Design panel presses In‑N‑Out to change look, approves project with conditions and a return visit

The Palm Springs Architectural Review Committee on July 6 voted to approve a proposed 3,886‑square‑foot In‑N‑Out Burger at Smoke Tree Village, but only after compiling a detailed set of design, landscape and screening conditions and securing the applicant’s agreement to return for a further design review.

Planning staff described the project as a single‑story restaurant with a drive‑through on a 2.35‑acre parcel at 1801 East Palm Canyon Drive, including 81 parking spaces and a queuing lane designed for about 42 vehicles. Staff reviewed prior Planning Commission action, said the planning commission had determined the project exempt from CEQA under a categorical exemption, and recommended approval subject to conditions intended to reduce bulk, simplify cornices and ensure adequate landscape screening and night‑time lighting controls.

Smoke Tree Ranch (the underlying landowner) asked the committee to weigh the parcel’s economic realities. “We’ve spent two years thinking long and hard about how to reposition the shopping center,” said Tracy Conrad, chief operating officer of Smoke Tree Ranch, who argued the site is larger than other In‑N‑Out locations and that added lanes and a deceleration lane will contain stacking on site.

Public commenters pressed two themes: design context and potential traffic/air quality impacts. Paul Valentino told the committee the traffic study relied on November 2020 data and cautioned that a 42‑car queuing allowance could produce noise and idling adjacent to nearby residences; he urged the city to require a conditional use permit and a full CEQA review. “If we have to allow more fast‑food restaurants... then at least the building should be exceptional,” said online commenter Chris Minrad.

The committee’s critique focused heavily on architectural character and site detailing. Members asked the applicant to remove small Art‑Deco rounded corners and a lit palm‑tree motif, to simplify tower elements used to hide mechanical equipment, to lower the height or change treatment of some vertical towers, and to replace or reduce full‑height glass‑block wainscoting that reads as an Art‑Deco gesture. Landscape concerns included replacing a share of accent plants with permanent shade trees, providing immediate (not 5‑year) screening so headlights do not shine into adjacent homes, revising turf near East Palm Canyon Drive to comply with recycled‑water rules, and adding breeze‑block screening at the drive‑through canopy as a unifying Palm Springs motif.

The applicant’s development manager, Peter Kolmantikian (Malverde), said the company had worked through multiple subcommittee and planning commission reviews and had tried to balance corporate identity with local context. “We listened and took time to be receptive to the various feedback we received,” Kolmantikian said, while also noting that some corporate standards are fixed and would require executive approval to change.

The committee initially attempted to approve the project with the compiled conditions but the first motion failed on a split roll call. After further negotiation the applicant agreed to return for one additional ARC design review, and the committee then approved the project with the staff conditions plus the additional modifications requested by ARC and the explicit requirement that the applicant return to ARC with revised materials. The motion carried on roll call with a majority of members voting yes.

The committee’s conditions include, among other items: elimination or substantial simplification of rounded architectural corners and certain cornice details; reconsideration or lowering of tower elements and simplified tower massing; replacement or lowering of tall glass‑block expanses (consider fritted translucent glass or low wainscot); incorporation of breeze‑block screening backed with solid surfaces at the drive‑through canopy; revised trash enclosure design to match associate canopies; more robust, mature screening and berms/walls to block headlights on day one; reworked planting islands with larger root area and a higher percentage of shade trees (roughly 40% replacement of accent trees with shade species); and a demonstration that any turf will be irrigated with non‑potable water or removed in compliance with Desert Water Agency and state rules.

The committee’s action sends the project back to the applicant to prepare revised design materials addressing those conditions. The applicant agreed to return to ARC for a final design review so the committee can confirm whether the revised submission meets the conditions; committee members stressed they retain authority to deny the resubmitted design if it fails to meet the listed requirements.

Next steps: the applicant will coordinate with planning staff to produce revised drawings and landscape plans. The committee’s conditional approval will be reflected in a staff report that enumerates the required changes; ARC will review the resubmitted materials at the follow‑up meeting.