The dispute between developer Dr. David Lee of Jamison Services and the community group Save Liberty Park.org, which is trying to preserve the open green space at Liberty Park in Koreatown, took a bizarre turn last week, as reported last night by Tim Deegan in CityWatchLA.
“It got ugly at a meeting hosted by City Council President Herb Wesson (CD 10) a few days ago, where he was attempting to bring both sides of a development dispute together — community stakeholders and the developer — in an attempt to reach consensus. The dispute, that led to a threat of assault weapon violence by the developer, Dr. David Lee of Jamison Services, has pitted some of the Koreatown community against a major K’town developer.”
Save Liberty Park.org recently filed an application for Historic Cultural Monument status for the Beneficial Life Plaza and Liberty Park, located at 3700 Wilshire Blvd., after Lee applied to build a 36-story, 506 unit mixed-use residential tower with low-scale, two-story retail space on the site.
The landmark application won support of the City’s Cultural Heritage Commission, and is currently waiting for approval by the City Council’s Planning and Land Use Management Committee. Last week, the Buzz reported the committee postponed a vote on the application, but it is expected to take the matter up again at its meeting today, the last day for action before the application will die.
Supporters of the application have been working with City Council President Herb Wesson’s office to secure a commitment from him, citing the overwhelming support of the community, park advocates and local preservationists. As of this writing, organizers told the Buzz they are planning to demonstrate support for the project at today’s meeting. The Buzz will be there and will report the results.
