The City Council hereby finds that abandoned shopping carts are unsightly, interfere with pedestrian and vehicular traffic, accumulate over time on public and private property causing blight and similar conditions resulting in reduction of property values, constitute a public nuisance, and are detrimental to the public health, safety and welfare. The purpose of this chapter is to promote the public health, safety, and welfare by facilitating the removal of wrecked, dismantled, and abandoned shopping carts and parts thereof from public and private property, thereby alleviating the safety hazards, unsafe conditions, and the impairment of property values resulting from the abandonment of such carts. This chapter implements the provisions of Chapter 19 of the California Business and Professions Code (Shopping and Laundry Carts; commencing with Section 22435).
(Prior code § 5-910)
For purposes of this chapter, the following words and terms shall have the meanings respectively ascribed thereto:
"Abandoned shopping cart"
means any shopping cart which has been removed from the premises of the owner of the shopping cart without the owner's written consent, irrespective of whether the shopping cart is located on private or public property; provided that shopping carts which are removed from such premises for purposes of repair or maintenance and which are in the possession or custody of the party to whom they have been released, shall not be deemed abandoned; provided, further, that a shopping cart located on private property owned or occupied by the person who has been granted written permission by the owner of the shopping cart to have possession thereof for a period not to exceed 72 consecutive hours, and which shopping cart is not visible at street or ground level from the public property adjacent to such private property, shall not be deemed abandoned.
"Director"
means the Chief of Police, or designees, including, without limitation, all City employees and any independent contractor authorized or engaged by the City to retrieve shopping carts.
"Laundry cart"
means a basket which is mounted on wheels and used in a coin-operated laundry or dry-cleaning retail establishment by a customer or an attendant for the purpose of transporting fabrics and the supplies necessary to process them.
"Owner"
means the person, firm, partnership, corporation, association, or other entity who or which owns, or otherwise exercises possession and control over, shopping carts for the use of the owner's customers in connection with the management and operation of the owner's business enterprise, including any officer, employee, or agent of said person, firm, partnership, corporation, association, or entity.
"Premises"
means the entire area owned and utilized by the business establishment that provides shopping carts for use by customers, including any parking lot or other off-street area provided by or for an owner for use by a customer for parking an automobile or other vehicle.
"Shopping cart"
means a basket which is mounted on wheels or a similar device generally used in a retail establishment by a customer for the purpose of transporting goods of any kind, including a laundry cart.
(Prior code § 5-911; Prior code § 012-07 C.S. § 2)
A. 
This chapter shall be administered and enforced by the Director. The Director is hereby authorized and directed to promulgate and implement rules, regulations and procedures necessary or appropriate for enforcement of this chapter.
B. 
The Director is hereby authorized to enter into, on or upon any, public property to examine a shopping cart or parts thereof, or to obtain information as to the identity of the owner of any shopping cart, or to retrieve shopping carts in accordance with the provisions of this chapter. As used herein, "public property" includes the outdoor common area of any building, business premises, apartment building or complex, or other premises or portion thereof which is adjacent to public property, open to the public, and which contains a shopping cart or shopping carts visible at street or ground level from the adjacent public property. Nothing contained in this section shall be deemed a limitation upon the Director to enter private property pursuant to permission from the owner or occupant thereof or pursuant to a duly issued inspection warrant or other court order.
(Prior code § 5-912)
Every owner 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 establishment to which it pertains, or both.
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 law.
C. 
Notification of the procedure for authorized removal of the shopping cart from the premises.
D. 
A telephone number or address for returning the shopping cart to its owner or to the business establishment identified thereon. Although not required, the City urges owners to place current telephone numbers on each sign for effective implementation of this chapter.
(Prior code § 5-913)
Any person in possession of a shopping cart outside the premises of a business establishment without the express prior written approval of its owner, unless the person is in the process of immediately returning the shopping cart to the owner, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor. Written permission to remove a shopping cart shall be valid for a period not to exceed 72 consecutive hours.
