St. George business owners warn of paid parking change

ST. GEORGE, Utah (ABC4) — Downtown St. George businesses say they’re feeling the impact of a new paid parking policy at Ancestor Square, with owners claiming they weren’t notified ahead of time, and some are calling the move illegal.

Business owners in the square said that they were caught off guard when new parking signs were posted, and they are worried that it’s driving customers away. The new signs require drivers to register their cars for three hours of free parking.

Nicki Richards, general manager of George’s Corner, said that they were informed by another manager about the change.

“I immediately started calling around, and everyone was in an uproar because all of a sudden, our parking lot was empty,” Richards said. “This hurts the small business.”

The Ancestor Square board, made up of five property owners including two restaurant operators and three real estate developers, voted to implement paid parking just before Labor Day. The board has previously discussed the idea to limit overnight parking, restaurant employees using spaces, and people visiting downtown but not shopping in the square.

“If there was a place that I could think of in St. George where paid parking would be a thing, it would probably be right here,” said St. George resident Michael Creer. “But at the same time, it rarely seems to get enough that they should be charging for it at this point.”

Business owners like Nicki Richards said that September sales are already down between 15 and 20 percent.

“We have lost our locals,” Richards added. “If you go to social media, you will see that they are banning businesses in Ancestor Square and blaming us. Instead of scaring away the restaurant employees, they’ve scared away the paying guests.”

Richards adds that the businesses within Ancestor Square aren’t benefiting from the paid parking.

“Please don’t give up on us. We are here for our community,” Richards said. “We want to serve our community and we all need you. We can’t lose the support of our community. This will be taken care of. I don’t know if it’s going to happen within a month or six months. We believe this is illegal what they did to us.”

For now, the new rules allow three free hours of parking from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. with vehicle registration, a $10 flat rate for overnight stays, and possible towing beginning in November.

ABC4 has reached out to the Ancestor Square board for comment.

As of now, the signs are still posted around Ancestor Square. Business owners say they will continue pushing back on the decision, but the board has not announced any plans to reverse course.