IRVINE
Residents seeking last-minute assistance to keep the financially ailing Irvine Ice Arena from closing were met Tuesday with some sympathy but mostly silence from the City Council.
Nearly a dozen arena supporters pleaded with the council to intervene in the sale of the property to University Synagogue. The rink’s owners, who lost their lease in February after falling behind on their $24,000-per-month rent, petitioned the council to rezone the site to prevent religious uses such as synagogues.
City Atty. Joel Kuperberg warned council members early this month that they could expose the city--and themselves--to a lawsuit by interfering with the sale.
The council heeded Kuperberg’s advice and remained fairly quiet on the arena’s closure. Council members did, however, recommend that the rink’s operators look for ways to move once the synagogue takes over the property.
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