[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Trustees of the Village
of South Floral Park 7-2-1969 by L.L. No. 1-1969 (Ch. 104 of the 1987
Code). Amendments noted where applicable.]
It is the intent of this chapter to eliminate danger and inconvenience
to the public caused by the abandonment of shopping carts in public
places, such as streets and sidewalks, within the Village of South
Floral Park, where the abandoned carts may become an obstacle to traffic
and a hazard to pedestrians.
A.
ABANDON
CART or SHOPPING CART
COMMISSIONER
OWNER
PERSON
PUBLIC PLACE
VILLAGE
For the purposes of this chapter, the following definitions shall
be included in the words or phrases used:
Includes leaving, discarding, dumping, throwing or placing
of personal property in public places.
Includes any rolling or nonrolling basket or container, and
any part or parts thereof, commonly used in supermarkets or self-service
stores as a conveyor of goods, wares and merchandise.
The Commissioner of Highways of the Village of South Floral
Park or his designated representative.
The merchant or purveyor of foods or other goods who provides
patrons with shopping carts and the person responsible for cart-tag
identification under the provisions of this chapter.
Includes a natural person of either sex, a corporation, a
partnership, association, joint-stock company, society and all other
entities capable of being sued.
Includes any street, avenue, road, alley, lane, highway,
boulevard, concourse, driveway, culvert, crosswalk, thoroughfare,
off-street parking area, parking field, commercial parking lot, municipal
parking facility, park, parking space, sidewalk, vacant lot, plot,
parcel of land and all other spaces or places available to or used
by the general public.
The incorporated area of the Village of South Floral Park.
B.
The words "or" and "and," as used herein, may be construed interchangeably,
where such meaning is necessary to effectuate the purposes of this
chapter.
It shall be unlawful for any person to provide carts for patrons'
use on store or business premises unless the cart has permanently
affixed to it a sign, metallic tag or other means for clearly identifying
the owner of the cart and the specific store location at which said
cart is used.
It shall be unlawful and a violation of this chapter for any
owner to suffer or permit any person to take any cart from the owner's
premises or parking area and thereafter abandon, discard, leave, place
or suffer or permit any cart to be left or placed in a public place.
The Commissioner and public works employees are hereby authorized
to seize and remove or cause to be removed any abandoned shopping
cart from any public place within the Village without notice and shall
take or cause the same to be taken to a facility within the Village
for redemption or disposition as hereinafter provided. Such facility
may consist of any outdoor area designated by the Commissioner. The
storage of such carts at such facility shall be without liability
on the part of the Village to the owner of the carts.
Whenever any shopping carts having identification of ownership
are removed, notice of the removal shall be sent by certified mail,
return receipt requested, advising of the removal, the facility to
which it was removed and the amount necessary to redeem the article.
A.
Redemption. Any shopping carts removed from public places within
the Village may be redeemed by the owner thereof any time prior to
disposal by the Village by tendering to the office of the Administrator
of the Village, during regular business hours at her office, the sum
of $15 each, plus the sum of $1 for each day or part thereof that
said property is held by the Village after the owner has been duly
notified by certified mail.
[Amended 11-5-1987 by L.L. No. 1-1987; 9-5-1991 by L.L. No. 2-1991; 9-3-1992 by L.L. No. 2-1992; 4-1-1993 by L.L. No. 1-1993]
B.
Satisfactory proof of ownership or lawful right to possession of
the property sought shall be required prior to release. Any return
of property to a person claiming the same pursuant to this chapter
shall be an absolute defense to the Village against any other person
claiming same.
A.
The Commissioner may dispose of all carts held by the Village for
a period in excess of 14 days at a public auction held pursuant to
notice. Such auctions shall be held at such times as the Commissioner
shall determine to be necessary.
B.
Public notice of the auction shall be given by publication once in
a newspaper designated by the Village Board as an official newspaper
for that purpose and by posting on the signboard maintained by the
Village Administrator, at least five days prior to the auction, and
shall contain the time and place of the auction, together with a brief
description of the articles offered for sale.
[Amended 4-1-1993 by L.L.
No. 1-1993]
C.
In the event that the property or part thereof remains unsold at
the public auction, the Commissioner may reoffer the same for sale
at another public auction or may sell or otherwise dispose of any
unsold articles in any manner permitted by law. Any sale or other
disposition shall be without liability on the part of the Village
to the owner of the carts.
[Added 9-5-1991 by L.L. No. 2-1991]
It shall be unlawful for any person to bring a shopping cart,
as defined in this chapter, into a public place within the Village,
as defined in this chapter, at any time and for any reason.
[Added 7-9-1992 by L.L. No. 1-1992]
Any person committing an offense against the provisions set forth in § 157-9 of this chapter shall be fined a maximum fine of $25 per cart. Repeat offenders may be fined up to $50.
