Santa Ynez Valley residents won’t get to satisfy their In-N-Out Burger urge in Buellton anytime soon after the City Council put the brakes on the project amid concerns about traffic.

The City Council voted 3-1 to support the appeal and reject the proposal at the end of three hours on the topic. Councilman David Silva recused himself from the discussion and vote because of owning property nearby.

In October, planning commissioners voted 3-2 to approve In-N-Out’s application, but a resident, Carla Mead, appealed the decision, setting the stage for Thursday night.

In-N-Out’s 3,885-square-foot restaurant has been planned for 515 McMurray Road, at the former Parks Plaza Theatre site.

Most of the discussion centered on traffic, especially at Highway 246 and McMurray Road, along with potential impacts of vehicles stacking up along the northbound Highway 101 offramp.

“I wish that this particular location and this particular spot were viable for a project to go in there. But every way that I have looked at this, this will make an absolute disastrous mess out of the traffic on the 246 and McMurray,” Mayor Dave King said.

Mead’s appeal of the Planning Commission’s approval contended it would cause traffic troubles and wasn’t consistent with the city General Plan. 

Mead urged the council to look beyond the potential financial gains that In-N-Out might bring Buellton. 

“It’s not just about the financial expenses for traffic mitigation. It’s about straying from our government documents, disregarding key policies in the General Plan, creating hazardous traffic conditions and jeopardizing existing businesses along McMurray and the 246,” Mead said. 

“To preserve Buellton’s unique character, adhere to our General Plan and ensure the safety of our residents and visitors, it is evident that an In-N-Out project is not suitable for this area of the community.”

Caltrans District 5 Chief John Olejnik said the state has identified “some significant concerns” if the project gets built and suggested some specific mitigation measures. 

Additionally, the offramp should be lengthened 200 feet to accommodate more vehicles in the queue. 

The applicant should fund a queueing detection system to detect vehicles stacking up on the offramp, triggering traffic signals to clear the traffic. 

Caltrans officials have discussed that one solution could be closing the left-turn lane from Highway 246 onto McMurray.

“That’s not something we want to do, but if it is necessitated based on safety and concerns, then it’s a measure we have the ability to do,” Olejnik said.

Project opponents said that lane closure could lead drivers to use the Tractor Supply Co. parking lot to access McMurray Road and create new problems.

“Our No. 1 concern is safety and safety for all users of the highway system and the local road system for that matter,” Olejnik said.

However, In-N-Out’s Jim Lockington, manager of new store development, expressed frustration at the lengthy process and the proposal that applicant pay for traffic improvements. The company submitted the application in early 2022.

He maintained that the proposed conditions weren’t legally supportable. Still, the firm agreed to the vast majority of the 101 conditions proposed for the project to proceed, he added, noting the objections focused on some related to traffic. He called those proposed conditions a “gross overreach.”

“These conditions when taken together require In-N-Out to do so much more than required by the city’s General Plan and the city’s typical practice when conditioning similar projects,” Lockington said, adding that In-N-Out should pay only a proportional share of the fixes for existing traffic.

Multiple people, many of them neighbors, spoke out against the development. Supporters included family members of the closed theater’s operators and an In-N-Out employee.

One man suggested the project would be better located in Lompoc, noting the city’s more than 12 cannabis dispensaries and contending, “Those people have the munchies.”

In-N-Out marked its 75th anniversary this year and recently opened its 400th store, which also is the first in Idaho.