Palm Springs planning commission approves In-N-Out permit with design, traffic and landscaping conditions

The Palm Springs Planning Commission on July 8 approved a major development permit and adoption of a CEQA Class 32 infill exemption for an In-N-Out Burger proposed at 1801 East Palm Canyon Drive, authorizing a 3,886-square-foot restaurant and drive-through on a 2.35-acre parcel in the CSC (community shopping center) zone.

The decision, taken after nearly three hours of staff presentations, commissioner questions and public comment, included a suite of conditions requiring additional work on pedestrian crossings, drive-through screening and landscape shading. The commission also directed staff to send the project to a joint subcommittee of the Planning Commission and the Architectural Review Committee for a focused redesign of building architecture and landscape details before final architectural approval. Commissioners voted 7-0 to approve the permit and related findings.

Staff told the commission the site is a previously developed parcel in a CSC zone and that drive-through uses are permitted by right at this location because a drive-through use existed under prior development on the parcel. Noriko Kikuchi (staff) said the project proposes a single-story, 3,886-square-foot building with a maximum height of 23.5 feet, 82 parking spaces, and a drive-through layout with a 42-vehicle queuing area. The applicant proposes 74 indoor seats and 60 outdoor seats and a multipurpose pedestrian/bike path on the north side of the site where a frontage road will be vacated and absorbed into the project footprint.

Peter Kolmatigge, a development manager with In N Out Burger, emphasized jobs and community investment in his presentation and described operations and queue management features. "We were careful in…