The city council makes the following findings and declarations:
The accumulation and storage of wrecked, dismantled, or abandoned
shopping carts, or parts thereof, on public or private property is
found to create a condition tending to reduce property values, to
promote blight and deterioration, to constitute an attractive nuisance
creating a hazard to the health and safety of minors, to be aesthetically
detrimental to the community, and to be injurious to the health, safety
and general welfare. Therefore, the presence of wrecked, dismantled
or abandoned shopping carts, or parts thereof, on public or private
property, is declared to constitute a public nuisance which may be
abated as such in accordance with the provisions of this chapter.
(Ord. 1514 § 1, 1995)
The following definitions shall apply to this chapter:
means any empty shopping cart left on any public or private
property with no person in the vicinity.
means the removal by the city of an abandoned shopping cart
which is visible from any public right-of-way.
means city manager, city manager's designee, and/or authorized
representatives of the city manager.
means director of planning and building for the city, director's
designee, and/or authorized representatives of the director.
means that area between the sidewalks and the curb of any
street, and where there is no sidewalk, that area between the edge
of the roadway and the property line adjacent thereto. "Parkway" shall
also include any area within a roadway which is not open to vehicular
travel.
means and includes, but is not limited to, all areas dedicated
to public use for public street purposes, roadways, parkways, alleys,
sidewalks, flood control channels and any public right-of-way.
means a basket which is mounted on wheels or a similar device
generally used in retail establishments by a customer for the purpose
of transporting goods of any kind.
(Ord. 1514 § 1, 1995)
(a)
Any shopping cart left on any public or private property shall be
deemed to be abandoned and therefore a public nuisance pursuant to
this chapter. The provisions of this section shall not apply to shopping
carts left on the owner's private property (including the common areas
of shopping centers adjacent thereto).
(b)
In the event that a shopping cart is left on any public or private
property, the owner of the shopping cart shall be responsible and
liable for the removal and disposition of the abandoned shopping cart
as provided in this chapter.
(c)
The city manager may exempt a shopping cart owner from the provisions
of this chapter if the shopping cart owner has implemented a plan
whereby employees provide shopping cart retrieval, or where the shopping
cart owner has entered into a contract with a shopping cart retrieval
service and has provided the city with proof of such contract; provided,
that such plan or contract meets with the city manager's approval.
The plan or contract shall provide that carts will be retrieved within
seventy-two hours after abandonment and shall contain appropriate
enforcement mechanisms. If an approved plan or contract fails to retrieve
carts within seventy-two hours, the city manager may revoke such approval.
Such revocation shall subject the shopping cart owner to the provisions
of this chapter.
(Ord. 1514 § 1, 1995)
Except as otherwise provided in this chapter, the provisions
of this chapter shall be administered and enforced by the city manager.
In the enforcement of this chapter, the city manager may enter onto
public or private property to examine a shopping cart or parts thereof,
or to obtain information to identify the owner of the shopping cart
and to order, pursuant to this chapter, the abatement and removal
of the shopping cart, or parts thereof, declared to be a nuisance.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, the director shall perform the day-to-day
administration of this chapter.
(Ord. 1514 § 1, 1995)
(a)
Upon discovering the existence of a wrecked, dismantled or abandoned
shopping cart, or parts thereof, on public or private property within
the city, the director shall have the authority to order the abatement
and removal thereof in accordance with the procedure described in
this chapter.
(b)
Upon the abatement and removal of any shopping cart located on public
or private property within the city, the director shall notify the
owner thereof (if the name can be ascertained) by mailing an abatement
notice to the owner's last known address. Such notice shall state
the date the shopping cart was removed, the procedure for retrieving
the shopping cart, and a statement that the owner may request a hearing
to appeal the abatement order by submitting a writ-ten request within
ten days of the date appearing on the notice.
(Ord. 1514 § 1, 1995)
(a)
Any shopping cart removed and stored pursuant to these provisions
shall be released to the owner thereof if claimed within thirty days
of the date appearing on the abatement notice and upon the payment
of reasonable administrative fees. Such administrative fees shall
be waived if, after a hearing to appeal has been requested, a determination
is made at such hearing that the fees shall be waived. The administrative
fees for the removal and storage of the shopping cart shall be established
or modified by resolution of the city council and shall include the
actual cost of removal and storage of any shopping cart, or parts
thereof, plus the proportional share of administrative costs in connection
therewith.
