There was a time in the 1960s when it wasn’t rare to see some cities with a gas station on every corner of an intersection.

It was back when gas was 35 cents a gallon.

If “green” and “gas station” were mentioned in the same sentence it was not about greenhouse gases.

Instead, it was whether a particular service station gave out Green Stamps or Blue Chip Stamps.

And if you heard the word climate, someone was bragging about the “climate control” of the latest and greatest air conditioning systems Detroit was churning out with the new model year

It was a different time back then.

Every teen couldn’t wait to get behind the wheel.

California was at 16 million residents.

The Golden State was in the midst of building a freeway system that for decades was the envy of the world.

Cars ruled.

California was in growth mode busy paving over paradise and putting up parking lot after parking lot after parking lot.

New gas stations popping up were a sign of civic progress.

Fast forward to today.

Sacramento has plotted a course to kill off the sale of new fossil fueled vehicles in California by 2035 in the name of greenhouse gas reduction.

It’s a course that, up until Jan. 20, looked like it was predestined to happen in 10 years.

The very same week Manteca appears ready to not merely jump on the green band wagon but to hitch on as a lead horse by exploring a course to impose a moratorium on new gas stations, the powers that be along the Potomac are proposing dialing back the nation’s de facto EV mandate by slashing fleet mileage requirements for vehicle manufacturing.

So, is Manteca part of the Trump resistance or at least manning the climate change barricades?

Don’t bet your Cybertruck on it.

There is a difference between a ban and a moratorium.

In short, Manteca Mayor Gary Singh in his gas station moratorium proposal is hearing a different drummer.

And the tune that drummer is marching to is about what type of community Manteca wants. It’s not about establishing a beachhead for climate warriors to do what Sacramento politicians have not even dared to suggest, which is banning new gas stations.

It is driven by NIMBYism.

People literally don’t want a gas station near their neighborhood.

There is also a lot of gas station fatigue, if you will.

Manteca has 29 gas stations, with nine more in various stages of the entitlement process.

The social media buzz has created the incessant echo of “enough already.”

Yes, there are some in Manteca that decry what they see as the insanity of allowing more gas stations when Sacramento has dedicated itself to the annihilation of new fossil fueled car sales.

But the buzz is clearly, “oh may gawd, not another gas station, not another car wash, not another convenience store, not another fast-food place . . .”

One would think the “market” is crazy to keep building and proposing gas stations.

But a funny thing about Manteca.

It’s come late to the urbanization game of 100,000 plus cities in California.

It is also growing along two freeways used for long distance travel and long-distance inter-regional commuting.

And it has commercial areas along six of its seven interchanges that are far from being developed while also being in the path of booming housing growth.

The ARCO station on East Yosemite for years has been dominated by sales to travelers heading to and from the Sierra. It is why it has been consistently a top 10 sales tax generator for the city.

It helps that it is on top of the surface highway to freeway transition for Highway 99 and Highway 120 that has nearly 20 fast food, dine-in, and related options like Starbucks and Jamba Juice within a two-block radius.

It wasn’t by chance that is where places like Chipotle, McDonald’s, and Chick-fil-A built their first locations in Manteca.

They could count on the traveling public to augment local business.

And for the record, there are five of the city’s 29 gas stations within a two-block radius of the Yosemite Avenue-Highway 99 interchange with a sixth in the planning process.

With the opening in the past few months of Rotten Robbie’s and Maverik, within two blocks of the Airport Way and 120 Bypass interchange there are four fueling locations along with two others in the entitlement process.

There are 12 dining-coffee options as well with three more on the way, including a Sonic, with prime locations for even more.

Again, the interchange is the perfect combo of the traveling and long-range commuting public and establishment housing along with 1,000 homes a year being built nearby.

At the same time, the ARCO station built several years ago with a Starbucks at the Lathrop Road/Highway 99 interchange has also become a big sales tax contributor. The traffic it is attracting is why there is a Fatburger and other dining options on the way.

Singh’s proposal also includes an “annual review”, which further dilutes any thoughts of it being an outright ban.

The reason has everything to do with snagging the tax dollars of non-Manteca residents.

The Maverik station that just opened underscores the importance of snagging fuel sales related taxes.

On Wednesday morning, all four pump lanes for fueling semi-trucks with diesel were engaged.

Semis have a capacity of anywhere from 100 to 300 gallons of diesel.

If those five trucks pumped an average of 200 gallons, that would have been 800 gallons of taxable sales.

Maverik was selling diesel Wednesday at $4.29 a gallon compared to $5.15 for the Flying J in Ripon, and $5.09 for the Flying J in Lathrop.

At that price, 1,000 gallons at the Maverik generates $3,432 in sales. Between the city’s one cent share of the state sales tax, the half cent public safety tax, and the three-quarter cent Measure Q sales tax, that’s just over $75 heading into the City of Manteca’s coffers.

Rest assured, Manteca will make it clear if someone wants to build a truck stop in the future at either Austin Road when the replacement interchange is built or of the Roth Road interchange on Highway 99 is built to serve the envisioned industrial growth to the north that they will make an exception to any gas station moratorium that may be put in place.

This column is the opinion of editor, Dennis Wyatt, and does not necessarily represent the opinions of The Bulletin or 209 Multimedia. He can be reached at dwyatt@mantecabulletin.com