Court Order Sought to Save Swap Meets
The operator of two weekend swap meets sought a court order Thursday that would allow them to continue beyond the Sept. 30 date they have been ordered closed by the Santa Ana City Council.
Richard Norton alleged that the council’s decision last month to shut down the swap meets after eight years of operation was racially motivated, violated California’s open-meetings law and was made without an adequate public hearing.
Norton said the meets generate up to $500,000 a year in local taxes. The council voted to ban both meets, at Santa Ana Stadium (Eddie West Field) and at Rancho Santiago College. Norton, who has announced his plan to challenge Dan Griset for a City Council seat next year, filed the lawsuit in Orange County Superior Court.
Residents have complained that the meets, which draw big, largely Latino crowds, create too much noise and cause trash, traffic and parking problems.
City Atty. Edward J. Cooper, who opposed Norton’s request for a temporary restraining order, said the lawsuit raised “novel theories” and would be “interesting.”
Superior Court Commissioner Eleanor Palk scheduled a hearing in the case for Sept. 30.
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