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 balancing pedestrian connectivity with vehicular circulation," Kolmatigge said, and noted company practices for staffing, shaded canopies for order-taking and queue management.

Residents and neighborhood representatives voiced traffic and safety concerns. Bob Snyder, a resident near the site, said he was "not opposed to the proposed project, but my concerns are with the traffic flows," citing potential queuing and conflicts at the East Palm Canyon/Smoketree/Cerritos area. Several speakers and commissioners asked for more analysis or mitigation for off-site queuing that could affect the Smoketree shopping center circulation and nearby residential streets.

Staff and the city’s engineering reviewer said the project’s traffic impact analysis focused on off-site impacts to public streets while the study provided an internal circulation evaluation that concluded no adverse internal impacts were expected. The planning director and engineering staff noted the city’s authority for the review covers off-site street impacts attributable to the proposed development; internal site circulation within the shopping center is primarily the shopping center owner’s purview but was considered in the applicant’s submittal.

On CEQA and air quality questions, staff said the project qualifies for the Class 32 infill exemption and that standard regional air-quality screening thresholds (South Coast Air Quality Management District guidance) indicate no basis for a project-level air-quality study for this 3,886-square-foot building. The director told the commission the SCAQMD size threshold typically used for non‑residential idling-related air impacts is much larger (on the order of 75,000 square feet) than this proposal.

Commissioner and resident questions led to changes the commission required or requested: clearer, signed/striped pedestrian crossings where the new multipurpose path meets existing walkways; measures to reduce headlight glare from drive-through lanes (a combination of landscape, low walls or berms was discussed); review and possible redesign of the right-in/right-out “pork chop” entry so left turns are effectively prevented; required conformity of outdoor lighting with city standards (staff recommended specific photometric compliance); and a landscape maintenance plan before certificate of occupancy. Commissioners also asked the applicant and Smoke Tree Ranch to coordinate on repaving and the condition of the private south drive aisle that will be widened as part of the project.

The commission added a direction that the project return to a joint Planning Commission/Architectural Review Committee (ARC) subcommittee for a focused redesign of building architecture to be contextual to the shopping center and the unique character of Palm Springs. Commissioners said they wanted a less prototypical, high-contrast white box and recommended use of desert-neutral/earth tones, reduced perceived bulk (notably cornice treatment) and a landscaping palette and tree-well sizing that supports larger-mature canopies and real shade. "Palm Springs has a very specific aesthetic," Tracy Conrad, chief operating officer at Smoke Tree Ranch, told the commission, and she said Smoke Tree — the shopping center’s property owner — supports revitalization but wants architecture and circulation that fit the area.

The approved motion included staff’s recommended conditions, with three staff edits the commission directed during the hearing: strike engineering placeholder condition 42 (a TBD placeholder); modify administrative condition 7 and planning condition 8 to clarify that drive-through speakers and order‑pickup audio are permitted but must operate at levels consistent with the noise ordinance; and referral of architecture and detailed landscape/lighting to the joint subcommittee (two Planning Commission members and two ARC members). The motion passed on a roll call vote with all seven commissioners present voting yes.

What’s next: the applicant will proceed to provide revised materials per the conditions and the joint subcommittee will review architecture, parking-shade strategy, tree-well sizing and final site/lighting details before ARC-level approval of the architectural package. The staff and applicant noted the frontage road vacation process (to transfer the frontage road area to the adjacent parcel and create public easements for the multipurpose path and utilities) will follow the city’s subdivision/vacation procedures and requires city council action if done by separate instrument; doing the vacation on a map is an alternative the city favors because it streamlines approvals.

Votes at a glance: the Planning Commission approved the major development permit and CEQA Class 32 exemption for the In-N-Out Burger project at 1801 East Palm Canyon Drive, Zone CSC, by a 7-0 roll call vote with the conditions and staff edits summarized above.

Ending note: commissioners and staff repeatedly emphasized pedestrian safety, shade/landscaping and architectural compatibility as priorities for the next review steps. The developer and Smoke Tree Ranch said they will continue to work with staff and the subcommittee on the requested design changes.