(Prior code § 5-915)
Any person who, having a shopping cart in his or her possession or custody, leaves or permits to be left any shopping cart upon any sidewalk, street, or other public place, or upon any private property, such that it becomes an abandoned shopping cart, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor.
(Prior code § 5-916)
A. 
Every owner shall prepare and implement a specific written plan to prevent their respective customers from removing shopping carts from each owner's premises and to retrieve shopping carts that have been removed therefrom. Said plan shall include the following elements and shall be subject to review and enforcement:
1. 
Notice to Customers. Written notice shall be provided to customers that removal of shopping carts from the premises is prohibited and a violation of law. The notice may be provided in the form of flyers, warnings on shopping bags, or any other form of written notification that will provide effective notice to customers of the prohibition;
OR
2. 
Signs. Signs of a conspicuous nature shall be placed in appropriate places near customer exits and near parking area exits to inform customers that shopping cart removal is prohibited and constitutes a violation of law;
AND
3. 
Retrieval Measures. Specific measures shall be implemented to retrieve shopping carts that are removed from the owner's premises. Such measures shall include one or more of the following: the employment of personnel for the purpose of retrieving shopping carts removed from the premises, the hiring of third-party contractors to retrieve shopping carts removed from the premises, or an alternative measure to ensure retrieval of shopping carts removed from the premises.
B. 
Every plan shall be subject to the Director's reasonable approval and subject to periodic review by the Director to assess its effectiveness. Every plan shall be located at the premises where the shopping carts are located and be readily available for review by the Director when requested. In the event there becomes a problem with the owner's plan, the Director shall notify the owner to revise the plan within 30 days. The Director may also require an evaluation report detailing the measures used during the prior year to retrieve shopping carts removed from the owner's premises. The report may also include an inventory of shopping carts owned or used by the owner, the number of shopping carts which were retrieved after removal from the owner's premises during the previous 12 months, and the number of shopping carts which were replaced due to loss, theft or abandonment during the previous 12 months.
C. 
Every Owner shall submit to the Director, and update as needed, the name of the business, the address of the business, the name and telephone number of the person to contact regarding inquiries related to the business's mandatory plan, and the name and telephone number of the person or entity to contact regarding retrieval of shopping carts. For each business that has multiple retail locations, the above information shall be submitted for each location.
(Prior code § 5-917; Ord. 2024-04-02-1209, 4/2/2024)
A. 
Failure to produce a copy of the plan when requested pursuant to Section 8.40.080(B), to revise the plan upon being notified pursuant to Section 8.40.080(B), or to implement the measures established in the plan, shall be a violation of this chapter.
B. 
In addition to the penalties hereinabove provided, and as an administrative remedy upon a finding of repeated or excess violations of subsection A of this section, as determined by the Director, the Director is hereby authorized to require installation of wheel disabling devices on all shopping carts which prevent their removal from an owner's premises and any required ancillary system or equipment to facilitate proper wheel disablement; employment of personnel to advise and deter customers from removing shopping carts; installation of obstacles to prevent the removal of shopping carts; collection of security deposits for use of shopping carts; provision for rental or sale of shopping carts to customers; or an alternative measure to prevent removal of shopping carts from the premises.
C. 
In the event a business owner has been issued a notice to install wheel locking devices and the associated systems or equipment required for the proper functioning of the devices, and the property owner on which the business is located will not voluntarily allow the business owner to install such equipment on the premises, the property owner may be issued a notice of violation.
(Prior code § 5-918; Ord. 2024-04-02-1209, 4/2/2024)
The Director may retrieve and impound any abandoned shopping cart, or any shopping cart observed in a location outside the owner's premises after the expiration of three days from having given actual notice to the owner of the shopping cart that said cart has been so observed and the owner has not retrieved the shopping cart within three days from the date of such notice.
(Prior code § 5-919)
A. 
