A speculative twist has emerged in the 54-year-old use variance for the Culver City Ice Arena that suddenly was found last week.
If early reports by legal sources are true, what previously looked advantageous for those thousands seeking to re-open the now-closed rink, the new edge may belong to Planet Granite, the Bay Area company that signed a lease on Dec. 23 to go into business on the grounds of the presumed ex-rink by June 1.
Legal estimation this morning was that the 1960 variance may be of the type that says its conditions – that the property only may be utilized as an ice rink – expire if the land goes entirely unused for one year.
While sources say that a year-of-silence condition “is highly unlikely,” the case presently is being reviewed at City Hall.
The landlords on the 49-year ground lease in April 1960 were Sam and Julia Karagozian, the parents of the present landlord, Mike Karagozian, a Fresno-based lawyer.
The lease was recorded against the real property and is a matter of public record. The use variance is a condition of the lease, and if the city didn’t grant the variance the lease was void.
“You would have thought,” said a source familiar with City Hall, “that the landlord whose family signed the lease would have mentioned the existence of the variance to the broker in this latest deal and to Planet Granite, the prospective lessees.
“On the other hand,” she ventured, “maybe Mr. Karagozian did.”
