[HISTORY: Adopted by the Mayor and Council of the Borough of Maywood 11-21-1972;[1] amended in its entirety 10-9-2008 by Ord. No. 23-08. Subsequent amendments noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Fees — See Ch. 169.
[1]
Editor's Note: The provisions of this chapter are derived from Ch. 16, Art. 6, of the former Revised Ordinances, adopted 11-21-1972 as Ord. No. 659.
As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the meanings indicated:
ABANDONED
The placing of an unattended shopping cart outside the premises or parking area of a retail mercantile establishment or within the public streets or ways.
PARKING AREA
A parking lot or other property provided by a retailer for the use of a customer for parking an automobile or other vehicle. The parking area of a retail mercantile establishment located in a multistore complex or shopping center shall include the entire parking area used by the complex or center.
PUBLIC STREETS OR WAYS
Roadways, sidewalks, driveways, alleys, lanes, culverts or crosswalks, municipal parks, public parking lots, or other public places used by the general public.
SHOPPING CART
A push cart of the type or types which are commonly provided by grocery stores, drugstores or other retail mercantile establishments for the use of the public in transporting commodities in stores and markets and their parking areas.
It is hereby determined and declared that the obstruction of public streets and ways by abandoned shopping carts creates a dangerous and hazardous condition to the public, and, to better promote the general health, safety and welfare of the Borough, it is hereby deemed advisable to regulate the use, removal and disposal of said shopping carts within the Borough.
Any shopping cart made available for use by a grocery store, drug store or other retail mercantile establishment within the Borough shall have securely attached thereto a plastic or metal identification tag measuring not less than 3 1/2 inches by five inches in size identifying the owner or retailer of the cart and listing a valid telephone number or address through which the owner or retailer can be contacted.
No person or his agent or employee shall abandon and suffer or permit to be left any shopping cart, either owned by him or in his possession, custody or control, upon any public street or way within the Borough.
Any abandoned shopping cart left upon any public street or way shall be removed by the Public Works Department of the Borough and stored at the public garage.
A. 
If the shopping cart has the identification required pursuant to § 273-3 above, the Public Works Department shall notify the owner or retailer within 24 hours of impounding the shopping cart and include information on how the cart can be retrieved. The Public Works Department shall release the cart to the owner, retailer or authorized agent without charge or fine whatsoever if the owner, retailer or authorized agent retrieves the cart within five business days of notice.
B. 
If the shopping cart does not have the identification required under § 273-3 above, or if the owner, retailer or authorized agent of said shopping cart fails to retrieve said shopping cart within five business days of the notice of impoundment, the Borough may dispose of such shopping carts as set forth in § 273-6 below. Prior to disposal, the owner, retailer or authorized agent of said shopping cart may redeem said shopping cart upon payment to the Borough of a fee, not to exceed $50 per occurrence during a twenty-four-hour period, as set forth in Chapter 169, Fees, to cover the cost of recovery and administration of this chapter.
A. 
In the event that any shopping cart is not retrieved within the period of time fixed or is unidentified, the Borough, upon adoption of a resolution by the Mayor and Council, shall conduct a public sale of said shopping carts by posting a notice of such sale on the bulletin board at Borough Hall and by placing a legal advertisement in the official newspaper of the Borough, fixing a place, date, time and terms of public sale to the highest bidder. A specific term of said public sale shall be that no cart shall be sold for less than $10.
B. 
In the event that any shopping carts shall be in a damaged condition or unsold at public sale, the Public Works Department may destroy and dispose of said shopping carts.
Upon the redemption or sale of said shopping carts, the proceeds of all redemptions and sales shall be paid over to the Borough Treasurer. In addition, the Public Works Department shall make quarterly reports to the Mayor and Council with regard to the impoundment, redemption, sale or other disposition of such shopping carts.
Any person violating any of the provisions of this chapter shall, upon conviction, be punished by a fine of not more than $1,000 or by imprisonment for a term not to exceed 90 days, or both. Each violation shall be deemed to be a separate and distinct offense. However, an owner retrieving or redeeming a cart pursuant to § 273-5 of this chapter shall not be subject to said fine.