URGENCY ORDINANCE O2026-XX
AN URGENCY ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF MANTECA, STATE OF CALIFORNIA, IMPOSING A TEMPORARY MORATORIUM ON THE ACCEPTANCE OF NEW COMPLETE APPLICATIONS FOR FUELING STATION DEVELOPMENT ENTITLEMENTS PURSUANT TO CALIFORNIA GOVERNMENT CODE SECTION 65858 WHEREAS, Article XI, Section 7 of the California Constitution authorizes cities to make and enforce within their limits all local, police, sanitary and other ordinances not in conflict with general law; and WHEREAS, Government Code Section 65858 subdivision (a) authorizes a city council to adopt, as an urgency measure, an interim ordinance prohibiting any uses that may conflict with a contemplated zoning proposal that the legislative body is considering or intends to study within a reasonable period of time; and WHEREAS, Government Code Section 65858 subdivision (c) requires that the City Council find that there exists a current and immediate threat to the public health, safety, or welfare, and that approval of additional land use entitlements would result in that threat; and WHEREAS, the City of Manteca is presently evaluating its land use regulations governing fueling stations throughout the City; and WHEREAS, the City has experienced increasing interest in new fueling station development proposals in recent years, including six pre-application inquiries, requests for information, and/or contacts with City staff regarding potential fueling station sites within the City since May 1, 2026, such that approval of an entitlement for one or more new fueling stations is imminent absent adoption of this Ordinance; and WHEREAS, fueling stations represent long-term commercial land uses involving petroleum storage, hazardous materials, significant vehicle trips, truck deliveries, and substantial impacts on traffic circulation, pedestrian safety, neighborhood compatibility, environmental quality, and commercial corridor design; and WHEREAS, fueling stations are permanent commercial uses that may remain in operation for decades, making it essential that the City first complete its legislative review before accepting additional applications; and WHEREAS, allowing additional complete applications to be accepted while the City is actively studying amendments could frustrate the City's planning efforts and impair its ability to protect the public health, safety and welfare; and WHEREAS, the City Council has determined that existing Municipal Code regulations governing fueling stations should be comprehensively evaluated and updated to ensure future fueling station development is consistent with the City's General Plan, economic development objectives, neighborhood compatibility goals, Complete Streets policies, and long-range planning efforts; and WHEREAS, on December 2, 2025, the City Council directed staff to evaluate the City's existing regulations governing fueling station development and return with recommendations for potential amendments to the Municipal Code; and WHEREAS, on June 16, 2026, after additional public discussion regarding fueling station development, the City Council directed staff to prepare comprehensive amendments to the Municipal Code and to prepare an interim urgency ordinance pursuant to Government Code Section 65858 to preserve the status quo while such regulations are considered; and WHEREAS, staff has prepared amendments to the Municipal Code addressing, among other matters: permitted zoning districts; minimum and maximum parcel sizes; site design; architectural standards; landscaping; circulation; access management; spacing requirements; proximity to residential neighborhoods; proximity to schools, parks and other sensitive receptors; compatibility findings; accessory uses; operational standards; environmental considerations; and discretionary review requirements; and WHEREAS, acceptance of new complete entitlement applications prior to adoption of these regulations could allow applications to vest under standards that the City Council has determined warrant further study and potential revision; and WHEREAS, the City Council therefore finds that acceptance of additional complete applications for new fueling stations during the period in which the City is studying revisions to its regulations would constitute a current and immediate threat to the public health, safety and welfare within the meaning of Government Code Section 65858 because such applications may proceed under regulations that the City Council has determined require comprehensive review to adequately address compatibility with surrounding land uses, pedestrian safety, traffic circulation, environmental quality, neighborhood character, and long-term planning objectives; and WHEREAS, this Ordinance does not prohibit maintenance, modernization, remodeling, repair, replacement of equipment, electric vehicle charging installations, or other improvements to legally existing fueling stations that do not expand fueling operations; and WHEREAS, Government Code Section 65858(a) limits this interim ordinance to no more than forty-five (45) days in duration unless extended by the City Council in the manner provided by that section, a limitation the City Council incorporates as an operative requirement of this Ordinance in Section 2A below; and WHEREAS, California Government Code Section 65858, subdivision (d) provides that ten days prior to the expiration of an interim ordinance or any extension, the legislative body shall issue a written report describing the measures taken to alleviate the condition which led to the adoption of the ordinance; and WHEREAS, this Ordinance is exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Sections 15061(b)(3) and 15308 because it preserves the existing regulatory status quo while the City evaluates potential land use regulations and has no potential to result in a physical change to the environment; and WHEREAS, adoption of this Ordinance requires a four-fifths vote of the City Council for approval pursuant to the express threshold in California Government Code Section 65858(a); and WHEREAS, the City Council has considered all information related to this matter, as presented at the public meeting of the City Council identified herein, including any supporting reports by City Staff, and any information provided during public meetings.
THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF MANTECA DOES ORDAIN AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1: Findings. The foregoing recitals are true and correct and are incorporated herein as findings of the City Council.
SECTION 2: Moratorium Imposed. A temporary moratorium is hereby imposed on the acceptance of any new application for development entitlements for a new fueling station within the City of Manteca in accordance with California Government Code Section 65858.
