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Despite a national decline in the once-pervasive outdoor movie theater, an Eldersburg man is seeking permission to turn a hilly plot in Carroll County into the nation's first digital drive-in, a proposal that has angered neighboring property owners.

The proposed theater, which would be called Bumpers Drive-In Theatre
and would have two screens, is believed to be the first effort to construct a drive-in in Maryland in decades, according to the United Drive-In Theatre Owners Association. Only two drive-ins operate in the Baltimore area. Nationally, the number of drive-in theaters has dropped to about 425 from a peak of about 5,000 in the 1950s, the association said.

Bumpers, according to plans by developer Alan Ackerman, would have a
playground, an arcade and two concession stands on a barren 37-acre hill on Liberty Road in Eldersburg. One theater would have space for 805 cars, and the other would accommodate 295 cars and show classic
35 mm films such as Gone With the Wind and Rebel Without a Cause.

In addition, Ackerman plans a digital drive-in. "We'll be able to take a digital signal - from, say, the Internet, a satellite or a hard drive - and put it on the screen," said Ackerman, 34.

A handful of companies are working to devise a way to deliver movies to theaters across the country with the push of a button or the click of a mouse. Film is cumbersome and costly to ship.

Bumpers would be the first drive-in equipped with the technology to
handle the digital format, according to Jon Walker, president of the
drive-in theater owners group in Montgomery County. The group has
about 150 active members.

Young parents are rediscovering the drive-in, and many of the nation's
drive-ins are enjoying a rebirth, Walker said. The Bel Air Drive-In in
Churchville in Harford County is going strong and Bengies Drive-In in
Baltimore County recently scrapped plans to close after a swell of
community support, according to the association.

The Churchville drive-in, on Route 155 between Bel Air and Aberdeen,
advertises on the Internet that it has been in business almost 50 years. Bengies' Internet site claims the theater has the largest outdoor screen on the East Coast, at 52 feet by 120 feet. Both charge admissions that are slightly lower than indoor theaters, with the most expensive ticket set at $7. Owners of the two drive-ins could not be reached to comment.

"I remember piling into the car with a cup of popcorn and heading to the drive-in in my fuzzy blue pajamas, the ones I called my pat-pats because they had built-in feet and made a funny sound when I walked," said Debi Betances, 33, who grew up in Beltsville. She and her husband, Paul, are building a home in Eldersburg, where they plan to raise their two children, Christopher, 5, and Shaelyn, 2.

"We would play in the playground until the show started, always a cartoon and a double feature," Debi Betances said. "Our family really enjoyed those times together. Inevitably, one of us would fall asleep in the back seat. They're the kind of memories I want my own children to have."

The Beltsville drive-in of Betances' youth was torn down in 1990, shortly after her father commissioned a picture of it. The pen-and-ink sketch hangs in his office at the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Ackerman will pitch his plan at 1:30 p.m. today, during a Carroll Board of Zoning Appeals hearing at the County Office Building in Westminster. Walker, who has owned and operated the Cinema 67 Drive-In for the past 30 years in Spencer, Ind., plans to attend the hearing to testify on Ackerman's behalf.

Several adjoining property owners, who fear the theater will attract
unsupervised teen-agers and create noise and light pollution, also will attend.

"It is very unrealistic to think that a 3,000-square-foot arcade and stage are not going to have an adverse effect on hundreds of homes within a half-mile," Jim and Jen Neuser, residents of Sussex Court, near where the drive-in would be, wrote in a short letter to the zoning board. The three-member panel has received about 30 letters protesting the project.

"This is among the most bone-headed ideas I've seen pitched in a while," said Ross Dangel, spokesman for Freedom Area Citizens Council, a community group that serves as a liaison between Carroll officials and residents of South Carroll.

"The sad part is ... this tract might otherwise be used to attract a real business that could bring high-paying jobs," Dangel said. "By increasing low-paying jobs, we only serve to clog our roads and suck up our natural resources."

Despite neighbors' concerns, Jack Lyburn, Carroll County's economic
development director, favors the $5 million project. "I think the project will be good for Carroll County," Lyburn said. "It will generate over $300,000 a year in entertainment tax." The revenue would flow into county coffers from ticket and concession sales and rental fees.

"Most drive-ins are family-oriented and locally owned," said Randy Loy, executive director of the theater owners association. "They're nice places to take the whole family. The charm of the drive-in in 2001 is the same as it was in 1941 - a chance to watch movies under the stars, get away from the cares of the day and enjoy some time together."
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For example, the Grandview Drive-In in Angola NY (where I worked from 1967-1970) had Ashcraft Super Cinex lamphouses that put out almost 35,000 lumens with a 120 ampere carbon arc. With a 60% efficient "drive-in" shutter, over 20,000 lumens were available to light the 42 x 100 foot screen.

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Ten minutes before the drive-in opened, he would simply say the digital projection was not up to his standards. He wants nothing but the best for his drive-in, of course, so he bought the best 1000 watt lamp and projector available on the market today.

That said, the project sounds HUGE. I think that drive-ins can be built, but for success, under the same parameters as they always have,
CHEAP LAND. Unfortunately, the zoning nazis would rather the "cheap
farmland" (that hasn't been farmed in 30 yrs and collects wrecked cars and machinery - never to be farmed again) NOT be cleaned up and
lay fallow than allow re-zoning. They tell us that there's plenty of commercial nearer town, never mind that city light will soon gobble up the area AND that the economics never worked on that expensive land. $300K, no way! BUT, I have to wonder if these "concerned neighbors" really want a "real" business (like a slaughterhouse or
papermill or yet another strip mall) rather than some fresh cut grass and a playground?????!!!!!

On the "drive-in email list" that makes it circles almost daily, it was mentioned that he planned to use a "digital light valve projector" as opposed to DLP. I'm not really sure what a "light valve projector" is, but I do wish him all the best of luck in his new endevour.

As far as the $300k in taxes....

I met with Mr. Ackerman a few weeks ago and he showed me the plans for the theatre. It does look like it would be a very nice project. I also drove to the proposed site and looked it over. There is a heavily forested buffer between the nearest neighbors and the location of the drive-in. I don't recall the acreage (Alan told me but I forget what it is) but it is fairly large. Although I'm not sure if that would help with noise it would appear to block the view of the theatre from the closest neighorhood.

Dave is correct in that the Bumper's Drive-In would have both 35mm and digital capability for each screen. It would also have both indoor and outdoor seating and certain aspects of the theatre, such as the concession area and arcade would operate year round. I believe that they may also be planning to run films all year long since they will have the benefit of the indoor seating.