[HISTORY: Adopted by the City Council of the City of Quincy 12-15-2003 by Order No. 2002-306 (Ch. 5.44 of the 1993 Code). Amendments noted where applicable.]
A. 
The City Council hereby finds that abandoned shopping carts or parts thereof are unsightly and aesthetically detrimental to the community, interfere with pedestrian and vehicular traffic, accumulate over time on private and public property causing blight and deterioration resulting in reduction in property values, constitute an attractive nuisance and are detrimental to the public health, safety and welfare. Therefore, the presence of abandoned shopping carts or parts thereof is declared to constitute a public nuisance that may be abated as such in accordance with the provisions of this chapter. The purpose of this chapter is to promote public health, safety and welfare by prohibiting the abandonment of shopping carts or parts thereof upon public and private property, thereby alleviating the safety hazards, unsafe conditions and the impairment of property values resulting from the abandonment of such carts.
B. 
This chapter maintains primary responsibility for managing cart service with the owner of the cart and provides said owners with discretion in determining their preferred method of retention of said carts upon the owner's premises. These sections require business establishments utilizing shopping carts or similar devices and having more than 20 shopping carts on site to install and maintain a system to retain shopping carts within property boundaries of the business establishment.
As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the meanings indicated:
ABANDONED SHOPPING CART
Any unattended shopping cart left on a public or private property outside the premises or parking area of the retail establishment owning the shopping cart. Any such shopping cart shall be deemed abandoned and, therefore, a public nuisance pursuant to this chapter. For the purposes of this chapter, the parking area of a retail establishment located in a multi-store complex, or shopping center, shall include the entire area used by the complex.
BUSINESS ESTABLISHMENT
Includes, but is not limited to, a grocery store, supermarket, drugstore, pharmacy, dry goods store, department store, discount store, variety store, or other retail establishment which supplies 20 or more shopping carts for the use of its customers.
OWNER
The owner or retail establishment whose identification is required to appear on the shopping cart identification sign.
PUBLIC PROPERTY
Includes, but is not limited to, all areas dedicated to the public use, including roadways, parkways, alleys, lanes, parks, sidewalks and any public right-of-way.
SHOPPING CART
A basket that is mounted on wheels or a similar device generally used in a retail establishment by customers for the transporting of goods of any kind.
Every owner of a shopping cart shall affix to each shopping cart owned or provided by the owner a sign that includes the following information:
A. 
Identification of the owner of the shopping cart or the business to which it pertains or both. No business shall utilize a shopping cart that does not contain its mark or contains the mark of another business, and no owner or manager of a retail or wholesale establishment shall allow such use.
B. 
Notification that the unauthorized removal of the shopping cart from the premises of the business establishment or the unauthorized possession of the shopping cart is a violation of the law.
C. 
A telephone number and address for returning the shopping cart to its owner or to the business establishment identified thereon.
It shall be unlawful for any person to cause or permit any shopping cart to be abandoned on or upon any public property as defined in this chapter or any private property other than the premises of the owner of said shopping cart.
It shall be unlawful for any person, either temporarily or permanently, to remove a shopping cart from the premises of the owner or be in possession of a cart that has been removed from the premises of the owner without the written consent of the owner. This provision shall not apply to shopping carts removed as authorized by the owner for the purposes of repair, maintenance or disposal.
All business establishments utilizing shopping carts or similar devices on site shall install and maintain a system to retain such shopping carts within the property boundaries of the business. The business shall provide signage in conspicuous locations notifying shopping cart users of the retention system in place and how said system operates. Permitted methods of retention shall include any one of the following:
A. 
