Castle Rock Gun Club Project Stalls

The Santa Cruz Mountains’ Los Altos Rod And Gun Club's plan to build a 3,200 square-foot clubhouse on their Castle Rock property has turned into an environmental clean-up project after neighbors on the summit raised concerns over build-up of lead shells and noise problems.

At a Feb. 14 Santa Cruz County Board Of Supervisors hearing summit neighbors said they want both of these issues addressed before the club does anything that may increase shooting at the club's range. The club was unable to prove that they had cleaned up any shells since opening in 1955 at that meeting.

Neighbors restated those concerns at a second hearing on Tuesday.

Community for Life in the Mountains (CALM) member Steve Bronstein said residents are most worried about the area where members shoot clay pigeons with shotgun shells. As the pigeons degrade, the soil becomes more alkaline, making the shotgun pellets break down quicker. This puts the water supply in the area and downstream, including the San Lorenzo River, at risk, Bronstein said.

Soil tests conducted by county environmental health services officials found that lead pollution near the club was 22 times higher than national safety standard in January. County Environmental Health Services Program Manager Tim Fillmore continued testing in March after late winter storms. The results showed continued lead pollution, but Fillmore said the rain had dispersed some of the toxic build up.

“When it's not raining that is going to be the worst case scenario,” Fillmore said.

He said drinking water is not currently being contaminated, adding that the gun club has hired a consultant to address the problem. They have also put plans for a clubhouse on hold until this is completed. The Board scheduled a third hearing for Sep. 25 to check on progress of clean up and noise abatement efforts.

“Preparation of this plan, and remediation of off-site lead contamination is the top priority of the club at present,” said county planning department director Kathy Previsich in a May 8 letter to the board. “Representatives from the club have informed staff that this effort will, for the present time, require their full attention and resources.”

This means the club is prioritizing clean-up projects over noise impact solutions. Sound walls being installed was a huge concern with neighbors, and supervisor Mark Stone urged the club to attempt tackling both problems at least in part by the next hearing.

Sierra Climbing, Inc. also uses the land next to the shooting range for climbing classes. President Zeke Fedderman said he is not opposed to the gun club being there and has rarely noticed the noise from shooters.

"As long as they clean up after themselves I don't see a problem with it," he said. "It's easy for people to say, 'Guns are loud,' or 'Rock climbers put bolts in rocks.' But we have to be very careful, because it's easy then for the government to say, [the area is] closed and have no user groups at all."

Bronstein added that many of his neighbors own guns and that he respects the sporting aspect of gun clubs.

Previsich said in the letter that further samples must be taken to confirm the extent of contamination.

Los Altos Rod and Gun Club representatives did not respond to Patch's request for a comment, but contacted CALM members last Friday.

“I am extremely disturbed that there has not been significant contact between the gun club and residents since our last meeting,” Board Of Supervisors Chairperson John Leopold said. “We expect that the gun club will not wait until days before our next meeting to do this, and hope those conversations are fruitful.”