Notwithstanding the provisions of Section 8.40.100, and as an alternative thereto, the Director may retrieve and impound any abandoned shopping cart without providing the three day notice specified in Section 8.40.100, provided the Director shall give actual notice to the owner of the impounded shopping cart within 24 hours following the impound, which notice shall inform the owner of the location where the shopping cart may be claimed. Any shopping cart reclaimed by the owner within three business days following the date of such notice shall be released and surrendered to the owner at no charge, including waiver of any impound and storage fees or fines which otherwise would be applicable. The abandonment of any such shopping cart so retrieved within the three day period shall not be deemed an occurrence for purposes of prosecution or imposition of administrative costs and fines under this chapter.
B. 
The owner of any shopping cart not reclaimed within three business days following the date of actual notice as provided hereinabove shall be subject to prosecution or the imposition of any administrative costs, fees, fines, interest and other penalties applicable under this part commencing on the fourth business day following the date of notice.
C. 
Any shopping cart not reclaimed by the owner within 30 days of the date of receipt of actual notice as provided hereinabove may be sold or disposed of pursuant to Section 8.40.130.
(Prior code § 5-920)
A. 
Pursuant to the provisions of subdivision (f) of Business and Professions Code, Section 22435.7, any owner who fails to retrieve the owner's shopping carts within three days from the date that notice pursuant to Section 8.40.100 has been given, shall be guilty of a violation of said subdivision (f) and of this section and shall be punishable by an administrative fine of $50.00 for each occurrence in excess of three during the six month periods ending on June 30th and December 31st of each calendar year.
B. 
Pursuant to subdivision (i) of Business and Professions Code, Section 22435.7, any owner who fails to reclaim the owner's shopping carts which have been impounded by the City pursuant to Section 8.40.110, within three business days from the date of actual notice of impoundment provided pursuant to Section 8.40.110, shall be guilty of a violation of said subdivision (i) of Business and Professions Code Section 22435.7 and of this section, and shall be punishable by an administrative fine of $50.00 for each occurrence in excess of three during the six month periods ending on June 30th and December 31st of each calendar year.
C. 
For purposes of this section, an occurrence includes the retrieval of all shopping carts of an owner in a one day period.
D. 
In addition to the fines imposed pursuant to subsection A or B of this section, the owner shall be required to pay the City's actual costs for retrieving and storing the owner's shopping carts except when reclaimed by the owner within three business days pursuant to Section 8.40.110(A).
(Prior code § 5-921)
Pursuant to subdivision (g) of Business and Professions Code, Section 22435.7, the Director may sell or otherwise dispose of any shopping cart which has been impounded by the Director and which has not been reclaimed by its owner within 30 days of receipt of a notice of a violation of this chapter.
(Prior code § 5-922)
Pursuant to subdivision (c) of Business and Professions Code, Section 22435.7, the Director or any City officer, employee, or agent may immediately retrieve any shopping cart from public or private property if its location impedes emergency services.
(Prior code § 5-923)
The provisions of this chapter are cumulative and in addition to any and all other procedures or remedies provided in ordinances of the City or by State law for the abatement of, or prosecutions for, nuisances, and proceedings for abatement pursuant to this chapter shall not prejudice nor affect any other action, whether civil, criminal, equitable or administrative, for the abatement or other remedy of such conditions. Without limitation upon the foregoing, violations of the provisions of this chapter shall be, and are, enforceable under the provisions of Chapters 1.24, 1.28, and 1.32 of this code. Nothing contained herein shall be deemed to invalidate, supersede, or render ineffective any other provision of this code or any ordinance of this City. Neither the inclusion, nor the failure to include, under the terms of this chapter, any act or condition otherwise in violation of any provision of this code or other ordinance of this City, unlawful or constituting a nuisance, shall be deemed to render such act or condition lawful.
(Prior code § 5-924; Ord. 2024-04-02-1209, 4/2/2024)