The first electric scooter company landed in metro Phoenix cities a year ago without warning. A Scottsdale man tried the same tack with scooter companies this weekend, but it didn't go well.

Police were involved.

Michael Smalley said an entrepreneurial idea sparked as he noticed illegally parked scooters around Scottsdale in violation of the city code that was created last fall as the number of shared-scooter and bike companies operating in the city grew.

"What is the city doing to enforce their own regulations?" Smalley said. "We believe that illegally parked scooters should be immediately towed like any other illegally parked vehicle."

Smalley filed a business license with the city for his company — Byrd Dog Recycling and Recovery — complete with a sales-tax license for any money recouped.

On Sunday, he and his two sons began impounding scooters they deemed illegally staged. The three were loading the improperly parked scooters onto a trailer to impound, much like a towing company.

But they were confronted by representatives from Spin scooters, who called police. To avoid any escalation, Smalley said he cooperated with police and let Spin take their scooters.

'You can't drive around and take the law into your own hands'

Smalley said he still had five Lyft scooters in his possession on Tuesday. He said he was contacted by a representative from Lyft, another of the shared-scooter companies operating in Scottsdale, who informed him he would be arrested if the scooters were not returned.

Smalley met with a Lyft representative Tuesday night to return the scooters. Lyft did not respond to The Arizona Republic's request for comment.

"You can't just go picking up other's people's property," Sgt. Kevin Watts, a Scottsdale police spokesman, said. "You can't drive around and take the law into your own hands."

But the issue highlights the discrepancy between Scottsdale's laws governing scooters and what some residents say is inaction by the city.

What do Scottsdale's rules say?

Scottsdale passed an ordinance last fall that laid out rules for companies operating shared bikes or scooters in the city.

The law says:

Bikes or scooters must be restaged if they haven't been used within three days.

Companies can stage no more than five bikes or scooters within 200 feet of each other.

Scooters and bikes can't be parked on the portion of the sidewalk used by pedestrians, or on private property without permission.

Police may fine companies for improperly parked bicycles or scooters and penalties can range from $50 to $1,000, based on the number of offenses.

The city has enforced its rules, issuing fines for illegal parking, according to Assistant City Manager Brent Stockwell.

Residents can also report improperly parked scooters and bicycles on the city's website, he said.

"The way the system's set up, if you report it as being in the wrong place, it immediately notifies the companies, and that can start the enforcement process," Stockwell said.

City regulations say the company must remove an improperly parked bike or scooter within two hours of notification.

But City Councilwoman Kathy Littlefield, who had raised concerns that Scottsdale's rules are too vague, says the city must do better at enforcement.

"I don't think it should be the individual citizen doing this," Littlefield told The Republic. "We should be the enforcing agency. The fact that we're not doing a good job of enforcing is becoming obvious to many people."

Vigilante justice or theft?

Smalley says he was impounding the scooters similar to tow companies that move illegally parked vehicles.

Unlike those companies, Smalley made no arrangements or contract with the city before impounding the scooters, Watts said.

Scottsdale considered contracting with private companies and individuals to enforce the rules regarding bicycles and scooters, but decided against it, Stockwell said.

"The risk is you have a private citizen saying that something is improperly parked, but the company might claim it wasn't," Stockwell said. "The more improperly parked devices there are, the more they can collect. They're incentivized to see problems where they don't exist."

Stockwell said police officers and city employees will continue to handle enforcement, but contracts with private companies to monitor enforcement of scooters might be considered moving forward.

Smalley ultimately acquiesced and returned the scooters, but said the question of who is accountable for enforcing scooter regulations is unclear.

"Would I do it again? Not really," Smalley said. "But the only way the city is going to fix this problem is for private enterprise to come in. Why does one company get to trample on ordinances and others don't?"

Have you ridden an electronic scooter? Did you feel like you were going to fall off? Reach the reporter Lorraine Longhi at llonghi@gannett.com or 480-243-4086. Follow her on Twitter @lolonghi.

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