[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. 
For the purpose of this chapter, the following definitions shall be applied to the words or phrases used:
ABANDON
To leave, discard, dump, throw or place personal property in public places.
CART or SHOPPING CART
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.
OWNER
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.
PERSON
A natural person of either sex, a corporation, a partnership, an association or joint-stock company.
PUBLIC PLACE
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)]