Parking Lot Owner Questions Practices of City Owned Lot

We have owned a parking lot and showers in Wildwood for 42 years. The taxes are exorbitant.
Our lot is next to the city parking lot, which has caused us much consternation. We realize we are in competition, but one question remains, “Why is it that when it is closed the gates are still open?”
There is an ordinance that legally informs us that the gates should be closed when not in use. With businesses declining every year, it would only seem justifiable that our business be allowed to continue, without the hindrance of the city.
So the only unanswered question remains, “Why do the parking gates remain open when the lot should not be open to the public?”