council discussion on this for months and that discussion took place at the Dec. 17 meeting. At that time, the council instructed city staff to research and identify all involved parties for the purposes of reaching a solution.

The Redevelopment Agency was dissolved in accordance with state legislation in 2012. At that point, the Riverside County Economic Development Agency became the successor agency. City Manager Rob Johnson said at the Dec. 17 meeting that preliminary research showed that the RDA provided the EDA with 20 fence panels to be used for ongoing maintenance.

According to Johnson, all those panels have been used for 20 repairs in the fence since then. Only twice was the fence damaged by a vehicle accident, he said. The rest of the repairs were made because of vandalism, he said, at a total cost of $16,498.

"The RDA and EDA are out of money, so the fence will not be repaired again by the county," Johnson said.

Before deciding whether to assume liability for maintenance of the fence, Menifee city officials want to examine the relationship between the railroad -- which owns the right of way -- and any other agencies that may be involved. Johnson said that in their preliminary research, city officials discovered information leading them to believe that Valley-Wide Recreation and Parks District receives assessment designated for maintenance of that area.

Valley-Wide General Manager Dean Wetter said he is unaware of any responsibility Valley-Wide has in that area other than a small area near Eller Park, which is located at the far east end of the area in question.

Denver said this week that research and discussion regarding the project continues.