National City is getting its second In-N-Out

National City is getting a second In-N-Out, a project city leaders say will bring needed sales tax revenue, but others worry will worsen traffic congestion and community health.

The new store, slated for construction on the southwest corner of East Plaza Boulevard and Interstate 805, is part of the popular chain’s plan to alleviate heavy traffic at its only other National City site.

When completed, the location will be the latest built in the southern part of the county. In-N-Out also opened in November a new restaurant in San Diego’s Palm City, which will serve nearby Imperial Beach and Otay Mesa. These two new sites will join its only other locations in South County: on 24^th Street in National City and Eastlake Parkway in Chula Vista.

In a 3-2 vote, the City Council recently approved granting an appeal filed by the fast food chain that allows them to open a new and larger site.

In-N-Out had appealed a previous Planning Commission denial of their project, in which commissioners said the proposed site would increase traffic congestion in an already busy intersection. They worried that even if the company agreed to an extended median between east and westbound lanes on Plaza Boulevard, long lines of cars, especially those exiting the freeway, would have to make risky left turns onto the property.

Company officials told the City Council that after additional field observations and city-approved traffic studies, they concluded that adding a new restaurant and current public configurations would not negatively impact traffic patterns or nearby businesses.

Instead, the project would mitigate traffic at its 24^th Street restaurant, located about two miles away, said Cassie Ruiz, In-N-Out development manager. Long drive-thru lines at that site commonly form out on the public right-of-way and as far as the I-5 off-ramp.

“That is the whole premise of why we’re trying to open this new location: we’re spreading the demand. The demand isn’t changing for the demographic of this area. We’re offering another location to minimize both (the 24^th Street) line and this line (and) not to create two monster-size stores that are still serving the same demographic of people,” said Ruiz.

In-N-Out is proposing to construct a 3,879-square-foot store with two drive-thru lanes and more than 50 parking spaces. The 1.3-acre property is the former site of the family-run business Family House of Pancakes. The proposed store is projected to generate about 1,655 new daily trips on weekdays and stay open until 1:30 a.m. on Fridays and Saturdays, according to the company.

New In-N-Out restaurants have often generated concerns from the public about crowds and long lines of drive-thru traffic lanes. Some in National City raised those same complaints, with calls to the City Council to issue a moratorium on drive-thrus. Others questioned the project’s ability to mitigate traffic and worried it would only worsen emissions in one of the most polluted cities in the region.

Resident Janice Reynosa said the city had an opportunity to halt drive-thru projects and consider healthier options for an area already saturated with several other fast-food restaurants.

Councilmember Jose Rodriguez suggested the council deny the project and instead consider a standalone version of In-N-Out. Councilmember Mona Rios supported his substitute motion but it failed on a 3-2 vote.

The City Council then voted to approve In-N-Out’s appeal, with Rodriguez and Rios opposed.

The new In-N-Out is estimated to generate about $200,000 in sales tax revenue annually, according to the city’s economic development department.

Vice Mayor Marcus Bush said the city will benefit from the added revenue, which it could use to further tackle issues of community health. He suggested the city have a more comprehensive discussion on addressing problems like high asthma rates and obesity via the creation of a local committee and partnering with the county.