Can downtown merchants stop paid parking?

Downtown merchants are so distraught by the potential return of paid parking that they’re considering filing an injunction to prevent the city from installing parking meters.

City Attorney Robert Fournier isn’t too worried about a judge ruling that the city lacks the authority to implement paid parking on certain streets within its jurisdiction. He dismissed the threat posed by a potential legal challenge from the Sarasota Downtown Merchants Association in an email last week.

“It is likely that a court would ultimately decline to wade into a dispute of this nature and would advise a plaintiff that a remedy for this particular grievance is not through the courts but at the ballot box,” Fournier wrote.

Still, several merchants are steadfast in their belief that the city’s plan to install meters will harm business. A recent SDMA survey suggests this fear is widespread, with 84% of merchants responding negatively to the paid parking proposal.

The idea of asking a court to intervene is a signal that merchants feel appeals to the City Commission won’t be enough to block paid parking plans.

Chip Beeman, owner of Pastry Art Café and Main Bar Sandwich Shop, said businesses won’t stop their overtures against paid parking. However, there is a growing feeling that commissioners aren’t properly recognizing the impact meters could have.

“I do not understand how the City Commission can ignore the loud pleas, the wisdom, the thoughts and the previous experiences that have been shared,” Beeman said. “It doesn’t matter if a person’s business is harmed by 3% or 30%. It makes a difference.”

Not all businesses are against the idea of adding paid parking. People like John Anderson, the owner of MoZaic Restaurant who emailed city officials with his support for installing meters, are decidedly in the minority.

In the SDMA survey, though, one recurring complaint from merchants was that parking on Main Street is already too hard. City Parking Manager Mark Lyons has argued paid parking is a solution to the current parking shortage because it will increase circulation in prime parking areas.

For the hardcore critics — who also see the Main Street meters as a first step toward a ever-expanding paid parking program downtown — is there any hope that the meters may work out as the city intends?

“Not one iota of a percent,” Beeman said. “Those who do not look back at history are doomed to repeat it.”