Auburn, NY- Auburn city officials are accusing a local video store of violating a city code by renting adult videos to its customers.

A representative from Family Video, a recently-opened business located at 48 Genesee St., will appear today in Auburn City Court. A judge will decide if the store is in violation of a municipal code which restricts sexually-oriented business to locations at least 500 feet from any residential dwelling.

Sexually-oriented businesses include adult bookstores, theaters, motels, cabarets and massage establishments, according to article 305-72 of Auburn’s municipal code. To be defined as an adult bookstore, a “substantial or significant portion” of the establishment’s stock has to be books, magazines, films, videotapes that it excludes minors from buying by reason of age.

City Manager Mark Palesh said that, by offering adult materials, Family Video falls under that definition. Palesh also said the company’s name is misleading.

“It seems like a trap to bring families in and then expose them to the worst of society,” Palesh said Thursday. “I, for one, will never expose my family to that store again. Other people will have to make that decision on their own.”

Palesh said that if the judge decides the video store is violating city code, the city will issue a notice calling for the business to cease and desist renting the material. If the judge rules in favor of the business, the city could re-examine the code and make it more specific, Palesh said.

Family Video Movie Club is the third-largest chain of video stores in the country. The Glenview, Ill.-based company opened its Auburn store in October 2007. Representatives from Family Video Movie Club’s corporate headquarters did not return calls Thursday from The Citizen.