NORTH HOLLYWOOD : Ice Chalet Plans to Close Permanently

One of the oldest ice skating rinks in the San Fernando Valley has informed its patrons that it will permanently close its doors Sunday.

The Ice Chalet at the Laurel Plaza shopping mall in North Hollywood was damaged and closed temporarily after the Northridge earthquake, but reopened in October, one of few parts of the mall to bounce back after the disaster. The rink originally opened in 1968.

Patrons said they would meet at the rink Saturday morning to plan a protest of the closure. Some said the announcement came abruptly and without any explanation other than that provided on flyers sent this week to customers.

The flyers say that Ice Chalet has “lost its lease” on the property on Laurel Canyon Boulevard near Victory Boulevard and will close Sunday.

“There has been a great loss to the community,” said Gayle McKenna, a North Hollywood resident and mother of an aspiring 9-year-old figure skater. “It gave the children a place to go after school, and a place to enjoy sports. It’s been there for I don’t know how long, and the company that bought the lease apparently has no regard for what the community needs or wants.”

Actress Lorna Patterson, whose daughter skated at the rink before the quake forced her coach to move, said the Ice Chalet’s closing will be a loss for the community.

“There are so few places for kids to go, it’s sad to lose another one,” said Patterson. “There are a lot of children who really thought of that place as a home. It’s never going to be back.”

The property owners, Forest City Enterprises, did not return repeated phone messages. Ice Chalet officials and employees refused to comment.

Since 1986, Forest City has sought city permission to demolish the 26-year-old mall and build a new shopping center at the site. Despite conditional approval from the Los Angeles Planning Commission, the city has delayed approval of Forest City’s plans, which would double the size of the current mall, include three new anchor stores and increase parking.

A spokesman for Councilman Joel Wachs, in whose district the rink is located, said the councilman is reluctant to approve the plans, in part because it would mean the loss of the recreation value provided by the ice rink.

“Our position is, in any new mall that is built, Joel would do whatever is in his power to make sure it includes a new ice rink,” said Tom Henry, Wachs’ planning deputy.

“But the operative words are: ‘whatever is in his power,’ ” Henry added. “By law, the rink is part of a retail center where someone’s making a profit.”

Other issues Wachs is concerned about include increased traffic and security and parking problems that might be posed by doubling the size of the mall, Henry said.