Subject: Response to Comments Regarding South OC Cars and Coffee Dear Council Members,
We were disappointed to hear the negative comments made during the recent city meeting regarding our event, South OC Cars and Coffee. We were also concerned by your stated desire to revisit the CUP held by the Outlets at San Clemente.
We take the professionalism of our event extremely seriously, which is why we were shocked to hear the following remarks:
“I especially hear your concerns about the uh Saturday morning car shows and I think that is absolutely something we need to address. I think you guys have lived with that for long enough. Um, so I think we can mitigate that somehow.” “The car show is I think we need to address that freaking car show that's every week and I'm going to move that forward. We need to look at that CUP and I think it's way too often way too much noise. It turned it's turned into a what's a kind of a fun hot rod and VW. It's all these exotic cars with the loud crap. And so anyway, that's going to be addressed.” We have worked diligently with the city during and since the CUP process, taking every suggestion, request, and requirement seriously. Beyond meeting those requirements, we have also implemented additional measures to ensure the event remains safe, compliant, and respectful of the community.
Steps we’ve taken include:
Signage
9 x “NO REVVING SPEEDING BURNOUTS - Offenders will be banned from the event and may be prosecuted” 9 x “PLEAVE QUIETLY AND SLOWLY - Please respect our neighbors and protect the event!” 1 x “Yield” at the pedestrian crossing
1 x “No Left Turn” at the exit by Starbucks to mitigate noise for Sea Summit residents. 1 x “Tesla Charging” to provide a simple route for owners 4 x “No Entry Before 8:30” to prevent early arriving
4 x “No Exit” to control traffic flow
1 x “Residents Only” in the entrance to Sea Summit
Volunteers
We now have between 30 and 60 volunteers each week providing security and traffic control We hold weekly staff meetings to provide information on upcoming event, allocate official positions throughout Outlets and advise new volunteers of their responsibilities, while also pairing them with experienced peers They are all provided Hi-Viz vests and two-way radios
The majority are Marines from Camp Pendleton
Their presence provides added security for the event
It also helps the Marines in their careers by earning LOAs (Letters Of Appreciation) for their time each week It also strengthens the relationship between the Marine Corps and San Clemente Behavior policies
We start and end our weekly YouTube Video with “Please respect our rules; No speeding, revving or burnouts … That includes on the streets of San Clemente as well as getting on and off the freeways” We also mention it on every live social media feed
Every Instagram post has the runes clearly posted in the caption: “No Revving, Speeding or Burnouts. Please drive slowly through San Clemente. Respect the property and have a great time!” We name and shame offenders on social media and ban them from the event Community Communication
We added a “questions or concerns” button at the very top of our website, to make it easy for anyone to reach us Since implementing these measures, we have only received five complaints and suggestions — all of which we addressed immediately, with no further responses. Furthermore, we have not been informed of a single complaint by the city. This is why your harsh comments came as such a surprise. If neighbors truly had concerns, wouldn’t it make sense to notify the event organizers directly? To us, it felt as though South OC Cars and Coffee was being used as a scapegoat to deflect attention in the midst of discussions about the pending hotel approval.
In particular, we must address your statement: “fun hot rod and VW. It's all these exotic cars with the loud crap.” This is not only inaccurate but suggests personal bias. Exotic cars represent less than 10% of weekly attendance — the smallest group present — a fact we can verify.
When we started South OC Cars and Coffee, we made a conscious decision for it to be inclusive … a place where anyone could attend and share their automotive passion, no matter what they are into. We welcome hot rods, rat rods, muscle cars, classics, vintage cars, sports cars, camping vans, off-roaders, motorcycles, as well as exotics, supercars, and hypercars. That inclusivity is one of the reasons why the show has become so popular.
Our goal from the beginning was to make South OC Cars and Coffee a family-friendly event that the entire community could enjoy. Each week, we see two, three, and sometimes four generations of family members attending and enjoying the atmosphere. The event encourages kids to step away from video games, iPhones, and e-bikes, and instead spend quality time with their parents, grandparents, and even their family dog. It is a true family community event for every age group — not a street takeover with lawless attendees and troublemakers.
