The Pacific Rod & Gun Club at Lake Merced has been mired in drama over its lease and its future for years. It shut down operations last April after 80 years of shooting when the city ended its lease, and now, according to the San Francisco Chronicle, a request for proposals has been released for the site that doesn't seem open to welcoming the shooting club back.
The city is almost finished with a $22 million cleanup of the lake, and its vision for the site asks for creative proposals for recreational activities that "would not adversely impact the watershed, wildlife,and other recreational uses." That doesn't mean that there aren't people trying to bring back skeet shooting to the lake. A proposal from one group calls for a large outdoor complex that includes a fitness park, a ropes course and climbing tower, a gardening education center, and a skeet shooting complex. However, the Chronicle notes that the group behind the proposal likely doesn't have the experience and financial capacity that the city is looking for in an operator.
San Francisco Rec and Park is managing the process even as cleanup work on the old gun site continues. More than 70 trucks a day have been required to drive away contaminated soil. The work will be complete in February, and a new tenant is expected to be chosen by next summer.
· Pacific Rod and Gun Club Drama Continues [Curbed SF]
· S.F.'s Vision for Lake Merced Appears to Exclude Gun Club [SF Chronicle]