Topics / BUSINESS : Video Chain Seeks to Open in San Marino and Altadena

The Blockbuster Video chain has told San Marino officials that it is interested in opening a store in the 900 block of Huntington Drive.

The video rental giant wants to move into a 6,500-square-foot Huntington Market site. The inquiry has sent city officials scrambling to produce regulations to control video stores, which are not addressed by the city’s zoning laws. Officials say they are particularly concerned about the traffic generated by such a large outlet in the affluent, low-key town.

At the City Council’s April 15 meeting attended by representatives of Blockbuster and the owner of the building, the council ordered the city attorney to draft an ordinance to create a way to regulate video stores through a special permit process.

In this month’s city election, all the candidates expressed concern about the vacancy rate along Huntington Drive’s shopping areas.

At present, Top Hit Video, in the 1400 block of San Marino Avenue just off Huntington Drive, is San Marino’s only video rental outlet. City officials say the new ordinance would apply to Top Hit Video as well.

In Altadena, a proposal for a similar Blockbuster store is being opposed by the Town Council, which fears that it could put the local Sun Video store out of business. That proposal goes before the county Planning Commission on May 11.