Install sliding garage gate -- next to Unit Owner's parking (Pic inside)

For a small condo building in California, the HOA Board wants to replace the community garage overhead gate with a sliding gate.

Installing the sliding gate door would require that it slides along a wall next to a unit owner's parking space. Installation of the garage motor may inhibit opening/closing of the unit owner's vehicle doors.

How should the HOA Board proceed?

I would say the HOA needs to find another solution. Are the spots guaranteed to every homeowner? Could they relocate the parking spot?

Avan,

What is the issue with the current set-up, other than some really strange looking hardware in the area of the lift motor?

Looking at the picture I find it unusual that your HOA allows parking in front of the stairwell door, I would think that that was a code violation. Why does the Board want to change gate types? I'm assuming that the sliding type is more secure.

The Board says that sliding gates will require less maintenance in the future.

Each unit has it own stairwell, which leads to a private patio. The patio leads to the unit.
Each unit has two parking spots next to its own stairwell.

There really isn't any room to redraw/reconfigure the parking spots.
There are no guest parking spots.

Based on past experience with sliding gates, the person who owns the space pictured will lose one to two feet of width from their space. While the gate itself may be only 2 inches thick, they typically require some sort of roller guides along the top and the structure for those will intrude into the space. The motor for the gate is also going to intrude into the parking space.

A sliding gate ought to have some sort of safety screen to prevent injury to the persons in the parking space next to where the gate would retract. Again, a little more intrusion.

Since the motor will likely sit on the floor next to the gate, what happens if there is a need for emergency service, there is a car parked next to the gate, and the owner is not present to move the car? From experience, gates have a habit of breaking down unpredictably and the service personnel need a bit of room to access the mechanisms.

It looks like the installation of a sliding gate as proposed would result in the loss of one parking space.

Thank you all for the valuable input.