For sale: spots at the swap meet

Lolita Harper

Orange Coast College swap meet officials will start piecing back

together their normal business routine Monday by inviting vendors to

join the return of Saturday operations.

The Orange Coast College swap meet will resume Saturday operation

on Feb. 1 for the first time since May, when the city asked college

officials to drastically scale back the swap meet to control some of

the traffic problems.

Last month, the City Council gave the swap meet the go-ahead to

reopen on Saturdays.

On Monday, college officials will offer single-day swap meet sale

slots for $25 in the OCC Community Education Building. A large crowd

is expected and numbers will be passed out starting at 7 a.m.,

officials said.

The venue’s overwhelming popularity ultimately led to its downfall

because it produced too much traffic, trash and noise. College

officials said that this time will be different because they have

come armed with a professional traffic plan, a more organized

configuration and fewer vendors, as was mandated by the city.

George Blanc, who oversees the swap meet as the college’s

administrative dean of economic development and communication

education, said the swap meet will try to accommodate some of the

requests of Costa Mesa residents, including a desire to bring back

the eclectic, “clean-out-your-garage” type nature of the shopping

venue.

Costa Mesa residents Eric Bever and Don Elmore argue that the

flea-market type venue that once attracted treasure seekers of all

economic classes has been replaced by an outdoor discount shopping

center. Gone are the rare treasures brought by families who are

looking to make more space in the attic, they say, only to have been

replaced by aisles of cheaply made new merchandise.

“We have enough new vendors on Sundays,” Blanc said, adding that

he will no longer accept bids from new merchandise vendors on that

day.