Abandoned shopping carts constitute a nuisance, create potential hazards to the health and safety of the public, and interfere with pedestrian and vehicular traffic within the city of Temecula. The accumulation of wrecked, dismantled and abandoned shopping carts on public or private property also tends to create conditions that reduce property values, promoting blight and deterioration in the city. The intent of this chapter is to ensure that measures are taken by store owners to prevent the unauthorized removal of shopping carts from store premises and parking lots, to make the removal of shopping carts a violation of this code and to facilitate the retrieval of abandoned shopping carts as permitted by state law. Further, this chapter is intended to supplement existing state law regarding shopping carts as set forth in California Business and Professions Code Section 22435, et seq.
(Ord. 22-10 § 1)
The following words and phrases, whenever used in this chapter, shall mean as follows:
"Abandoned shopping cart"
means any shopping cart that has been removed without written permission of the owner or on-duty manager from the premises of the business establishment, regardless of whether it has been left on either private or public property.
"Applicant"
means any person who seeks to obtain a business license pursuant to the procedures and requirements of this chapter.
"City"
means the city of Temecula.
"Customer"
means any person who enters the premises of a retail establishment.
"Director"
means the director of community development, or such other director or officer designated by the city manager to administer this chapter.
"Enforcement personnel"
means: (1) members of the Riverside County sheriff's department or such other police agency under contract to provide police services to the city; (2) persons employed by the city whose job descriptions require the person to enforce the provisions of this code, including, but not limited to, directors, senior planners, code enforcement officers, building inspectors, or park rangers; and (3) such other employees of the city as may be designated by the city manager.
"Owner"
means any person or entity, who in connection with the conduct of a business, owns, leases, possesses, uses, or otherwise makes any cart available to customers or the public. For purposes of this chapter, "owner" shall also include the owner's on-site or designated agent that provides the carts for use by its customers.
"Premises"
means the entire area owned or leased and utilized by the business establishment that provides shopping carts for use by customers, including a parking lot or other property provided by the owner for customer parking.
"Shopping cart" or "cart"
means a basket, including, but not limited to, a grocery store shopping cart, which is mounted on wheels or a similar device provided by a business establishment for use by a customer for the purpose of transporting goods of any kind.
(Ord. 22-10 § 1)
A. 
All businesses whose business operations would provide any shopping cart(s) for customer or public use.
B. 
Any person in possession of a shopping cart off the owner's premises and without the owner's written permission pursuant to the provisions of Section 9.80.040.
C. 
This chapter shall not apply to shopping carts that are removed by an authorized servicer for repair and/or maintenance.
(Ord. 22-10 § 1)
A. 
It is unlawful to either temporarily or permanently remove a cart from the premises or parking area of a business establishment without the express prior written permission of the owner or on-duty manager of the business establishment.
1. 
Written permission shall be valid for a period not to exceed seventy-two hours.
B. 
It is unlawful to be in possession of a cart that has been removed from the premises or parking area of a business establishment unless it is in the process of being immediately returned to the owner or business establishment.
(Ord. 22-10 § 1)
Every owner who provides any shopping carts for customer use shall implement, and maintain the following theft prevention measures:
A. 
Signs.
1. 
Required Signage on All Shopping Carts.
(a) 
Identifies the owner of the cart or the name of the business establishment, or both;
(b) 
Notifies the public of the procedure to be utilized for authorized removal of the cart from the business premises;
(c) 
Notifies the public that the unauthorized removal of the cart from the premises or parking area of the business establishment is a violation of state and city of Temecula law;
(d) 
Lists a telephone number to contact and report the location of the abandoned cart; and
(e) 
Lists an address for returning the cart to the owner or business establishment.
2. 
Required Signage on Premises.
(a) 
Every business that owns or provides carts for the use of its customers within the city of Temecula shall post conspicuous and legible signs at or near each entrance to its parking lot and the public entrance doors to its store notifying its customers that removal of carts from the premises is prohibited and constitutes a violation of Business and Professions Code Section 22435.2 et seq. and this chapter.
B. 
Theft Prevention Measures. Specific prevention measures shall be implemented by owners to prevent shopping cart removal from the premises. Allowed measures include:
1. 
