The northwest corner of Sepulveda and Burbank Boulevards is about 1.7 acres sitting against the 405. Nearby are hotels, a gas station and medical businesses, and a coin and jewelry store uses the 5627 Sepulveda address. What Now Los Angeles reported on October 27 that In-N-Out Burger wants to put a drive-through restaurant on this land, at 5601–5627 N. Sepulveda Boulevard. Hoodline followed a day later and noted that no opening date has been set.
This parcel has been through City Hall before, over the same traffic that a drive-thru would add to. And the process now reviewing the restaurant doesn't promise a public hearing.
What the City Record Shows, and What It Doesn't Yet
The application is Los Angeles City Planning case DIR-2026-5140-PR. It was filed October 2, 2026 and assigned to staff on October 6. As of late October the record lists the case as "On Hold," with no hearing date, no Director action and no appeal period. No initial submittal documents or approved plans are posted to the case yet.
So the numbers reported so far come from two places. Here is what each one says:
| Detail | City Planning case record | What Now Los Angeles, Oct. 27, 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Project | Demolish existing buildings, build a drive-thru restaurant with outdoor dining, trash enclosure and restroom/IT structures | Drive-through with walk-up ordering window and covered outdoor seating |
| Size | 2,291 sq ft restaurant | About 8,247 sq ft of total covered area, including the drive-through lane and patio roof overhang |
| Seating | Not listed | 64 outdoor seats |
| Parking | Not listed | 64 spaces, including 3 accessible and 14 EV spaces, plus bicycle parking |
| Hours | Not listed | 10:30 a.m. to 1 a.m. Sunday–Thursday, until 1:30 a.m. Friday–Saturday |
| Applicant | In-N-Out Burgers, represented by Three6ixty | In-N-Out did not respond before publication |
The two size figures measure different things, so they don't contradict each other. The building would be 2,291 square feet. Add the drive-through lane and the patio roof, and the covered area grows to roughly 3.6 times that. On this site, most of the covered space would be the lane and patio, not the kitchen and dining room.
The type of permit says the same thing. In-N-Out is asking for Project Review under Los Angeles Municipal Code Section 16.05, a review the city requires for a new drive-thru that would add 500 or more average daily vehicle trips. Under the city's own filing rules, that review exists because of traffic.
The City Has Studied This Corner Before
In 2011, this same property was the subject of a different city file. On May 31, 2011, the City Attorney sent the City Council a draft resolution of necessity to acquire easements on 5601–5627 Sepulveda Boulevard for the Sepulveda Boulevard at Burbank Boulevard Intersection Improvement Project.
The report described heavy congestion at the intersection at rush hour and other peak times. Traffic headed for the northbound 405 on-ramp was backing up because there weren't enough lanes to reach it. The plan called for:
- widening the west side of Sepulveda by 15 feet for about 315 feet
- widening the north side of Burbank by 12 feet for about 300 feet
- new street, sidewalk, landscape, lighting and signal work
- added right-turn capacity dedicated to freeway-bound traffic
At that point the city expected the business on the property, then listed as Continental Coin Company, to move only its two electronic signs.
Then the project went backward. According to the City Clerk's file for Council File 11-0931, the council finalized the ordinance authorizing the widening in March 2012. In December 2012 the City Attorney submitted a draft ordinance repealing it. The council adopted the repeal in January 2013, with final action recorded February 12, 2013 and an effective date of March 24, 2013. The file shows no completed construction, and an older Bureau of Engineering project sheet gives a schedule that contradicts itself, so the public record doesn't confirm whether any part of the widening was ever built.
Over a decade ago, the city wrote down that freeway-bound cars were stacking up here. The fix it approved for this same parcel was repealed less than a year later. The new application puts a drive-thru lane, a 64-space lot and hours running past 1 a.m. at the intersection the 2011 report described.
A Sherman Oaks Headline, a Van Nuys Case File
Every news story so far calls this a Sherman Oaks project, and the coin store's address reads Sherman Oaks, CA 91411. The city sees it differently. The planning case lists the primary address, 5601 N. Sepulveda Blvd, under the Van Nuys neighborhood council and Council District 4.
That determines which neighborhood council's land use committee is the natural first stop for public review. So far the proposal hasn't appeared on either council's agenda:
- The Van Nuys Neighborhood Council's October 14 board agenda included a general planning and land use report, with no item naming In-N-Out or this address.
- The Van Nuys council's October 28 special joint Board and PLUM meeting covered a CSUN resiliency-plan presentation and general planning topics.
- The Sherman Oaks Neighborhood Council's Planning and Land Use Committee agenda for October 15 didn't list the project. The council's calendar shows its next PLUM meeting on November 19 but doesn't describe the agenda.
The city's early notification page for Van Nuys agendas listed meetings through October 28 at its last update. If either council takes up the corner in November or December, those two pages are where the agenda will appear first.
Whether There Will Be a Public Hearing
The Site Plan Review process doesn't guarantee one. City Planning's Site Plan Review instructions and checklist say the Director of Planning decides these applications. A change of use to a fast-food establishment that adds 500 or more average daily trips, as measured by the Department of Transportation, is one of the project types covered.
The same document says a hearing happens only if the Director finds the project may significantly affect neighboring properties. If the Director sets one, notice goes to property owners and tenants within 100 feet of the site, and a notice is posted on the property.
On a 1.7-acre parcel bordered by two boulevards and a freeway, the 100-foot mailing radius covers very few neighbors. For most people who drive this intersection, the practical signals to watch are a posted notice on the site and a hearing date in the online case record. Today the record still says "N/A" for both the hearing date and the date the case was accepted for review.
This is a summary of public records, not legal advice. If you own or rent property near the site and want to know your options in the process, ask City Planning or a land use attorney.
The Three That Already Serve This Stretch of the Valley
Nothing about the case changes where you can get a Double-Double this week. In-N-Out's locator lists a Sherman Oaks restaurant at 4444 Van Nuys Boulevard, south of the corridor. It also lists two Van Nuys locations, at 7930 Van Nuys Boulevard and 7220 N. Balboa Boulevard.
None of the three sits on Sepulveda next to a northbound 405 on-ramp, which is the same on-ramp traffic the city's 2011 report described.
The chain is pursuing several Los Angeles County sites at once. What Now has also reported on planned locations in Sylmar and Monrovia and a renewed attempt in Woodland Hills. For now, Sepulveda and Burbank is one application among several, with a case number, an assigned planner, an "On Hold" status and no date yet for a decision.
Projects like this change how buyers see the surrounding blocks well before anything is built. If you own a home near Sepulveda and Burbank and want to know how the corner might come up in a future sale, Arthur Aslanian can walk you through a complimentary staging consultation and market valuation built around your street and the latest status of this case.
