[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Trustees of the Village
of the Branch as Ch. 70 of the 1973 Code. Amendments noted where applicable.]
A.
ABANDON
CART or SHOPPING CART
OWNER
PERSON
PUBLIC PLACE
For the purpose of this chapter, the following definitions shall
be applied to the words or phrases used:
To leave, discard, dump, throw or place personal property
in public places.
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 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.
A natural person of either sex, a corporation, a partnership,
an association or joint-stock company.
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, curb, gutter, vacant lot,
plot, parcel of land and all other spaces or places available to or
used by the general public.
B.
The words "or" and "and" as used herein may be construed to be interchangeable
where such meaning is necessary to effectuate the purpose 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 or
place such cart in a public place, or suffer or permit any cart to
be left or placed in a public place.
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General
Provisions, Art. I)]
The Smithtown Department of Public Safety is hereby authorized
to seize and remove or cause to be seized and 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.
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General
Provisions, Art. I)]
A.
Whenever the Smithtown Department of Public Safety shall remove or
cause to be removed any shopping cart or carts having identification
of ownership or right of possession, 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 cart.
B.
Any shopping carts removed from public places within the Village
may be redeemed by the owner thereof at any time prior to disposal
by the Village, by paying to the Smithtown Department of Public Safety
a fee for each cart, as determined by the Board of Trustees, plus
an additional sum for each day or part thereof that the property is
held by the Village following the postmarking of the notice required
to be given by the Smithtown Department of Public Safety as hereinbefore
provided.
[Amended 3-9-2004 by L.L. No. 1-2004]
C.
The Smithtown Department of Public Safety shall require satisfactory
proof of ownership or lawful right to possession of the property sought
prior to release. Any return of property by the Smithtown Department
of Public Safety to a person claiming the same pursuant to this chapter
shall be an absolute defense to the Village against any other person
claiming the same.
A.
The Smithtown Department of Public Safety may dispose of all articles
of personal property held by the Village for a period in excess of
14 days in such a manner as the Smithtown Department of Public Safety
in its sole discretion shall determine and as permitted by law.
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General
Provisions, Art. I)]
B.
Any sale or other disposition of property pursuant to this chapter
shall be without liability on the part of the Village to the owner
of the property or any other person having an interest therein.
C.
All proceeds received from the redemption and sale of personal property
pursuant to this chapter shall be applied to the account of the Smithtown
Department of Public Safety to defer the cost of enforcing the provisions
of this chapter.
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General
Provisions, Art. I)]
