Broadway car shows divide Seaside businesses; council approves continuation with staff directed to seek compromise

Seaside business owners and car-show organizers offered sharply divergent accounts of how monthly car events affect downtown businesses, and the City Council voted to continue permitting the Gold Coast Rods “Hot Car Cool Nights” series while directing staff to work with businesses to reduce negative impacts.

Multiple lower-Broadway restaurant owners and property operators told the council that recurring street closures for car events — particularly those held on busy Friday nights — have reduced dine-in revenue and disrupted access to parking. One restaurant owner said the city-closure nights cost his business an estimated $4,000–$7,000 per night in lost revenue; another owner said customers canceled reservations. Several speakers urged moving the event to a different day or to another location with larger parking capacity.

Representatives of Gold Coast Rods and other supporters said the events bring families, charitable donations and community engagement to Seaside. Otis Stevenson, appearing for Gold Coast Rods, said the club has staged shows on Broadway for many years and donates toys and other charity contributions; he said the shows draw hundreds of cars and provide a safe, family-friendly environment.

Other downtown business owners offered mixed views: some said the larger Exotic on Broadway events bring heavy foot traffic and can be positive for some merchants, while smaller hot-rod shows and partial block closures sometimes concentrate activity away from certain storefronts and reduce customer flow to others. Grocery and convenience store owners said crowd behavior and use of private parking lots during major events affected sales in ways that varied by business.

After extended public comment, Councilmember [motion-maker name not specified in transcript] moved to approve the Gold Coast Rods co-sponsorship and fee-waiver request on the condition that the city manager and staff work with the applicant and nearby businesses to try to minimize negative impacts and to evaluate options for 2026, including potential date or location changes. Council discussion emphasized compromise: expand outreach to affected businesses, consider a phased reconfiguration of the event footprint and evaluate possible alternative dates or venues for future years.

The council voted to authorize the events to proceed for 2025 and instructed the city manager’s office to coordinate directly with event organizers, Public Works, Police and affected businesses to try to make the program more compact and to improve access for restaurants. Staff will report back to council with proposed refinements and with the results of outreach. The meeting record does not specify a numeric roll-call breakdown for the final vote.