Swap Meet Vendor Rent Hike Delayed

To the cheers of swap meet vendors already hit by the recession, the Orange County Fair Board voted unanimously Tuesday to postpone rent increases for their spaces.

Tel Phil Enterprises Inc., which leases the land from the Fair Board, proposed hiking rents paid by vendors from 33% of their sales to 38%. The vendors said such increases would cripple their business.

Under Tuesday’s decision, that rent hike will go into effect in 1996, said Jill Lloyd, spokeswoman for the Orange County Fair and Exposition Center.

However, annual rent increases pegged to the Orange County Consumer Price Index will be allowed between now and then, she said.

The agreement also allows any vendor who left between Nov. 1, 1992, and April 1, 1993, to return at the existing rent rate.

“We were very pleased to get the issue resolved,” said David Paine, a Tel Phil spokesman.

The amendments still need state approval by May 1.