Studio City : In-N-Out Burgers in Back-and-Forth Battle

In-N-Out Burgers has scaled back the size of its proposed restaurant on the corner of Cahuenga Boulevard and Regal Place in an effort to avoid a previous city order that it undergo a special review.

The fast-food chain has reduced the size of the proposed eatery so that the number of vehicle trips that it is projected to attract to the area each day is 496. City law requires that projects such as the proposed restaurant that are expected to draw 500 or more car trips to an area must undergo a site plan review, which includes a public hearing and an environmental study.

The proposal now calls for a 2,194-square-foot restaurant, down 5% from 2,312 square feet. Nearby residents and businesses contend that the burger place will exacerbate excessive traffic in the area.

The city Department of Building and Safety issued In-N-Out Burgers a building permit for the restaurant on June 20, and construction began shortly after. But on July 12, at the direction of the Board of Building and Safety Commissioners, the department informed In-N-Out that it must first undergo a site plan review.

Since then, In-N-Out and its critics have made enough moves and counter-moves to fill a chessboard. The Studio City Residents Assn. was concerned that the restaurant would be built without the proper review. At the request of the residents group and Universal City Nissan, Superior Court Judge Robert O’Brien granted a preliminary injunction last Friday, forcing the company to halt construction. But by Tuesday, In-N-Out had revised its project and asked O’Brien to void the injunction based on the changes. The judge denied the request.

But in a victory for In-N-Out, the building department decided that it will issue a new building permit for the trimmed-down project. The residents group and Universal City Nissan have appealed that decision to the building commission, which will take up the matter for the second time on Aug. 8.