SECTION 2A: Duration. This Ordinance shall be of no further force and effect forty-five (45) days from the date of its adoption unless extended by the City Council in the manner provided by California Government Code Section 65858.
SECTION 3: Scope. Applications for land use or development entitlements for new fueling stations in the City of Manteca, not complete as of the effective date of this ordinance, may not be approved during the moratorium period. For purposes of this Ordinance, development entitlements include, but are not limited to: Site Plan Review, Design Review, Conditional Use Permit, Planned Development Permit, Planned Unit Development, General Plan Amendment, Zoning Map Amendment, Tentative Map, Development Agreement, Variance, or any other discretionary approval required for establishment of a new fueling station. No application for a land use or development entitlement for a new fueling station shall be accepted for filing or deemed complete by the City after the effective date of this Ordinance and during the moratorium period. Any application submitted after the effective date shall be returned to the applicant without further processing.
SECTION 4: Exemptions. This Ordinance shall not apply to: Any entitlement application determined complete prior to the effective date of this Ordinance, Emergency repairs necessary to protect public health or safety, or any Existing legally established fueling stations seeking: building permits; tenant improvements; remodeling; replacement of fuel dispensers; canopy replacement; code compliance improvements; maintenance; installation of electric vehicle charging equipment; landscaping improvements; accessibility improvements; or other improvements that do not expand fueling operations.
SECTION 5. Processing. Nothing in this Ordinance prohibits City staff from: conducting pre-application meetings; reviewing conceptual plans; providing information regarding City regulations; preparing future zoning amendments; accepting applications unrelated to new fueling stations. The City shall not accept, determine complete, nor accept as complete, any application for a new fueling station during the moratorium.
SECTION 6. Statutory Findings and Purpose. This ordinance is declared to be an interim ordinance as defined under California Government Code Section 65858. The City Council expressly finds: There exists a current and immediate threat to public health, safety and welfare because the City is actively studying significant amendments governing fueling station development; Acceptance of new complete entitlement applications before adoption of those regulations could allow projects to proceed under standards that the City Council has determined may be inadequate. Therefore, the ordinance is deemed necessary for the following reasons:
The purpose of this ordinance is to protect the public safety, health, and welfare from a current and immediate threat posed by the issuance of land use or development entitlements for new gas station uses that could result in negative health, safety or other impacts on adjacent or nearby existing uses or neighborhoods with which new gas station uses may not be compatible, absent adequate local regulation addressing compatibility of new gas station uses with adjacent or nearby uses or neighborhoods.
New gas station uses have been proposed, and additional such uses are imminently expected to be proposed, for construction in the City, and unless a moratorium is imposed on the issuance of land use or development entitlements for new gas station uses in the City, such development may result in negative health, safety or other impacts on adjacent or nearby existing uses or neighborhoods with which new gas station uses may not be compatible, absent adequate local regulation addressing compatibility of new gas station uses with adjacent or nearby existing uses or neighborhoods. Approval of an entitlement for one or more such new gas station uses is imminent, as reflected by the pre-application inquiries described in the recitals above. This is particularly true regarding City zoning districts where currently new gas stations are permitted uses (CMU, CN, and CG zones) and approval of applications for such proposed new uses is subject only to site plan and architectural review, which review does not take into account such consideration as project emissions and other health impacts unrelated to aesthetics, siting and internal circulation.
It is, therefore, necessary to impose a moratorium on issuance of land use or development entitlements for new gas station uses in the City that are not complete as of the effective date of this ordinance to provide time to evaluate and adopt legislation, guidelines and/or policies as required to address negative health, safety or other impacts of proposed new gas station uses on, adjacent to or nearby existing uses or neighborhoods.
SECTION 7: Severability. If any section, sub-section, subdivision, paragraph, clause or phrase in this Ordinance, or any part thereof, is for any reason held to be invalid or unconstitutional, such decision shall not affect the validity of the remaining sections or portions of this Ordinance or any part thereof. The City Council hereby declares that it would have passed each section, sub-section, subdivision, paragraph, sentence, clause or phrase of this Ordinance, irrespective of the fact that any one or more sections, sub-sections, subdivisions, paragraphs, sentences, clauses or phrases may be declared invalid or unconstitutional.
SECTION 8: Effective Date. This Ordinance shall become effective immediately upon adoption and will expire forty-five (45) days from the date of adoption unless extended by the City Council in the manner provided in Government Code Section 65858.
City of Manteca, a municipal corporation
MAYOR: __________________________
GARY SINGH
ATTEST: __________________________
CASSANDRA CANDINI-TILTON
CITY CLERK
STATE OF CALIFORNIA
COUNTY OF SAN JOAQUIN SS:
CITY OF MANTECA
I, Cassandra Candini-Tilton, City Clerk of the City of Manteca, do hereby certify that the foregoing Ordinance had its reading and was introduced during the public meeting of the City Council on the ___ day of ______, 2026, and was adopted and passed by the following four-fifths vote:
AYES:
NOES:
ABSENT:
ABSTAIN:
ATTEST: __________________________
CASSANDRA CANDINI-TILTON
City Clerk
O2026-XX Page 6 of 6 Type adopted date of ordinance here 3002764-1
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