Business owners are angry that free car parking in Phillip will be turned into an exclusive parking spot for government workers.
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They say that by taking away more than 100 car parking spots, low-income employees will struggle to maintain their employment and customers will be unable to access businesses.
The car park on the corner of Townshend and Parramatta streets is set to become a closed parking area for Woden bus depot workers.
Apprentice auto electrician Riley Cridland said taking public transport to work each morning wasn't feasible with his tools.
"It'll mean increased competition for the few parking spots that are available for all the workers in the area," he said.
Phillip Business Community president Tom Adam said the parking changes would affect small businesses.
"They are reducing public parking for spots for some of the lowest-paid workers in the ACT, as well as businesses who are surviving on tight margins," he said.
Mr Adam said there had been little public consultation. With the car park now being earmarked for employees of the nearby bus depot, this has angered businesses.
"They never make hard decisions that will negatively impact them. It is the local business communities that are bearing the brunt of it," he said.
Long-term Phillip resident and Advantage Advertising owner Ron Shepherd agreed. He said people were taken by surprise at the car park decision.
"Many weren't aware that it was going to be only be used by bus workers and closed to the general public," he said.
"The end result of this is that cars will now park in other spots, which will restrict the already dwindling supply of car parks in the area."
An ACT government spokesman said if a new car park was not built, up to 250 staff who will be working at the Woden bus depot would take up other public parking spaces.
"The ACT government understands the need for parking, particularly to support our local community centres, as well as the need to balance conflicting parking needs while keeping the road available for the safe movement of traffic," the spokesman said.
"The Phillip Business District currently has a number of parking options, including public on-street parking and public and private off-street parking. The nearby Woden Town Centre offers a range of parking options for long stays in the existing multi story and surface car parks. These car parks typically charge a daily or hourly fee," the spokesman said.
Ultimate Auto Group owner Adrian Tozzi said the development would hurt his business.
"It will affect our businesses dramatically because people park here because it's free parking. So they'll bring the car in for service and it's just convenient," he said.
"If they start taking their convenience away, it's going to affect all the businesses in the area.
"We've got one apprentice, but they [the large car yards] have got a lot of apprentices, and they're not on massive wages."
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The impact on low-income workers is also the concern of Kevin Sullivan from the neighbouring Delta Electric Auto Repairs.
"My concern is purely where do the young kids park?" he said.
"A lot of them start work early so they're not going to have good access to buses at the right time of the day and multiple changes, which is going to cost them money."
The local businesses lodged objections to the development application and have asked the Planning Minister to withdraw the development application until more public consultation has occurred.
For Mr Shepherd, consultation is vital before any development goes ahead.
"If we don't raise this issue now, I worry the boomgates will go up overnight and stay there forever," he said.
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