SAN DIEGO, Updated 9:11 a.m. PST January 11, 2001 -- San Diego's Human Relations Commission voted Wednesday to recommend that the city terminate its lease agreements with the Boy Scouts because the club discriminates against gays.

The Boy Scouts lease 16 acres in Balboa Park from the city for $1 a year and a half-acre on Fiesta Island at no cost. They are seeking 50-year extensions to both leases, which expire in 2007 and 2012, respectively.

The Human Relations Commission voted 9-2 to recommend that the city sever those leases. The commission cited the city's Human Dignity Ordinance, which bans discrimination based on sexual orientation.

"The bottom line is that the Boy Scouts openly discriminate," Commissioner Randa Trapp said. "They don't apologize for it -- they don't have to apologize for it. It's a free country."

"The issue that we are faced with as a commission is whether that organization should be able to benefit by leasing city property for $1, and the answer is no," Trapp added.

Commissioner Ali Mojdehi, who voted against the resolution, said Boy Scouts "do serve a positive and useful function for society. I find this issue very difficult."

The recommendation will be forwarded to the City Council for consideration when the Boy Scouts' lease extension request comes up. That could be as early as this month, commission Executive Director Ashley Walker said.

Trapp said the Boy Scouts should be prepared for public entities to sever ties with them. The city of Los Angeles recently took such action.

"I think that when they made the decision that they were going to stick by this policy, they figured they would take their lumps," Trapp said. "I suggest we 'lump' them."

A U.S. Supreme Court ruling last June stated that the Boy Scouts have the right to exclude gays.

The city was waiting for such a ruling before proceeding on the question of whether to terminate the leases. While campaigning, Mayor Dick Murphy expressed support for keeping the Boy Scouts on the land.

The American Civil Liberties Union filed a lawsuit in August seeking to oust the scouts from city property because of their discriminatory policies.

The commission passed a resolution similar to tonight's in 1992, and affirmed the position in 1994.

The commission gives the City Council advice on making sure all residents have equal opportunities.