Vote Could Drive Out County’s Last Drive-In Theater
A plan to convert Orange County’s last drive-in movie theater into a retail center will be considered by the City Council tonight.
Los Angeles-based Pacific Theaters, which owns the Hi-Way 39 drive-in at Beach Boulevard and Trask Avenue, wants to build a commercial center that would include a Wal-Mart, two other retailers, a gas station and fast-food restaurant.
If the plan wins council approval, the drive-in could be showing its last film in a matter of months, city officials said. The theater opened in 1955 with one screen, then added four more in the 1970s.
In recent years, drive-ins in La Habra, Fullerton and Orange have closed to make way for more lucrative retail projects, leaving Hi-Way 39 as Orange County’s last.
The Wal-Mart would be the county’s eighth.
The proposed commercial center, which is expected to generate about $500,000 annually in tax revenue, won approval from the city’s Planning Commission last month.
However, the proposal drew opposition from some neighbors who objected to the size and number of signs. One major sign’s height was reduced from 115 feet to 80 feet after complaints that it would dominate the neighborhood.
The City Council will meet in chambers, 8200 Westminster Blvd. Information: (714) 898-3311.
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