The definitions set forth in this part shall govern the application
and interpretation of this chapter.
means any cart that has been removed, without written consent
of the owner, from the owner's business premises and is located on
either public or private property.
means the person or persons designated in the cart containment
plan who the owner of the cart authorizes as the person(s) to perform
or provide retrieval services on behalf of the owner.
means any business located in the city, regardless of whether
the business is advertised or operated as a retail or wholesale business,
and regardless of whether the business is open to the general public,
a private club or a membership store.
means a basket which is mounted on wheels or a similar device
generally used in a business establishment by a customer for the purpose
of transporting goods of any kind. The term "cart" or "shopping cart"
includes a laundry cart.
means a document submitted by the owner of the cart pursuant to Section 9.30.070 of this chapter.
means the city of Sunnyvale.
means the director of public works or community development
for the city of Sunnyvale, or the director's designee.
means any person designated by the director to enforce the
provisions of this chapter.
means any business establishment that owns, leases, possesses,
or makes a cart available to customers or the public. For purposes
of this chapter, owner shall also include the owner's agent.
means the entire area owned, occupied, and/or utilized by
an owner which provides carts for use by customers or other persons,
including any parking lot or other property provided by or on behalf
of the owner for customer parking or use.
(Ord. 2882-08 § 1)
(a)
Abandoned
carts constitute a nuisance, create potential hazards to the health
and safety of the public, and interfere with pedestrian and vehicular
traffic. The accumulation of abandoned carts on public and private
property tends to create conditions that reduce property values, and
promote blight and deterioration.
(b)
The
intent of this chapter is to ensure that measures are taken by owners
to prevent the removal of carts from business premises and to facilitate
the retrieval of lost, stolen or abandoned carts in a manner that
complements and supplements provisions of state law.
(Ord. 2882-08 § 1)
This chapter shall apply to all owners within the city of Sunnyvale
that provide carts for customer use or the public.
(Ord. 2882-08 § 1)
It is unlawful for any person, either temporarily or permanently,
to remove a cart from a business premises or be in possession of a
cart that has been removed from a premises without the express written
consent of the owner. The provisions of this section are not intended
to preclude the application of any other state laws relating to the
prosecution of abandoned shopping carts.
(Ord. 2882-08 § 1)
(a)
Every
cart owned or provided by any owner must have a sign permanently affixed
to the cart that contains all of the following information:
(b)
Every
owner must post and maintain cart removal warning signs at all customer
interior exits which meet all of the following minimum specifications:
(Ord. 2882-08 § 1)
(a)
Within
one hundred eighty days of the effective date of this chapter, owners
shall implement measures to prevent the removal of carts from the
business premises. Examples of these measures may include but are
not limited to:
(1)
Increased signs directing customers not to remove the carts from
the premises;
(2)
Employee assistance to carry purchases for the customer;
(3)
Providing personal carts for customers for rental or purchase;
(4)
Physical barriers located at doors, near loading areas or other defined
perimeters that will prevent the passage of carts beyond the premises
barriers. The physical barriers may also be placed on the carts themselves
so that the carts cannot pass though door openings or other defined
perimeters;
(5)
Electronic disabling devices on all carts, which are activated when
they cross a barrier at the perimeter of the premises;
(6)
Any other reasonable containment measure that has been proven to
be successful.
(Ord. 2882-08 § 1)
If after one hundred eighty days of the effective date of this
chapter, five or more carts in one seven-day period are discovered
off-premises, the owner shall be issued a warning notice that the
provisions of this chapter must be observed. Only one warning notice
per calendar year shall be issued to an owner. After the warning notice
is issued any subsequent occurrence in which five or more carts in
one seven-day period are discovered, the owner shall be required to
submit a mandatory cart containment plan to the designated public
works officer for review and approval. The mandatory cart containment
plan shall include the following elements:
(a)
Name
of Owner. The name of the owner, the physical address where the business
is conducted, name, address and phone number(s) of the on-site and
off-site owner if different.
(b)
Inventory
of Carts. A complete list of all carts maintained on or in the premises.
(c)
Community
Outreach. A description of a community outreach process under which
the owner shall cause notice to be provided to customers that the
removal of carts from the premises is prohibited and is a violation
of state and local law. This notice may include, but is not limited
to, flyers distributed at the premises, warnings on shopping bags,
signs posted in prominent places near door and parking lot exits,
direct mail, announcements using intercom systems at the premises,
web site or other means demonstrated to be effective to the reasonable
satisfaction of the director. Any and all posting of signs shall comply
with the provisions of the Sunnyvale Municipal Code and shall be posted
in multiple languages as necessary.