(b)
Any hearing to appeal an abatement order which is requested shall
be conducted within five days of the receipt of the request, excluding
weekends and holidays, by the city manager, or his designee, who should
be designated as the hearing officer. The failure of either the owner
or his agent to request a hearing shall waive the right to a hearing.
At the hearing, the hearing officer shall determine whether good cause
was shown for the abatement and removal of the shopping cart. The
decision of the hearing officer shall be deemed the final administrative
determination. If good cause is shown for the abatement and removal
of the shopping cart, the owner or his agent shall have thirty days
from the hearing date to retrieve his shopping cart upon payment of
the administrative fee. If good cause is not shown for the abatement
and removal of the shopping cart, the administrative fee shall be
waived and the owner or his agent shall have thirty days from the
hearing date to retrieve his shopping cart.
(Ord. 1514 § 1, 1995)
(a)
Any shopping cart not retrieved by its owner within thirty days of
the date appearing on the abatement notice when such owner has not
requested a hearing to appeal, or within thirty days of the hearing
date when such owner has requested a hearing to appeal, shall be deemed
to be permanently abandoned and may be sold at public auction or otherwise
disposed of.
(b)
At a time convenient to the city, the city shall advertise the sale of permanently abandoned (as provided in subsection (a) of this section) shopping carts. Notice of such sale, including the time and place, shall be posted in three conspicuous places within the city. Ten days after posting such notice, such shopping carts may be sold and delivered to the highest bidder free and clear of any claims of the owner thereof.
(c)
The proceeds of such sale shall be disbursed to the city.
(Ord. 1514 § 1, 1995)
The director may determine that a wrecked shopping cart is in such poor condition that it may be immediately disposed of. This action will be a discretionary decision of the director and shall be based upon the director's determination that the shopping cart is inoperable, unsafe, or that the cost to repair exceeds the value of the shopping cart. In such case, the shopping cart or parts thereof may be destroyed without providing the appeal hearing provided in Section 11.100.060, but the director shall give notice of his action to the owner, if the same can be determined. The owner shall not be liable for any cost for removal and abatement in such case.
(Ord. 1514 § 1, 1995)
Every owner of a shopping cart, as defined in this chapter,
shall permanently affix a sign to such shopping cart conspicuously
identifying the owner thereof including name, address, and a telephone
number for purposes of providing any necessary notice hereunder to
the owner.
(Ord. 1514 § 1, 1995)
No person shall remove any shopping cart from the premises or
parking area of any business establishment if such shopping cart has
permanently affixed to it a sign identifying it as belonging to the
owner or operator of such business establishment, and a notification
to the effect that the shopping cart is not to be removed from the
owner's premises. This section shall not apply to the removal by the
owner or his agent or an employee of the business, nor to removal
by a customer with the consent of its owner, owner's manager, or owner's
authorized agent.
(Ord. 1514 § 1, 1995)
No person shall abandon or leave any shopping cart which has
been removed from the owner's premises upon any public street, alley,
sidewalk, parkway or other public place, nor upon any private property
except that of the owner of the shopping cart.
(Ord. 1514 § 1, 1995)
The action of an owner or owner's agent or employee to permit
any shopping cart to be removed from the owner's premises shall be
considered littering by the owner.
(Ord. 1514 § 1, 1995)
No person shall have in his possession any shopping cart which
has been removed from the owner's premises without authorization or
which has been abandoned or left on public or private property unless
such person has notified the police department of the presence and
location of such shopping cart.
(Ord. 1514 § 1, 1995)
This chapter is not to be construed as the exclusive regulation
of wrecked, dismantled or abandoned shopping carts within the city.
It shall supplement and be in addition to other regulatory codes,
statutes and ordinances heretofore or hereafter enacted by the city,
state or legal entity or agency having jurisdiction.
(Ord. 1514 § 1, 1995)
