Back Rent Sought for Equestrian Center : Parks: Gibraltar officials insist the $1-million debt was incurred by previous operators.

The Los Angeles Board of Recreation and Parks Commissioners voted Monday to seek from Gibraltar Savings nearly $1 million in back rent for the Los Angeles Equestrian Center.

But the five-member panel agreed to negotiate with Gibraltar on the debt, noting that forcing immediate repayment might hinder a Burbank developer’s proposal to purchase the center.

The board said Gibraltar inherited the debt when it foreclosed on the facility’s previous operator, Equestrian Centers of America Inc. in April, 1988. Since the takeover, Gibraltar has kept current its rent payments to the city of Los Angeles, which owns the 70-acre equestrian center site in Griffith Park.

But Gibraltar, placed in receivership by the federal government in March, 1989, has not paid $836,109 in back rent owed the city, said Shirley Andrews, a Los Angeles parks official. The back rent was accumulated between 1981 and 1988, according to three audits conducted by the city controller’s office, Andrews said.

Cliff Meyer, an attorney representing Gibraltar, argued during Monday’s board meeting that Gibraltar is not responsible for the debt.

“We disagree that Gibraltar owes any money,” Meyer said. “None of this money was incurred during any period . . . Gibraltar has occupied the equestrian center. It was all incurred by the prior operator.”

If the board insists on collecting the money, Meyer said, it could ruin negotiations with a potential buyer for the center.

Del Rey Properties, a Burbank development company, is currently seeking to buy the equestrian complex from Gibraltar. The park board is scheduled to consider the Del Rey proposal at its next meeting Feb. 26.

Board President J. Stanley Sanders, board member Richard Riordan, and Parks Administrator Sheldon Jensen agreed to meet with Gibraltar officials and federal regulators before the board’s next meeting to try to work out a settlement of the outstanding debt.

“We’re all interested in reaching an agreeable compromise,” Jensen said.

It has cost the savings and loan more than $1 million to operate the center since it took it over from the prior operator, Gibraltar officials said. Gibraltar was seized by federal regulators in March in the wake of heavy losses stemming in part from its commercial real estate troubles.

In December, Gibraltar laid off 40 employees of the equestrian center and scaled back services while it looked for a buyer.