Eviction Notice Served for Studio City Golf Course : Law: The owners of the property have sought a way out of a ‘miserable’ 1955 lease. A court battle is expected.

Operators of the Studio City Golf Course have been served an eviction notice by the property’s owners, initiating what both sides agree will probably become a lengthy legal wrangle over the property.

The Weddington Investment Partnership served the golf course--a 17.2-acre swath of green near the intersection of Whitsett Avenue and Ventura Boulevard--a 30-day termination of tenancy notice July 15, said Los Angeles attorney Jerald Gale, who is representing the partnership.

Local golfers have nothing to fear, however, said an attorney representing the golf course.

“We’re not going to move out,” said John Clayman, predicting that when the 30 days were over, the case would wind up in court.

The property’s owners have for years searched for a way out of a “miserable” lease signed in 1955 that brought in just $1,000 a month on 17.2 acres of prime urban real estate, according to co-owner Guy Weddington McCreary.

He said he believes his partnership will be able to nullify the lease because the golf course has been operating nearly a decade without a conditional use permit. The partners have claimed the original contract with the golf course requires it to have a current conditional use permit.

Shortly after the discovery of the expired permit in June, the partnership put the property on the market for $10 million, saying it was entitled to a “fair market price” for the land.

Area real estate experts have called the asking price a bargain, and Studio City realtor Mort Allen said several developers and golf course operators have expressed interest.

While attorneys for the golf course admitted Friday that its conditional use permit had indeed expired in May, 1985, they insisted that the expiration did not in any way nullify the lease, which, under the original contract, stretches to the year 2005.

“The very plain language of that contract says the city must refuse to renew or extend the (conditional use permit)” in order for the lease to be nullified, said attorney Larry Iser. “The city never has, and we believe they never will.”

In fact, the golf course has now applied for a new permit, Iser said, adding that the application will likely appear before city zoning officials in October.