PETALUMA, CALIFORNIA LIGHTS FIRE, ISSUES BAN ON ANY NEW GAS STATIONS
So gasoline cars are not yet a thing of the past. But we all know the time is coming, and soon. I for one can’t yet imagine what it will be like to remember gas stations as things of the past! Because they will all pretty much be gone in the next 20 years or so. No, really. Every single car company is planning on transitioning away from gas vehicles to electric, or maybe fryer oil. No, that’s a thing. But clearly, electric cars are here already. Soon, they will be all we can buy. So we simply won’t need gas stations anymore. But one city is planning ahead. Petaluma, California just banned any new gas stations.
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WITH ELECTRIC VEHICLES SOON TO TAKE OVER ENTIRE MARKET, GAS STATIONS MOOT
So what’s the story here? Well, it’s not about encouraging people to buy electric cars. Not directly, anyway. But more immediately, Petaluma has its own plan to achieve a zero emissions standard by the year 2030. Like, 9 years from now. While that may seem ambitious, they just may achieve their goal. They already had a 2-year moratorium on new gas stations. But the City Council unanimously voted to make that moratorium permanent. If you wanted to open your own franchise to sell gas there, you’re out of luck. You can’t break ground.
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WILL OTHERS SOON FOLLOW WITH THEIR OWN GAS STATION BAN? THE GROUND WATER WANTS TO KNOW
Petaluma has about 61,000 residents, spread out in about 15 square miles. At the moment, you can find 16 gas stations there. One more is on the way, having gotten approval before this recent ban. But the ban does more than just no new gas stations. The 16 to be 17 ones already there can’t expand by adding more pumps, either. One has to wonder if this will inspire other California localities to do the same, like in Sonoma County. So if you want to invest in a business, look at California as a great place to open electric car charging stations. Maybe with coffee service. Start in Petaluma.