>   -----Original Message-----
> From: Turner's Outdoorsman Newsletters
> Sent: Thursday, December 01, 2005
> To: Turner's Outdoorsman Hunt Reports
>
> San Gabriel Valley Gun Club's ranges could be closed next May
>
>     "The club's battle with the city was stopped short last May when
> Vulcan Materials, part owner of the club's land, communicated their
> desire to terminate the club's lease and served them an eviction notice."
>
>
> By ANNE KUETHEN
> Outdoor News Service
>       Mum's the word on the potential closing of an Azusa community
> fixture, the San Gabriel Valley Gun Club. The club has served Southern
> California shooters for nearly six decades and is frequented by close to
> 100,000 people per year.
>
> Now, due to a series of actions taken by the City
> of Azusa and Vulcan Materials of Azusa, a mining company that leases
> part of
> its lands to the club, the shooting range is slated for closing next
> May,
> ending its 58-year tenure on the property.
>       Maybe.
>
>       The first mention of the club's possible closing came at an
> Azusa
> City Council meeting in November, 2004. The city proposed a rezoning
> project
> that would declare the land the club operates on as "open space." The
> purpose of open space, as defined by the City of Azusa, is "to protect
> important natural resources by limited building within the mountains,
> foothills and river channels."
>       Xavier Hermosillo, a spokesman for the club, said they were not
> notified until late in the legal process that they would be displaced by
> the
> re-zoning.
>       Keith Hanks was a member of the planning commission at the time
> of
> the re-zoning proposal. Hanks said the commission, which was in charge
> of
> preparing the initial proposal, had no plans to redesignate the club's
> land.
> It was the city council, he says, that redefined the club's use of the
> land
> as "non-conforming."
>       Hanks has been a supporter of the club from the beginning of its
> battle with the city. In fact, Hermosillo and gun club supporters played
> a
> large part in getting him elected to the city council in March of this
> year.
>       "It's a shame if the gun club closes," he says, "I'd like to
> think
> of some way to keep it open."
>       Despite the city's actions to shut down the club, Hermosillo and
> the
> club owner Rick Tretter were not going to go down without a fight. They
> enlisted the assistance of the California Rifle and Pistol Association
> and
> had planned to launch litigation against the city, citing various
> illegal
> missteps that led to the Council's conclusion to rezone the land.
> Prominent among those missteps, according to Hermosillo is that club
> operators were not properly notified about the proposed rezoning until
> well
> into November, 2004 when the planning was in the advanced stages.
> Hermosillo
> said the club could not take proper action, a violation of their rights.
> In
> fact, he says, at the city council meeting at which he and other club
> supporters were allowed to voice their opinions and ask questions about
> the
> closing, they were shut down. Christina Madrid, who was then mayor,
> informed
> Hermosillo that they were allowed to speak under the public
> participation
> portion of the agenda but that their comments would not formally be
> considered as public testimony.
>       The club's battle with the city was stopped short last May when
> Vulcan Materials, part owner of the club's land, communicated their
> desire
> to terminate the club's lease and served them an eviction notice. Vulcan
> is
> a leading producer of construction aggregates and operates in the same
> area.
> Vulcan currently owns 30 percent of the land where the club operates,
> and it
> holds all the chips in this situation because the company has an 80-year
> right to dig in that area, a contract that extends until 2039. This
> allows
> them to continue to operate despite Azusa politicians desire for open
> space
> in that vicinity.
>       Vulcan's decision was terrible news to the club because it only
> owns
> 20 percent of the land it where it operates (with the largest portion --
> 50
> percent -- being owned by U.S. Army Corps of Engineers). City officials,
> including Hanks, have washed their hands of the mess, saying the issue
> was
> now a, "private matter between the gun club and Vulcan."
>       There is some suspicion on the behalf of Hermosillo and others,
> that
> Vulcan was gently prodded to terminate the club's lease. John Mustafa of
> the
> California Rifle and Pistol Association thinks the City has been
> encouraging
> Vulcan to renege on the lease. The notion may not be too far fetched
> because
> the city has leverage over Vulcan at this time. In the very near future,
> Vulcan will be submitting an application for a conditional use permit to
