Fairfax : Park Labrea Assn. Leader

David Hamlin, a partner in a public relations firm and former VISTA volunteer, has been named president of the Park Labrea Tenants Assn.

Hamlin worked as a community organizer in Chicago and other cities before moving to Park Labrea six years ago.

He will be replacing Paul Ash, a computer consultant who founded the Tenants Assn. two years ago and saw its numbers grow from a handful of neighbors in his living room to a group with a membership of more than 2,000 people. The association is fighting the management of the 4,200-unit apartment complex over who is to pay for a $3-million-plus fencing and gating system.

The tenants association has appealed to the Los Angeles Rent Stabilization Board to thwart an effort by Forest City Enterprises Inc., which manages Park Labrea and owns a half-interest in it, to pass on to the tenants the cost of the fencing program, which was installed last year.

A ruling is expected shortly, according to a spokesman for the rent board.