Despite the fact that Culver City leaders voted last year to decommission its iconic ice rink diehard supporters continued to hold out hope that it could be reopened again.
Those hopes were dashed – perhaps once and for all- when the City Council voted to change the zoning around the closed Culver Ice Arena on Dec. 15 in order to allow two new tenants to move into a portion of the rink.
One of the tenants will be tool and home improvement store Harbor Freight Tools, which has been seeking to build at the location for nearly a year.
The unanimous 5-0 vote allows the city to change the 17, 225 square foot parcel where Harbor Freight will be moving into from a residential to a commercial zone.
A February 2014 municipal report found that the rink’s refrigeration system was “at or near the end of its useful life” and the owner of the property, Mike Karagozian, has indicated that he was not willing to take the necessary steps to safely decommission the ice rink. The rink had been in sever disrepair for years and Karagozin had been unable to find a tenant before city officials learned of the rink’s structural problems.
The February report also uncovered that fact that anhydrous ammonia— colorless, highly irritating gas with a sharp, suffocating odor— was underneath the rink. The city decommissioned the rink later that year.
Walter Lamb was one of three speakers who urged to council not to change the zoning around the arena. “You have the discretion to say no to this rezoning, no matter what excuses you have been given. And that’s what I would ask you to do for the benefit of the community,” Lamb said.
Culver City Chamber of Commerce President Steven Rose said the rink no longer exists so a zoning change made sense.
Rose, a former Culver City mayor, said the council was wise to designate the building as historic last year, preserving its value.
“Without a zoning change, the economic viability of that building would be zero,” Rose said. “The best way to maintain the historic integrity of that building is to grant the zoning change.”
Councilwoman Meghan-Sahli Wells said it was a sad event that the area around the rink would be rezoned but the reality was City Hall had done all that it could do with the decommissioned rink. “Our family used to skate there, although not as much as other families. It’s really said. But the fact remains that this is private property and the city doesn’t have the wherewithal to buy the property,” she said. “It’s time to turn the page.”
City Councilman Jim Clarke added that a home improvement store could generate a significant amount of revenue through sales tax for the city’s general fund.