ORANGE : Plaza to Close During Classic Auto Show

Fatman Productions has won City Council approval of closing Old Towne Plaza to traffic so that 300 classic car owners can display their vehicles during a daylong show this month.

Bowing to pressure from antique dealers clustered in the area, the council unanimously overturned a staff recommendation not to close the plaza.

Community development officials said the show, scheduled for April 23, would inconvenience motorists by closing the traffic circle and blocks of Glassell Street and Chapman Avenue.

Shop owners insisted that the traffic disruption is worth the economic benefits. The city needs to remind shoppers that Orange is on the map, said Katy Drumm, president of the Old Towne Orange Merchants Assn.

Will Fitzpatrick, owner of Fatman Productions, said the company would handle security and trash pickup. But Police Chief John R. Robertson said he would have additional officers at the event nevertheless.

Fitzpatrick told council members that the car owners, who have spent $10,000 to $150,000 on their classics, are not “wild people.” However, he added, they do like to spend money. “We’re trying to bring something to Orange that, as car enthusiasts, we feel would be beneficial.”

The show, which will run from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., will benefit Children’s Hospital of Orange County and the Adam Walsh Foundation.