Saga of Muffler Shop Ends Happily

The saga of Ace Muffler, the downtown Santa Ana business that stood firm while a shopping center development threatened to bulldoze it, finally came to a conclusion Wednesday that few expected: Everyone went away happy.

There were the Pulidos, Miguel and his son Miguel Jr., who will continue to install mufflers and repair transmissions at their 401 East 1st St. shop, which will be remodeled at the city’s cost to fit into the new center.

“We feel very, very proud to be in this country,” said the younger Pulido.

“You can say that I had a lot of faith,” said his father. “I was sure I would stay. I don’t know why. I’m real happy.”

There was John C. MacLaurin, president of Urbatec, the firm that will develop a $6.5-million shopping center on the site, with ground breaking tentatively set for May. He said that the Boys supermarket will anchor the development and that he is seeking a drugstore, fast-food chain and other shops to be tenants. “This was just too good an idea to die,” he said.

Lawsuits to Be Dropped

And there was Mayor Daniel E. Griset and other city officials, who will see two lawsuits filed by the Pulidos dropped, along with a $4.5-million breach-of-contract claim filed by Urbatec. Not to mention the end of more than a year of wrangling that brought a media herd to the muffler shop and residents pledging cash for the Pulido’s legal battle. “This is a win-win situation,” Griset said.

The saga began in July, 1984, when the City Council voted 4 to 3 to approve shopping center plans that would mean ousting Ace from the site it had occupied for 24 years (and on which the Pulidos had recently rebuilt to accommodate a road-widening project).

The Pulidos filed two lawsuits against the city and Urbatec a month later seeking to block the project. One contested the legality of the agreement because the family was not given a chance to participate. The other charged that no environmental impact report had been prepared.

The City Council voted 6 to 1 last March to pursue condemnation proceedings to take possession of the site. In April, after meeting with the family, the council voted unanimously not to seek condemnation.

Urbatec filed its $4.5-million claim in July, alleging that the council’s reversal violated its contract with the developer, which called for Santa Ana to hand over a cleared nine-acre site.

Since then, negotiations continued until this week, when an agreement was reached that satisfied all concerned.

The agreement calls for the city to pay for remodeling the shop’s facade and signs. Santa Ana will raze an adjoining building that the Pulidos own and are now renting out. In return, the shop owners will get a parcel of land on the east side of the center that they will use for a parking lot.

The Pulidos will drop their lawsuits seeking to block the development, and Urbatec will withdraw its claim. The action will allow the city to start acquisition of property and relocation of other tenants to clear the way for the development, which MacLaurin said would be completed in six to nine months.

MacLaurin said he was happy to see a conclusion to the issue but would still prefer to build the development without a muffler shop. “I’ve always felt that it’s incompatible,” he said, adding that the center will be designed in such a way that “it won’t look like a muffler mall.”

The younger Pulido credited the support of community groups, the Chamber of Commerce and media attention for his success. “We were never against the shopping center,” he said.

He added that the dispute has not hurt business at Ace Muffler. “I’d say it’s at least doubled.”