MISSION VIEJO : Panel Seeks Study on Swap Meet Plan

Saddleback College and the Mission Viejo Mall are confronting each other over plans for an outdoor swap meet on campus.

The Planning Commission this week asked the company that is proposing the Saddleback Outdoor Marketplace to develop an economic study with city staff that would address the major concern of mall officials: whether the swap meet would take sales away from city merchants.

“There could be competition for revenue,” Commissioner Sherri Butterfield said. “If that should result in substantial sales tax drain, it could be a problem. A report of this kind would show us if that is true.”

The outdoor market would operate 50 weekends a year, selling a combination of new and used merchandise.

Other community colleges in Orange County run profitable swap meets. Orange Coast College in Costa Mesa has operated one successfully for several years, even though the huge Orange County Marketplace on the Orange County Fairgrounds takes place on the same days across the street.

However, the proposed swap meet might require an amendment to the city’s general plan. Under the plan, which maps out how the city is developed, the Saddleback College campus is considered a community facility.

Although occasional art sales are held there, a continuing commercial venture might require changing the general plan, city officials said.

Supporters rallied by both the college and mall officials spoke on the proposed swap meet at Monday’s Planning Commission meeting.

Outdoor market organizers will return to the commission on Aug. 15 to detail issues to be discussed in the economic report.