> add
> 80 acres to their digging, which would have to be approved by the city.
>       Mustafa cites this as a definite opportunity for the Azusa
> politicians to blackmail Vulcan into terminating the club's lease. While
> he
> admits he hasn't been able to pin down concrete evidence, there's plenty
> of
> smoke. City and Vulcan representatives have been in extensive
> communication.
> When Mustafa went to examine official city records concerning the club,
> a
> box of internal memos was conspicuously left out for him to see, which
> indicated communication between Azusa Mayor Diane Chagnon and Steve
> Coutler,
> an executive for Vulcan Materials. Chagnon, however, denies any
> communication with Vulcan about the gun club or any issues regarding it.
>       What is still unclear is why the politicians unmistakably want
> the
> club out of Azusa. Mustafa presumes that the city is concerned with the
> stigma attached to a community that houses a large shooting range. He
> admits
> though, it is a bit peculiar that the generally conservative area of
> Azusa
> would be terribly concerned with being struck with such a stigma.
>       Hermosillo is not so diplomatic calling the City's efforts, "a
> NIMBY, not-in-my-back-yard mentality."
>       "The city has an anti-anything productive attitude with an
> almost
> socialist view on life," said Hermosillo. He also alleges that former
> city
> manager for Azusa, Rick Cole, has an anti-gun bias and spearheaded the
> rezoning of the club. Hermosillo also believes that Cole is working to
> try
> to close another gun club in Ventura where he is now the city manager.
> Cole
> could not be reached for comment and did not return calls.
>       Despite Hermosillo's allegations, the city might have been
> listening
> to the voice of some its constituents, particularly those of the
> Mountain
> Cove residential community, where some residents said they were angered
> by
> the noise from the club's ranges. The club sees this as an
> unsubstantiated
> claim since it has never received a noise complaint and has done its
> best to
> reduce noise on its own, using baffles, screening, trees, and berms. To
> investigate, the club commissioned a noise study of the area and found
> that
> the sounds from the range could be placed on the same level as popping
> popcorn. Furthermore, the study found that the sounds of shooting at the
> club ranges was usually covered by the sound of cars, motorcycles,
> lawnmowers, and other normal neighborhood sounds.
>       Should the few Mountain Cove residents and local politicians get
> their wish and close the club in May, a large void would be left for
> Southern California shooters. The 58-year-old club is one of only 38
> remaining outdoor ranges in the southern half of the state, and the
> nearest
> range for most Orange County and Los Angeles basin shooters.
>       "It is one of the oldest, largest, most versatile operations in
> Southern California," according to Hermosillo. On its 65 acres, there
> are
> ranges for pistols, rifles, and shotguns, including skeet, combat, and
> moving target ranges. The club is a practice facility not only for
> regular
> citizens, but also many law enforcement and military organizations.
> Patrons
> include officials from Homeland Security, Coast Guard, FBI, Bureau of
> Prisons, local police, CHP, City of Arcadia SWAT and even Los Angeles
> Zoo
> personnel.
>       With such widespread professional use, the club surely has a
> viable
> function, according to Hermosillo. "The business does not only exist to
> provide training for many first responders, but also to provide access
> for
> the public to exercise their Second amendment rights," said Hermosillo.
>       Hermosillo is still hopeful, and club supporters are confident,
> that
> despite what appears to be the club's imminent closing, that it will
> remain
> operational. If Vulcan truly intends to deny renewal of the lease, one
> option is for the club to resituate itself on the land leftover. As it
> stands, shooters currently fire mostly northward but if they are forced
> to
> move, they would resituate the range on the easterly part of the land
> they
> lease from the U.S Army Corps. This would cause shooters to fire to the
> east, ironically causing more noise for residents in the area. Hanks,
> however sees this situation as unlikely: "I am not optimistic that they
> could do that."
>       Optimistic or not, this issue is far from settled.

its pretty much official.. they will be closing

Did that range have an underground tunnel with slide-up targets?

Quoted: Did that range have an underground tunnel with slide-up targets?

The targets at the 200 yard line is a berm.  You have to walk all the way around the range to access the trench, you raise and lower target on a steel frame from this trench.