SOUTH BAY NEWS : Korean War Monument Clears Major Hurdle : Memorial: San Pedro wraps up paperwork after seven years of debate on project honoring veterans. Plan needs approval of state Coastal Commission.

After more than seven years of sometimes nasty debate, the Korean War Veterans Memorial Committee has cleared one of the last remaining hurdles to creating a monument in San Pedro to veterans of that war.

At a recent public hearing, William E. Lillenberg, associate zoning administrator for the city, ordered a few minor changes in the city’s application for the memorial on four acres in Angels Gate Park, and said the paperwork is finally ready to submit to the state Coastal Commission for approval.

“The nit-picking is over with,” said Rick Seward, past president of the memorial committee. “There are men in this room with scars on their hearts and scars on their bodies who deserve this memorial.”

The memorial was first approved by the parks commission in 1987, but criticism from the community sparked considerable changes to its first configuration, which had huge bronze soldiers aiming guns at the enemy. Neighbors said the monument was too big and the image too violent.

They also complained that it was inappropriate to have such a statue near the Korean Friendship Bell, a symbol of goodwill given to the city by the people of South Korea. And 30-foot-high lighting for statues would be a garish intrusion on the ocean vista, area residents said.

In response to these and other concerns, the monument will comprise life-sized statues of men and one woman in the lull of battle and will be placed on a site between two World War I batteries near the Ft. McArthur Military Museum.

The city Parks Department will add ground-level security lighting and consider changing the proposed landscaping so ocean views are not blocked.

“We think this is good,” said parks spokesman David L. Connetta. “There have been many changes to the original design, but we believe the meaning and the spirit of the project remains intact. It has become an even better project than originally proposed.”

The memorial committee still needs to obtain a city building permit before getting the final green light on the project. That approval could come in March or April, said John Elliott, the committee’s administrative services director. After that, another four months are needed to construct the monument, he said.

The committee had hoped to have the monument dedicated by July 17, 1993, the 40th anniversary of the war. Now it is shooting for the end of 1994.

The biggest leap--raising $2.5 million for the maintenance of the memorial once it is built--still looms, he said. “But, frankly, that’s a lot easier when you have a dedication,” Elliott said.