Park District Board Votes to Close Chabot Gun Club

The East Bay Regional Park District Board of Directors voted unanimously Tuesday to close the Chabot Gun Club, granting the organization a 1-year lease extension to wind down operations.

The club has operated at Anthony Chabot Regional Park in the Oakland hills since the mid-1960s. But due to stricter environmental regulations and the gun club’s inability to pay the high cost of meeting those standards, the Park District Board agreed not to renew the club’s lease. Directors also cited the environmental impact of 50 years’ of lead contamination at the site and the Park District’s mission of environmental stewardship and public health. 

The Board heard almost five hours of public testimony and staff presentations before voting. Directors praised the club’s excellent safety record and role in providing recreation for generations of East Bay residents. 

Park District staff will now begin studying the most appropriate method of cleaning up the site, as well as future uses of the 65-acre parcel. Anthony Chabot Regional Park is a 3,314-acre parkland in the hills between Oakland and Castro Valley.

More information: Chabot Gun Club