San Clemente Council agrees to hold public hearing on Cars and Coffee after community split over off-site behavior

The San Clemente City Council voted 5-0 Wednesday to schedule a public hearing to consider modifications to the conditional use permit that authorizes the weekly Cars and Coffee event at the Outlets of San Clemente, after months of public complaints about off-site speeding and noise.

The council’s action gives staff authority to set a noticed hearing (including full public notice and opportunity for comment) to review whether the event continues to meet the findings required by the San Clemente Municipal Code for approved uses and the specific permit conditions for CUP 2023-28.

Supporters of South OC Cars and Coffee told the council the weekly Saturday gathering draws thousands of visitors, sustains downtown restaurants and retailers, and functions as a longtime family-oriented community event. Simon Ware, who identified himself as a founder of South OC Cars and Coffee, said volunteers and signs are used to manage behavior and that the group regularly works with law enforcement and removes repeat violators.

"This is the largest weekly free community event in the county," Ware said. "It doesn't cost the city a dime and it connects families, volunteers and Marines."

Several business owners and hundreds of regular attendees told the council that the event generates important weekend revenue for restaurants and shops near the Outlets. Bill Burke, who said he manages Ruby's Diner and Auntie Anne's at the mall, told the council that his operations are built around the Saturday crowd.

Neighbors and other residents urged the council to focus on safety problems that occur after Cars and Coffee disperses. Denise Zavolich and other Marblehead-area residents said they support the event on-site but described dangerous driving as cars leave the Outlets, including speeding on local streets and people gathering on bridges to watch vehicles. They asked the city to identify who will pay for stepped-up enforcement and to pursue consistent patrols rather than occasional task-force weekends.

Police and California Highway Patrol presentations in the staff report documented two targeted enforcement weekends in 2025: a March CHP operation that the report said involved 159 enforcement contacts, 121 citations, 34 warnings, five vehicle seizures and four arrests (the CHP data was summarized in the staff report); and a May Orange County Sheriff’s Department operation that resulted in 54 stops, 56 citations and two tows. Chief Captain Justin Chevalier (San Clemente Police Services) told council members the department can increase enforcement but cautioned that permanently assigning officers to the site would create gaps in citywide coverage.

Council discussion split between members who emphasized the event’s positive economic and community effects and members who said the city is responsible for protecting public safety on adjacent public streets. Councilmember Victor (as recorded in the meeting transcript) said the council should not remove the event but must evaluate whether the use permit findings still hold. Councilmember Loeffler and others called for the council to consider requiring the event operator to help fund overtime patrols or traffic-calming measures.

After discussion the council voted unanimously to direct staff to initiate a noticed public hearing to consider revisions to the existing CUP for Cars and Coffee and related traffic/safety conditions. The public hearing will include formal noticing to the event operator and surrounding property owners and will return to the council for formal action.

What’s next: a noticed public hearing will be scheduled and staff will include enforcement data and recommended options for mitigating off-site behavior (options discussed by councilmembers included additional police patrols, event-funded off-duty officers, traffic-calming engineering, and restrictions in the CUP). Councilmembers asked staff to include a summary of past enforcement operations and cost estimates for increased patrols and potential traffic-calming installations.

Council members and staff declined to remove the event pending the hearing; the city emphasized that any formal change to the use permit would require a separate noticed hearing and a council vote.

Votes and motions: Council directed staff to schedule a public hearing to review Conditional Use Permit 2023-28 (Cars and Coffee at the Outlets of San Clemente). Motion and second were recorded during the meeting; the motion passed 5-0.