Updated 09:28 p.m., Monday, July 16, 2012
SFGate:
The only outdoor shooting range in San Francisco is being evicted by the city after failing to reach a new lease agreement with the Public Utilities Commission.
The Pacific Rod and Gun Club, located on the southwestern shore of Lake Merced, has leased 4 acres on a month-to-month agreement for 78 years, but PUC officials say the sweetheart deal is over.
"We basically said 'we need to bring you into a modern lease,' " said Steve Ritchie, the PUC assistant general manager for water enterprise. "I don't think we intend to negotiate any further."
The two sides failed to agree to new lease terms by the July 9 deadline and the club was given an eviction notice Friday, ending the $4,700-a-month lease.
For the club to have stayed, a "modern lease," would require more liability insurance, compliance with the city's antidiscrimination laws, and would give the city a 50/50 share when the club subleases its land, as it did for parking at the U.S. Open golf tournament in June.
Ritchie said the club netted $50,000 for parking, while the city didn't get a dime.
"It's not appropriate for the club to sublease out the property for other purposes and take that revenue," he said.
The new lease would also show that the club has expanded its operations to 14 acres of land.
Founded in 1928, the nearly 400-member club has fought with the city for years over how to clean up soil that has been contaminated by lead bullets and clay pigeons with toxic chemicals until the club stopped using them in 1994. The city says cleanup will cost more than $10.5 million and wants the club to help pay the bill, while the club supports a solution that would cost only about half that much.
The Recreation and Park Department oversaw the club's lease since 1950, but the environmental concerns prompted the PUC to take over the lease in May.
"We're not doing anything with the rod and gun club that we'd do differently with anyone else on our land," PUC spokesman Tyrone Jue said.
Club spokesman Fred Tautenhahn said negotiations with the PUC had been going well and called the eviction notice a "power play."
"We are not going to put our tail between our legs and walk away, we're going to put up a good fight," he said.
The club is open three days a week for six hours a day for shooting, Tautenhahn said. It also offers gun-safety lessons, has been a training ground for Olympic hopefuls, and provides an affordable rental hall for charity events.
"It's not just a bunch of older guys shooting shotguns," he said.
The club has explored finding a new shooting location in the city, but Tautenhahn said that's nearly impossible in San Francisco's political culture.
"Whenever you mention anything about guns, you get a door slammed in your face," he said.
Supervisor Sean Elsbernd, whose district is home to the club, said he recognizes that the club does a lot of good, but the eviction notice came as no surprise.
"The PUC has been doing leaps and bounds trying to work cooperatively with them," Elsbernd said. "It has not proved fruitful."
Elsbernd and PUC officials both doubt that the club can afford the millions it may eventually need to pay for the lead-cleanup costs, making the club's future all the more uncertain even if it were to agree to the city's new interim lease.
James Arnold, an attorney for the club, declined to comment on the club's finances. He said he was hopeful that the club and the city could still reach a lease agreement before eviction.
"Water bills are going up, sewer bills are going up, and we need that money," Elsbernd said. "Using that revenue to subsidize their responsibilities is not something that I think is justifiable."
Neal J. Riley is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. E-mail: nriley@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @realdealneal
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