Swap meet gets Saturday back

Lolita Harper

Christmas came early this year for Orange Coast College swap meet

vendors on Monday when the City Council unanimously approved a

two-day shopping venue.

After almost two hours of scrutiny and public comment, council

members voted 5 to 0 to grant the permit for a return of the swap

meet to Saturdays, saying enough of their concerns had been

addressed.

Vendors missed out on key holiday business, but head into the new

year knowing they can return to full sales potential.

Planning staffers and outside consultants scrambled last week to

ensure the City Council could review a detailed traffic, parking and

management program before Monday’s meeting.

Council members had vowed they would not endorse another day at

the swap meet until they saw tangible plans to alleviate the traffic

problems.

Swap meet vendors have been running a Sunday-only swap meet for

almost eight months, since college officials agreed to scale back

operations because of traffic problems on Fairview Road.

In that time, city and college officials have worked together, a

private consultant was hired, options were proposed to the Planning

Commission and a new swap meet was approved with an average of 260

vendors per day.

Then, an 11th-hour appeal by resident Paul Wilbur brought the swap

meet under intense City Council scrutiny and prompted more questions

and criticism.

While the major concern revolved around traffic management,

Councilman Chris Steel called for college officials to verify the

legal residence and state tax numbers of all vendors, but was not

supported by his council colleagues.

He said he suspects many college swap meet vendors are taking away

clients from “legitimate” Costa Mesa businesses because they can

offer lower prices by skirting various laws.