[Ord. No. 492, 3/22/2022]
As used in this Part, the following terms shall have the meanings indicated:
ABANDONED SHOPPING CART
Any shopping cart made available to customers to use that has been removed from the retail establishment's premises, without the owner's written consent, and is located on either public or private property.
ATTRACTIVE NUISANCE
The circumstance or condition which may reasonably be expected to attract young children, and which constitutes a danger to such children.
BUILDING
In addition to its ordinary meaning, includes any dwelling, fenced area, vehicle, railway car, cargo container, or other structure used for the lodging of persons or for carrying on business therein, or for the use, sale, or deposit of goods. Each unit of a building consisting of two or more units separately secured or occupied is a separate building.
MERCHANT
Any individual, partnership and/or corporation which owns and operates by himself, herself, itself or by employees and/or agents a business enterprise from a building located in the Township of North Fayette and which enterprise at said location caters to and is patronized by the general public.
PREMISES
Any building in the Township of North Fayette used by a merchant for the sale of merchandise to the general public, including any off-street parking area abutting the outside of said building.
PRIVATE PROPERTY
Any property not owned by the Township, its successor agency, library, or other such sub-agencies or boards acting under the authority of the Township of North Fayette.
PUBLIC PROPERTY
Property owned by the Township, its successor agency, library, or other such sub-agencies or boards acting under the authority of the Township of North Fayette.
SHOPPING CART or CART
A basket mounted on wheels or a similar device of the type generally used in a retail establishment by a customer for the purpose of transporting goods of any kind.
TOWNSHIP
The Township of North Fayette or its designated representatives.
The Township Board of Supervisors finds and determines that any abandoned shopping cart is declared to constitute a public nuisance that could impede emergency services, interfere with pedestrian and vehicular traffic, reduce property values, promote blight and deterioration, comprise an attractive nuisance and create other hazards to the health, safety, and general welfare of the community by having a tendency to degrade the appearance of the community and thereby decrease property values.
1. 
At and during all times that any building of any merchant in the Township is open for business to the general public, no merchant shall by any act or omission allow, permit, consent, facilitate and/or in any way fail to control and restrict the removal from the premises of said merchant of any shopping cart made available by said merchant to any patron or business invitee of said merchant.
2. 
At and during all times that any building of any merchant is not open for business to the general public, no shopping cart of any merchant shall be in any way available to any member of the general public for removal from the building of said merchant, and if stored outside the building, such carts shall be chained, fenced or otherwise secured to prevent their removal.
All merchants who provide shopping carts to its customers shall clearly indicate on a conspicuous place of the shopping cart the name of the merchant’s store or business in the form of a tag, sign, or plate. The merchant shall be responsible for the shopping carts that it provides to its customers and shall take appropriate measures to make sure that the shopping carts are returned to the store premises.
Any shopping cart of any merchant in the Township which is found on any public street, highway, right-of-way and/or ground and/or on any private property, other than in a building thereon and/or the premises of the merchant whose shopping cart it is identified to be, shall be deemed to be abandoned by such merchant and/or any other person responsible for such abandonment.
The abandonment by any person and/or persons, including but not limited to any merchant, of a shopping cart is prohibited and each shopping cart abandoned shall thereby constitute a single and separate violation hereunder.
1. 
Police officers and/or Code Enforcement Officers shall respond to situations where an abandoned shopping cart is identified and/or is creating an unsafe condition anywhere within the Township, but off the premises of the owner thereof. Any abandoned shopping cart shall be removed and stored by the Township. Police officers and/or Code Enforcement Officers shall notify the Director of Public Works of the location of the abandoned cart for prompt retrieval, confiscation, and delivery to the Township’s designated secure storage location by the Department of Public Works.
2. 
If the abandoned shopping cart is properly tagged as herein provided, the Township Manager or his/her designee shall notify the merchant by mail or electronic mail that the Township has picked up and stored such shopping cart. The owner may recover said shopping cart from the Township upon payment of a sum, as set from time to time by resolution of the Board of Supervisors, as a removal and storage charge. The Township Manager or his/her designee shall be responsible for collecting the removal and storage charges from the merchant-owner.
3. 
If any shopping cart is not reclaimed and paid for by the merchant within 15 days after notification by the Township, the Township may dispose of said shopping cart without further notice to the merchant.
Any merchant who shall fail to properly tag or identify shopping carts or shall permit the removal of any shopping cart as set forth in § 10-304 hereof shall be subject to prosecution before any District Justice of the Township and, upon conviction of any violation of any section of this chapter, shall pay a fine of not more than $600, plus the cost of prosecution, and in default of payment of such fines and costs shall be subject to imprisonment for not more than 30 days. Each shopping cart which shall have been found to have been in violation of this chapter shall constitute a separate violation of the provisions of this chapter.