Issues surrounding swap meet are not about hate

As a Costa Mesa citizen who has communicated viewpoints on the

Orange Coast College swap meet to the Planning Commission and the

City Council, I am compelled to respond to recent Daily Pilot Forum

input. The letter from OCC vendor Bill Pazullo would be laughable, if

it were not so indicative of what is replacing rational thought in

Newport-Mesa. Rather, it is quite sad.

The original issue was traffic backups around the venue, and

subsequent investigation showed that the OCC swap was operating

without a permit on Saturdays. These are legitimate city issues, not

racism. To this day there are several unresolved permit, license and

tax issues regarding the venue, but that fact eludes folks who have

been writing to the Pilot.

Not only has Pazullo, who claims to have discussed the swap with

“opponents” never spoken to me regarding the swap meet, he apparently

has no understanding of the issues that concern me. So what is his

approach to maintaining the status quo? Playing the race card.

Rather than taking the time to understand the city’s and

community’s issues, those who are chiming in are quick to blame

racism and wave their morally self righteous banners for all to see.

That’s nice.

As a 15-year attendee of the OCC swap meet, I have watched it

shift from a venue that was of great value to Costa Mesa’s fringe,

arty, creative subculture to a venue dominated by vendors selling

cheap new goods. The venue is no longer serving the needs of my

people: the artists, motor heads, antiquarians and freaks who make

Costa Mesa unique.

Racism? My peers in the art, hotrod and creative world represent

all races and creeds. Is the desire to have the Saturday venue once

again serve the needs of this group a bad thing? I guess so if you

don’t like creativity, individuality or productivity.

Am I opposed to the swap meet? Not at all. However, I do want to

see a venue that serves all, and I want to see the city and college

uphold their legal responsibilities. Like others, I agree that the

venue should not be negatively impactful to surrounding neighbors,

and should not be a financial drain on the Costa Mesa economy or

municipal budget.

ERIC BEVER

Costa Mesa