Cars and Coffee — one of the largest car shows in America — is drawing increased resident complaints over noise and other issues when cars leave, leading San Clemente City Council members to reconsider the show’s permit.
Last week, city council members unanimously voted to schedule a public hearing to go over the show’s conditional use permit — a type of permit where officials can place an array of requirements on the showrunner.
The Cars and Coffee event occurs at the San Clemente Outlets on Saturday mornings, drawing thousands of vehicle owners and visitors to the shopping center every weekend.
Many residents in surrounding neighborhoods voiced complaints about the show during a council meeting last month.
“The weekly car show is extremely noisy on Saturday mornings when nearby residents should be able to enjoy going outside, but it’s impossible due to the revving of the cars coming and going in and out of the outlets,” San Clemente resident Crystal Stoey said during the meeting. “This is supposed to be controlled, and it’s not.”
Public speakers at the Sept. 16 council meeting said they have no control over the noise pollution near their homes.
“When I was last here speaking in this same microphone, I invited the council to come to my house on a Saturday morning for coffee, and we would listen to mini NASCAR,” Jodi DiLascio, another resident who lives near the outlets, told council members last month. “Nobody showed up for java, but the cars keep racing.”
During last week’s council meeting, speakers mostly praised the car show during the public comment period.
“We build our weekend around Cars and Coffee, and it would really be a detriment to our business, and I believe to our city, if we were to lose it,” said Bill Burk, director of operations for Ruby’s Diner and Auntie Ann’s at the outlets.
[Read: Meet The People Behind America’s Biggest Weekly Car Show]
Cars and Coffee founder Simon Wehr said that the show and all of its organizers “100% support any enforcement.”
“We have the reputation of being the strictest car show in the world,” Wehr said. “Our rules are so strong.”
Neighborhood complaints largely revolved around the car show’s effect on the surrounding area as cars leave.
“We are not trying to take away Cars and Coffee — we are trying to control what happens when they exit Cars and Coffee,” said San Clemente resident Denise Zivolich during last week’s meeting. “It’s insane. Kids are lined up on the curbs, they’re lined up on the bridge (and) they actually go down to the freeway on the on-ramps, which is not only dangerous, it’s illegal.”
City staff said code compliance had only received four onsite complaints regarding the event since San Clemente planning commissioners last revisited the car show permit in 2022.
For surrounding neighborhoods, it’s a different story.
“However, due to complaints regarding off-site speeding or vehicle noise, the Orange County Sheriff Department (OCSD) and the California Highway Patrol (CHP) have conducted targeted enforcement operations at and around the event, resulting in citations, vehicle impoundments and arrests for off-site violations,” reads a city staff report on the issue.
California Highway Patrol and OC Sheriff’s Department each had a targeted enforcement day earlier this year, when an increased number of officers patrolled near the outlets.
On one Saturday in March that had increased enforcement efforts, California Highway Patrol conducted 159 enforcement contacts for stops resulting in 121 citations, 34 verbal warnings, five vehicle seizures, four arrests, three felonies and two pursuits, according to the staff report.
The staff report also mentions 54 enforcement stops by the OC Sheriff’s Department, 56 citations and two vehicles towed on one Saturday in May that also had targeted enforcement operations.
“It’s not what happens at the car show, but it draws at least 600 cars, and God knows how many other people,” Councilmember Rick Loeffler said at last week’s meeting. “It’s an impact on the safety of our residents in our city, and it needs to be addressed.”
He said it’s worth it to have a public hearing to discuss potential solutions regarding the weekly car show.
“I don’t think we should end Cars for Coffee,” Loeffler said, “but we should figure out a way to get the enforcement. How do we pay for it?”
Councilmember Zhen Wu also voiced support for a public hearing to review the event’s permit.
“The city should do something to make it better, and I’d like to work with the organizers to make it happen,” he said.
Mayor Steve Knoblock argued that the event should not be held responsible for the actions of irresponsible people on nearby streets.
“The people who gather are not responsible for public people on public property exercising exhibition of speed up and down the freeway,” Knoblock said. “Even if it’s close to the outlets, they’re not responsible for it.”
“To limit people’s freedom because some idiots on the freeway may step on the gas and go 100 mph — we have a police department and a highway patrol for that,” he continued.
Councilmember Mark Enmeier also said that he doesn’t want to shut the event down but emphasized the importance of safety for residents and families.
“When the visitors leave that event, they want to go for a joyride,” he said at last week’s meeting. “Joyrides are fun, that’s why they call it a joyride, but it puts our other residents at risk. It puts me and my family at risk.”
Angelina Hicks is the Voice of OC Collegiate News Service Editor. Contact her at ahicks@voiceofoc.org or on Twitter @angelinahicks13.