Each method included in this subsection shall be considered to be an example of an on-site retention method complying with these sections. If the business establishment has a method for retention that is not delineated as an example herein, then an owner may submit a plan to the City Clerk that satisfies the intent of these sections to retain shopping carts on the premises of the business establishment and/or its parking lot or to ensure the immediate retrieval of shopping carts outside of the business establishment and/or its parking lot; no plan submitted by an owner to the City Clerk shall be valid until approved, in writing, by the Board of Licensing Commissioners. Examples of methods and/or plans are as follows:
(1) 
A physical barrier, such as bollards, restricting shopping carts to the front sidewalk or front portion of the business. Physical barriers shall not interfere with fire lanes, handicap access or similar features.
(2) 
Shopping carts equipped with a protruding vertical arm or similar device prohibiting the cart from being removed from the interior of the business.
(3) 
A system which may be mechanical in nature requiring a deposit to use a shopping cart; the deposit should be of a reasonable amount that would not deter use of the cart but would encourage return of the cart.
(4) 
Shopping carts equipped with a wheel locking mechanism that is used in conjunction with an electronic barrier along the perimeter of the area within which shopping carts are allowed. The wheel locking mechanism will activate when the shopping cart crosses the electronic barrier.
(5) 
An attendant or attendants whose sole responsibility is to manage and/or return the business establishment's shopping carts from the exterior premises of the business establishment and areas immediately adjacent thereto to the interior premises of the business establishment or another exterior area of the business establishment dedicated to the containment of shopping carts.
(6) 
Other similar methods or plans submitted by an owner for the approval of the City Board of Licensing Commissioners which would satisfy the intent of these sections to retain shopping carts on the premises of the business establishment and/or its parking lot or to ensure the immediate retrieval of shopping carts outside of the business establishment and/or its parking lot.
[Amended 6-1-2020 by Order No. 2020-012]
B. 
No business establishment shall allow shopping carts to congregate or stack up in such a manner as to impede ingress to or egress from the business establishment or any public or private way adjacent to the business establishment.
C. 
Prior to the close of each business day, every business establishment shall collect and secure its shopping carts on its premises, including its parking lot. This action shall be commenced no sooner than 15 minutes prior to the close of each business day.
A. 
Every owner of a business subject to this chapter shall prepare, implement and submit to the City Clerk within 90 days of the adoption of this chapter, and on an annual basis thereafter, a specific written plan to prevent the removal of shopping carts from its premises and, if removed, to retrieve the shopping carts that have been removed within 24 hours of the removal. A business may request an exemption from the annual plan filing requirement if it is able to demonstrate to the satisfaction of the City the ability to prevent the carts from leaving the site and no carts are found abandoned after the exemption is granted.
B. 
Said plan shall also include, at a minimum, the name of the business, identification of business address contact information, the names of the persons responsible for implementing the plan and information on who and how to contact the appropriate individuals to resolve any plan issues or violations, an inventory of carts, and employee training on cart removal and abandonment prevention.
C. 
Said plan shall also include a methodology for customer and community notification and outreach that shall include signage on the carts, stores, shopping bags or other outreach designed to advise its customers that they may not remove the shopping carts from the business premises. As part of customer outreach the City would encourage the provision to customers, at wholesale cost, the availability to purchase foldable carts.
Any business subject to this chapter that services within 1,000 feet of its premises a multiunit residential facility of more than 10 units housing handicapped or elderly residents may seek a limited exemption to this chapter solely for the purposes of servicing this facility. Said business must submit, to the City Clerk, a written plan outlining an agreement with such residential facility detailing a methodology for the systematic retrieval of all shopping carts utilized solely to service this facility.
[Amended 6-1-2020 by Order No. 2020-012]
A determination of compliance and enforcement of the provisions of this chapter shall reside with the City of Quincy Board of Licensing Commissioners, which shall receive and review the mandatory plans previously cited (§ 282-7). Failure of an owner to comply with the provisions of this chapter and an approved mandatory plan shall, in the first instance, result in a written notice citing such failure and requiring forthwith compliance. A second such failure to comply may result in the issuance of a monetary fine of $25 per event. Each day of noncompliance shall constitute a separate event.