News that an application was under review at city hall for a commercial use with a drive thru next door to the Union Road fire station just north of the 120 Bypass alarmed Manteca leaders.

The last thing they want to do is jeopardize public safety by having a car queue line potentially blocking the ability of firefighters  to depart from the fire engine bays literally just feet from the property line with the commercial project.

“It isn’t going to happen,” Mayor Gary Singh said Friday.

It wasn’t an arbitrary edict.

While commercial use is allowed on the 1.22 acres where a home built in 1937 now stands, any drive thru requires the city to approve a conditional use permit.

The application posted Thursday on the municipal website as being among the commercial projects in review wasn’t — according to city officials — a complete application. As such, it shouldn’t have been posted.

Singh noted a thorough review by staff would have guaranteed the significant conflict would have been identified and the project to be rejected at the department level.

Commercial is allowed on the site meaning a project that doesn’t have as much impacts as a drive thru would have on traffic movement on top of the fire station would more than likely be allowed.

A test of your knowledge 

of Manteca’s past & present

Here’s a quick look, via a short quiz, on how things have changed over the years.

What used to be located where:

*1. F&M Bank is today on North Main Street (name the original use that wasn’t also a bank).

*2. The Manteca Transit Center stands.

*3. Brethren Brewing Co. is in the 200 block of North Main (list the three concerns that each occupied the building for a minimum of 10 years).

*4. In N Out Burger, Starbucks and nearby concerns such as Carl’s Jr., Bank of the West, and Chipotle’s are today.

*5. NAPA Auto Parts is today on North Main.

*6. Bass Pro is located.

*7. The Lathrop-Manteca ACE station parking lot and passenger loading platform are located.

*8. Library Park is located.

*9. The KIA dealership is today.

*10. India Merchandise in downtown 

The answers are:

*1. A Volkswagen dealership.

*2. The Union Ice Company.

*3. South San Joaquin Irrigation District headquarters, the Bulletin, and Larimore’s Restaurant.

*4. Tradeway Chevrolet.

*5. A skating rink and before that a Honda dealership.

*6. The Manteca rodeo grounds.

*7. Howard Shideler’s turkey ranch.

*8. The city’s first baseball field.

*9. A Datsun dealership.

*10. Bank of the West (Originally, the building was erected for the Bank of Manteca).

To contact Dennis Wyatt, email dwyatt@mantecabulletin.com