You must be joking. Berkeley loves its gas stations. There is nothing more Berkeley than a Volvo 240 getting 5MPG and spewing smoke all over town. When someone tried to develop apartments at 3000 Shattuck on the site of "Smog and Gas" -- a quite ironic name indeed -- the city's grey NIBMYs went to war, writing the zoning board that "Berkeley Smog & Gas better serves the needs of the working class of my neighborhood than the proposed speculation housing." The ZAB agreed, disapproving the project! It is on-the-record that the people of Berkeley prefer gas stations over housing.

Also I have no idea what you are talking about with Emeryville. They have three gas stations, all on Powell St. Berkeley has at least 20.