You'd think the developer of the EpiCentre would know better by now.

Charlotte's Drive-In, which indicates the first show would screen Friday, May 7.

And it was on Friday the first citation was issued.

City officials are investigating a new drive-in movie theater that was illegally operating this weekend in southwest Charlotte.

Code Enforcement Manager Walter Abernathy says a notice of violation was issued to developer Afshin Ghazi, who owns the property at Tyvola Road and South Tryon Street.

Ghazi, the owner and developer of the EpiCentre mixed-use center uptown, is also the owner of the theater, Abernathy says.

Ghazi was unavailable for comment.

Screenings were held this weekend on the vacant lot where Ghazi had once planned to develop a retail center. The site isn’t zoned for a movie theater.

Ghazi filed to rezone the property to commercial use from a residential designation in 2008, but the request was indefinitely deferred.

Abernathy says he’s checking on whether Ghazi has a business license for the theater or if he filed any plans with the city.

Read more  at the Charlotte Business Journal.