UPDATED: Planned North Beach Classic Car Rally Cancelled

Updated 10:30 a.m. May 23: The classic car rally planned for North Beach June 8 is cancelled after the Downtown Business Association withdrew its support, said one of the show's organizers Thursday morning.

Don Slater, head of the North Beach Community Association, said the show was off. The San Clemente City Council granted permission for the show Tuesday, but Slater said he was "publicly dressed down" for failing to meet some of the city's criteria for planning events.

Slater said it was the apparent controversy over the event which prompted the DBA -- which is holding its big classic car show on Del Mar June 9 -- to pull out of the planning and coordination for the June 8 rally.

Slater expressed his frustration, saying the newly formed North Beach Community Association was trying to help the city by fostering the revitalization of North Beach, widely agreed to be a part of San Clemente that needs more improvement and development.

"We're trying to fix what's been messed up for 30 years," Slater said Thursday. "For this charity, the main beneficiary is the city. They're going to throw millions of dollars at North Beach, but it's not going to do any good if it's not in cooperation with the residents."

The North Beach association is in the process of obtaining its 501c3 designation as a nonprofit, organizers said.

May 22 article:

A June 8 classic car rally planned by the North Beach Community Association received permission from the city to move forward, as well as some permit discounts, but not the full requested fee waiver.

At the San Clemente City Council meeting Tuesday, Councilman Tim Brown said typically, organizations which fall short of city requirements as the North Beach group had don't even get permits, let alone fee waivers. But this event was worthy of an exception, he said.

"North Beach has been a hotbed of contention over the past few years," Brown said. "It has been neglected and I see and opportunity to nurture something here, with strong words to the North Beach Community Association that you won't get this kind of consideration from this council in the future."

Council authorized city staffers to discount permit fees up to 50 percent, provided the North Beach association could furnish the necessary event insurance and other considerations.

The aim of the newly formed association is to showcase North Beach and spur economic growth, and staffers note their successful participation in the Metrolink holiday show that helped draw more than 1,000 people to the North Beach Metrolink Platform.

The event is meant to dovetail with the Downtown Business Association's annual car event the next day, but because of the late date, the DBA doesn't want to be responsible for promoting it or recognizing it officially this year, according to the staff report. Volunteers for the June 9 event have agreed to help at the June 8 event, however.

The North Beach organization, when filing for the permit missed the 60-day deadline ahead of the event, which is one reason the staff didn't recommend a fee waiver.