(d)
Cart
Identification. Signs and cart identification requirements which conform
to local and state law.
(e)
Loss
Prevention Measures. A description of the specific measures that the
owner shall implement to prevent cart removal from the premises. These
measures may include, but are not limited to, electronic or other
disabling devices on the carts so they can not be removed from the
premises, effective management practices, use of courtesy clerks to
accompany customers and return the carts to the store, use of security
personnel to prevent removal, security deposit for use of cart, or
other demonstrable measures acceptable to the director that are likely
to prevent cart removal from the premises. The plan must contain at
least one physical containment measure.
(f)
Employee
Training. A description of an ongoing employee training program that
shall be implemented by the owner and that shall be designed to educate
new and existing employees on the abandoned cart prevention plan and
conditions contained therein no less frequently than annually.
(g)
Mandatory
Cart Retrieval. A plan for retrieval of abandoned carts by the owner
within twenty-four hours.
(Ord. 288208 § 1)
Every owner who is required to submit a mandatory cart containment
plan or an application for a modified cart containment plan pursuant
to this chapter shall submit with the plan or plan modification a
fee for review of the plan or plan modification in the amount set
forth in the schedule of fees established by resolution of the city
council.
(Ord. 2882-08 § 1)
(a)
The
officer may approve or deny the proposed plan and notify the owner
of such decision within thirty days of receipt. If approved, the cart
containment plan shall be implemented by the owner no later than thirty
days from the date of approval.
(b)
A
plan may be denied based upon one or more of the following grounds:
(1)
Implementation of the plan violates any provision of the building,
zoning, health, safety, fire, police or other provision of this code
or any county, state or federal law which substantially affects public
health, welfare, or safety.
(2)
The plan fails to include all of the information required by this
chapter.
(3)
The plan is insufficient or inadequate to prevent removal of carts
from the premises.
(4)
The plan fails to address any special or unique conditions due to
the geographical location of the premises as they relate to cart retention
and prevention efforts.
(5)
Implementation of the plan violates a term or condition of a plan
or other requirement of this title.
(6)
The owner knowingly makes a false statement of fact or omits a fact
required to be revealed in an application for the plan, or in any
amendment or report or other information required to be made.
(c)
If
the plan is rejected as incomplete or inadequate, the officer shall
indicate areas of incompleteness or inadequacy, and the owner shall
have an additional thirty days in which to resubmit a complete and
adequate plan.
(d)
An
owner who fails to submit a complete plan to the satisfaction of the
officer, or fails to implement approved plan measures or fails to
comply with the approved plan measures will be subject to enforcement
of these requirements through any lawful means available to the city,
including without limitation institution of the administrative remedies
process pursuant to this chapter.
(e)
The
officer's decision to deny a plan may be appealed to the director.
(f)
The
decision of the director to approve or deny a plan is final.
(Ord. 2882-08 § 1)
At any time after the officer's approval of any abandoned cart
plan, the owner may submit to the officer, along with the appropriate
fee, a modification of the previously approved plan to address a change
in circumstances, address an unanticipated physical or economic impact
of the plan or modify an inadequate or ineffective plan.
(Ord. 2882-08 § 1)
This chapter shall be enforced by the departments of public
works and community development for the city of Sunnyvale, or such
other department designated by the city manager to administer this
chapter.
(Ord. 2882-08 § 1)
The city shall notify the owner of an abandoned cart as identified
on the signage information permanently affixed to the cart. The city
notification shall be documented and provided either by telephone
or by written notice. The notification shall require that the identified
cart(s) be retrieved pursuant to the conditions for retrieval under
state and local law.
(Ord. 2882-08 § 1)
Pursuant to Business and Professions Code Section 22435.7, any
owner that fails to retrieve its abandoned cart(s) after receiving
the three-day notice by the city, shall pay the city's administrative
costs for retrieving the cart(s) and providing the notification to
the owner. Consistent with state law, any owner who fails to retrieve
abandoned carts in accordance with this chapter in excess of three
times during a specified six-month period shall be subject to an additional
fifty dollar fine for each occurrence. An occurrence includes all
carts owned by the owner found off-site in a one-day period.
(Ord. 2882-08 § 1)