South OC Cars and Coffee is also an important economic driver for San Clemente, with shops and restaurants across the city benefiting from the thousands of attendees each week. You may recall the managers of Ruby’s and Rockwell’s stating at the city hearing that they generate an additional $400,000 each year because of the show. The same goes for other stores, the movie theater, and restaurants at the Outlets. In fact, many have said that without South OC Cars and Coffee, they would not survive.
This begs the question: what would happen to the Outlets at San Clemente if South OC Cars and Coffee went away? A quick Google of “Hillsboro Outlets” shows another similar outlet mall on the I-35 in north central Texas that, without a strong community draw, failed, sat vacant and deteriorating for years, and is now costing the city $4.6 million to demolish and redevelop. Do we want a deserted outlet mall greeting visitors on the I-5 as they pass through our beautiful city? And if locals dislike the mall and Saturday morning car noise now, how will they feel if it becomes a shelter for homeless and squatters, with walls covered in graffiti? It is not only the Outlets that benefit from South OC Cars and Coffee, but also the city itself, as recognized in an article titled “30 San Clementeans Who Helped Put San Clemente on the Map” in a recent edition of San Clemente Journal.
Crowd pleasers that South OC Cars And Coffee has brought to San Clemente:
• We have regular celebrity attendance including, Chip Foose, Edd China, Ant Anstead, Mike Brewer, Linda Vaughn, Dallas Raines, Matt from Car Wow and F1 drivers Juki Tsunoda and Liam Lawson • Hosted several TV shows including “The World According To Jeff Goldblum”, “Hot Rod Garage”, “The Ride That Got Away” and “Wheeler Dealers” • Revealed pre-production and prototype vehicles for Ford, Maserati, Lamborghini, Chevrolet, Audi, Hennessey, Mazda, Jaguar, Range Rover, Pagani, Lexus, Polestar and Cadillac • Showcased special vehicles including 3 x Red Bull Formula One Cars, Ken Block’s Hoonitron, The Big Red Camaro, and the movie cars from Ford v. Ferrari
We also give back through charity events, including:
• “Toys for Marines” providing toys for children of deployed service members, wounded warriors, or families experiencing financial struggles • CHOC (Children’s Hospital of Orange County)
• Chip Foose’s charity “Amy’s Depot”
• Sonance Foundation in conjunction with the Boys and Girls Club • “Cruisin For A Cure” for men’s prostate cancer awareness and research At the city meeting, the head of San Clemente High School’s Auto Academy noted that it was re-invigorated by South OC Cars and Coffee, bringing life back into a dying program — a success we continue to support. Two San Clemente Sheriffs also spoke on our behalf, stating they receive more complaints and callouts from little league games than from our event. They confirmed that we manage the crowds effectively, and once attendees leave, responsibility shifts to law enforcement.
The city once committed to helping with traffic control by setting lights to flashing before the show ended and placing signage at the entrance. Unfortunately, those measures were short-lived, and we were left to manage traffic ourselves again.
To date, there has only been one official audit of the event, conducted by Jonathan Lightfoot, who said afterwards that, he was extremely happy with everything we are doing.
When my family moved to San Clemente from Australia in 2010, our goal was to contribute positively to the community that welcomed us. South OC Cars and Coffee has become that contribution — a celebration of passion, family, community, and local pride.
South OC Cars and Coffee is the largest weekly community event in the county, if not the country — and one the City of San Clemente does not have to fund.
We respectfully ask that future discussions about our event reflect the facts, the extensive measures we’ve taken, and the genuine benefits it brings to San Clemente, and not just the voices of a few local residents who feel inconvenienced by a little noise for three hours on a Saturday morning.
Sincerely,
Simon and James Wehr
Founders – South OC Cars and Coffee
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