Installing perimeter disabling devices on all shopping carts; or
2. 
Security deposit required for use of all shopping carts; or
3. 
The rental or sale of shopping carts that can be temporarily or permanently used for transport of purchases; or
4. 
Any combination of the above measures as necessary to effectively prevent shopping cart removal from the premises to the satisfaction of the director.
C. 
Any other active or passive theft prevention measure(s) deemed necessary by the director to ensure compliance with this chapter.
D. 
Exemptions. Subsection B of this section shall not apply to businesses that supply shopping carts:
1. 
In quantities of less than ten;
2. 
That have a physical device installed that prevent said cart from leaving the store.
E. 
Exemptions from physical measure implementation stated within subsection D of this section, shall not be applicable for any business whose shopping cart(s) was located off site more than three times in any twelve month period. Each shopping cart shall count as one occurrence.
(Ord. 22-10 § 1)
Every business owner who provides any shopping carts for customer use shall demonstrate, to the satisfaction of the director, that: (1) carts will be actively located within one mile of the business premises; and (2) that the owner shall respond to complaints from the public or notification from city enforcement personnel in a manner which results in the retrieval of carts within twenty-four hours of receiving the notification. An owner may contract with a vendor for cart retrieval services. Written authorization from the owner shall be maintained by the vendor and provided to any enforcement personnel upon request.
(Ord. 22-10 § 1)
All shopping carts shall be secured in a manner to prevent theft during the hours that the business establishment is not open for business.
(Ord. 22-10 § 1)
Any owner who has shopping carts equipped with disabling devices shall conduct regular maintenance to ensure the disabling devices are working properly. If at any time, the owner determines the disabling device installed on a shopping cart is not functioning properly, the shopping cart shall be pulled from circulation until it is repaired. The owner shall inspect, test, and repair all abandoned carts returned to the owner prior to making the returned shopping carts available for use.
(Ord. 22-10 § 1)
A business, which may not own, rent, lease, or otherwise possess its own shopping carts, but which receives a benefit by the use of shopping carts owned by other businesses, merchants, grocers, or other similar establishments, shall provide a location upon its premises for the storage of shopping carts and shall immediately contact the owner or owner's agent to retrieve any shopping carts that are left on the business's premises.
(Ord. 22-10 § 1)
A. 
Pursuant to California Business and Professions Code Section 22435.7, the city may impound any abandoned shopping cart when the shopping cart has a sign affixed as required by Temecula Municipal Code Section 9.80.050(A).
B. 
The city may retrieve and immediately dispose of any abandoned shopping carts that lack the signage required by Temecula Municipal Code Section 9.80.050(A).
(Ord. 22-10 § 1)
A. 
Violation of any provision this chapter is subject to enforcement pursuant to the provisions of Chapter 1.20 of Title 1 of this code. Violations are also subject to administrative citations pursuant to Chapter 1.21 of Title 1 of this code. The provisions of this chapter may be enforced by members of the Riverside County sheriff's department, persons employed by the city whose job descriptions require the person to enforce the provisions of this code, including, but not limited to, code enforcement officers, and such other enforcement officials as described in Sections 1.16.020 and 1.21.020 of this code or its successor sections.
B. 
Any business owner who provides any shopping carts for customers and is operated, conducted or maintained contrary to the provisions of this chapter shall be, and the same is declared to be, unlawful and a public nuisance, and the city may, in addition to, or in lieu of, prosecuting a criminal or administrative action hereunder, commence an action or actions, proceeding or proceedings for the abatement, removal and enjoinment thereof, in the manner provided by law, and shall take such other steps and shall apply to such court or courts as may have jurisdiction to grant such relief as will abate or remove such business establishment.
(Ord. 22-10 § 1)
A. 
All requirements set forth in this chapter are deemed to be necessary for the protection of the public health, safety, and welfare and shall be applicable to and govern all existing and proposed businesses that provide any shopping carts for customer use within one year after the adoption of the ordinance codified in this section.
B. 
Shopping carts may be replaced or upgraded as a complete set for the business or through attrition as they complete their lifecycles, so long as all shopping carts meet the requirements of this chapter by September 9, 2023.
(Ord. 22-10 § 1)