Vendors opting out of OCC swap meet

Lolita Harper

COSTA MESA -- The Orange Coast College campus swap meet has lost

nearly 100 vendors since its decision to comply with an 18-year-old city permit and cut the existing shopping venue in half, college officials

said.

George Blanc, who oversees the swap meet as administrative dean of

economic development at OCC, said he “lost count” of how many permanent

vendors decided to simply leave the swap meet rather than sell

merchandise only once a week.

“Eliminating 50% of their income is simply unacceptable,” Blanc said.

“They cannot afford to stay.”

Blanc said college officials will meet with remaining vendors this

morning to figure out where the surviving retailers will set up shop with

a scaled-back configuration.

Last month, city officials notified the college that the campus swap

meet was violating the school’s 1984 agreement with the city. A study --

prompted by Councilwoman Libby Cowan in November because of an apparent

increase in traffic along Fairview Road -- found that the swap meet

operates with an excess of about 200 vendors and an additional day not

authorized by the city.

City and college officials met to discuss the study, and the school

readily agreed to decrease the size to comply with the existing permit,

starting the weekend of May 4. An announcement was sent to vendors

explaining the cuts.

A lottery was originally planned to determine which of more than 400

vendors would occupy the coveted 275 authorized spaces. However, fewer

than 275 vendors applied for the lottery, making the selection process

unnecessary.

Fayza Khalil, who has been a vendor at the swap meet for 15 years,

said she applied to keep a spot at the venue until she could find another

two-day swap meet.

“I have no place to go,” Khalil said. “At least working one day is

better than nothing.”

Dry fruit and nuts vendor William Pezzullo said he would also stay at

the campus swap meet because he has built a solid reputation in Costa

Mesa and has many loyal customers. His business is not easily mobile

because he sells food and therefore must apply for permits from the

health department for each new location, he explained.

“I can’t just be spontaneous,” Pezzullo said. “I’ve got to believe in

my heart that some resolution will be found and we will be able to get

Saturday back.”

While both Khalil and Pezzullo have chosen to weather the storm, each

wonders when the college and city will come to an agreement about the

future of the swap meet and what days it may operate.

City Manager Allan Roeder said city and college officials have been

working together to figure out a plan that has “some basis in reality.”

Officials met last week and agreed to conduct further studies to

determine a workable number of vendors, number of parking spaces needed,

traffic configurations and days of operation. Those results will then be

formulated into an application for a new permit, officials said.

Jim McIlwain, OCC vice president of administrative services, said the

collaborative effort is the most efficient way to resolve the current

uncertainties.

“I could have applied a month ago, but that wouldn’t have solved

anything,” McIlwain said.

Vendors would have had to wait for a hearing before the Planning

Commission, then deliberations would be made, followed by a series of

meetings, discussions, concessions and delays until a happy compromise

was reached, McIlwain said.

This way, the college will have done its homework and will approach

the city with a workable solution, McIlwain said. OCC will also gain the

benefit of reliable traffic studies and research on the swap meet that

only the city has the resources to provide.

“Both the city and the college would like the matter resolved, and

this is the most efficient and effective way to do it,” McIlwain said.

“The swap meet isn’t our primary role. We have a college to run.”

Mayor Linda Dixon said she was glad for the college’s cooperation and

stressed the necessity of the city’s involvement in public safety issues.

“When people are running across the street with babies and packages in

tow and cars are making unsafe safety maneuvers, those are safety

issues,” Dixon said.

Dixon said the results of the traffic studies will take into

consideration the concerns of Costa Mesa residents, as well as vendors

and college officials.

“This is important because no one wants anyone to get hurt,” Dixon

said.

* Lolita Harper covers Costa Mesa. She may be reached at (949)

574-4275 or by e-mail at o7 lolita.harper@latimes.comf7 .