An Uptown business owner is upset customers are receiving citations for parking more than three hours in one location.

Tom Henry said he is angry because the no parking signs are misleading, and claims he was told the three-hour time limit for parking was aimed at business owners and their employees.

Sedona Police Cmdr. Ron Wheeler said the original plan changed earlier this year after the City Council told the police department to enforce parking laws.

“Now, everything is enforced,” Wheeler said. “You see the sign, you should read it.”

He said unless the city manager or council does an about face, the police department will continue to enforce the time limits people can park in Uptown.

Henry said he understands the city wanting to keep employees from parking there for extended amounts of time, but added Uptown survives on tourists.

He said a longtime customer, who recently received a $25 parking ticket, may decide to not shop in Sedona anymore.

When he told Henry about the citation, the business owner thought he was mistaken, and believed it was a warning until he saw the ticket.

The customer said he did not even see the small sign about the three-hour parking rule. A bigger sign above reads “free public parking.”

“If I got a ticket I wouldn’t come back here,” he said. “They are costing us money. It’s hurting big in Uptown.”

He also said that if there is going to be a time limit on parking it should be a longer time.

Henry said he thinks others are missing the smaller sign and only realize this fact after receiving a citation.

“I got the impression that is dishonest,” he said, adding it is wrong for the city to issue citations for the sole purpose of making money.

“That’s unfair,” he said.

Assistant City Manager Alison Zelms said citations being issued for parking violations in Uptown has been happening for no more than the last two months.

She said the goal was to free up mobility space for traffic in the area, and the first fine discussed was $75 which is now $25.

She said the change was needed because people were disregarding the warnings.

“The warnings did not appear to be working,” she said.

Henry said what is also alarming is he knew nothing about the practice changing and used to tell customers not to worry about the three-hour time limit because the signs were there to prevent residents from parking there.

“That is going to kill business in Uptown,” he said. “I don’t think a lot of merchants know. It’s just bad business.”

He also wonders how police officers know for sure how long a vehicle has been parked, and reiterated the signs, to him, are misleading.

“I think it is dishonest,” he said. “I see that as a little deceptive.”

Henry said it’s possible the city and police department had been issuing citations for this part of town all along, and he failed to recognize it.

He said if customers have to leave his store because they are afraid of receiving a parking ticket, there’s a good chance they will not return.

“We don’t need to chase tourists away,” the business owner said.

Henry said he knows the city is facing some difficult times but thinks there are better ways to make money than convincing tourists to look at other locations.

Michael Maresh can be reached at 282-7795, ext. 125, or e-mail mmaresh@larsonnewspapers.com