Councilmembers decided a public hearing is warranted to address complaints and safety concerns for people leaving the weekly South OC Cars and Coffee event held Saturday mornings in San Clemente.
The weekly event attracts upward of 1,000 vehicles, including exotic cars, vintage rides, sports cars, hot rods, motorcycles and more, drawing big crowds to the Outlets at San Clemente.
At the last council meeting, nearly 20 speakers spoke in favor of Cars and Coffee, which has been happening since 2018. One resident raised concerns about the vehicles leaving the event at fast speeds because kids line up along the freeway entrance area to get photos and videos.
Councilman Rick Loeffler said he brought the issue to the council following complaints from the nearby community.
Five complaint e-mails have been sent since 2023 to event founder Simon Wehr, who started Cars and Coffee with his son, James, according to a staff report to the council.
Creating a feedback portal is part of several measures put in place since the event earned a permit in 2022 to appease nearby neighbors, such as redirecting traffic to enter and exit near the freeway, adding volunteers and banning attendees who are reported speeding or burning out.
Bill Burk, operating manager for Ruby’s Restaurant at the Outlets, called Cars and Coffee a family event that draws business to the eatery.
“We build our weekends around Cars and Coffee, it would really be a detriment to our business, and I believe our city, if we were to lose it,” he told councilmembers.
Longtime resident Scott Tree said he goes to the event every weekend, calling it “good, clean, American fun.”
“Cars just have a way of uniting people. There’s no politics there, just people enjoying themselves,” he said. “It’s just camaraderie, you don’t see that anymore.”
Many malls across the country are failing, he noted.
“This is actually a revenue builder for the city,” said Tree, who owns West Coast Auto Repair & Restoration. “I pay a lot of taxes to the city of San Clemente. I get a good part of my business from that show … it would just be a huge, huge loss to the city and to the public.”
Wehr said concerns are “completely understandable,” and he encourages any and all law enforcement cracking down on attendees that break laws or cause issues.
“We all care deeply about our homes and our community,” said Wehr, who lives in San Clemente. “We have the reputation of being the strictest car show in the world. Our rules are so strong. We ban people if they do the wrong thing. We shame them on social media.”
There are also banners and signs discouraging bad behavior and anywhere from 20 to 60 volunteers on any given day, most of who are Camp Pendleton Marines, he noted.
“It has become part of the city’s identity, something that brings people together, week after week,” said Wehr. “And it doesn’t cost the city a dime.”
A resident who wants more safety measures implemented said she doesn’t want to see Cars and Coffee go away, but more safeguards as people leave the event.
“It’s insane, kids are lined up on the curbs, on the bridge and onto the freeway on ramps, which is not only dangerous, but illegal,” she said. “We’re fine with Cars and Coffee, it’s once they turn the corner and they are outside of Cars and Coffee – there’s no control after that.”
The Sheriff’s Department has regularly patrolled the event over the years, officials said, but in 2025 sent patrols every Saturday. In March 2025, CHP gave 121 citations and had five 30-day vehicle seizures. There were also four arrests, three for felonies, the staff report said.
During OCSD’s May enforcement, there were 56 citations given and two vehicles towed.
Marine Jace Mullon said he knows how strict the event is first hand. When he first showed up years ago, his car was mistaken for one that did something prohibited – and he quickly got banned from the event and shamed on social media.
When his name was eventually cleared, he came back as a volunteer and now is a regular at the event.
“I think there’s ways to have conversations about how the car show can be better,” he said. “We always do our best to listen and do our best to implement that.”
Councilman Steve Knoblock said the Outlets or the event operator shouldn’t be held responsible for what someone does once they leave the event.
“To limit people’s freedom because some idiot is on the freeway going 100 mph, we have the Police Department, we have the Highway Patrol for that,” he said, noting that revenue from 85% of tickets given in San Clemente goes back into the city’s coffers. “What we should do is increase enforcement on a regular basis.”
Loeffler argued that the number of people who attend is having an impact on the safety of the residents and there should be a public discussion about how to address those concerns.
A date for the public hearing has not been set.