Declaration of nuisance: Many retail establishments provide
shopping carts for the convenience of customers while shopping on
the premises of such businesses. However, shopping carts removed from
the premises of such businesses and left abandoned on public or private
property throughout the City constitute a public nuisance and a potential
hazard to the health and safety of the public. The proliferation of
lost, stolen or abandoned shopping carts on public and private property
causes blighting conditions in the community, results in the obstruction
of free access to public and private sidewalks, streets, parking lots
and other ways, interferes with pedestrian and vehicular traffic on
public and private streets, and impedes emergency services. For the
aforesaid reasons, such lost, stolen or abandoned shopping carts are
declared to be a public nuisance which shall be subject to abatement
in the manner set forth in this chapter or in any other manner provided
by law. The purpose of this chapter is to set forth regulations to
ensure that reasonable measures are taken by the owners and operators
of businesses which provide shopping carts for the convenience of
customers to either prevent the removal of shopping carts from business
premises and parking lots, or provide for the prompt retrieval of
lost, stolen or abandoned shopping carts, to complement and supplement
provisions of state law, and to adopt local regulations to the extent
not otherwise preempted by state statute.
(3759-1/07)
Except as otherwise expressly set forth herein, the following
words and terms as used in this chapter shall have the following meanings:
"City"
means the City of Huntington Beach, California.
"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.
"Lost, stolen or abandoned shopping cart"
means:
1.
A shopping cart which is either:
a.
Removed from the premises of a retail establishment by any person
without the written permission or consent of the owner of the shopping
cart or the retailer otherwise entitled to possession of such cart;
or
b.
Left unattended, discarded or abandoned upon any public or private
property other than the premises of the retail establishment from
which the shopping cart was removed, regardless of whether such shopping
cart was removed from the premises with the permission of the owner.
2.
For purposes of this chapter, any shopping cart located on any
public or private property other than the premises of the retail establishment
from which such shopping cart was removed shall be presumed lost,
stolen or abandoned, even if in the possession of any person, unless
such person in possession thereof either is:
a.
The owner, or an employee or authorized agent of the owner,
entitled to possession of the shopping cart;
b.
An officer, employee or agent of a cart retrieval service hired
by the owner to retrieve such carts;
c.
An enforcement officer retrieving, storing or disposing of the
cart pursuant to the provisions of this chapter.
"Owner"
means any owner, manager, or operator of any retail establishment.
"Parking area"
means a parking lot or other property provided by a retail
establishment for the use of customers of such retail establishment
for parking of customer vehicles. The parking area of a retail establishment
located in a multistore complex or shopping center shall include the
entire parking area used by the multistore complex or shopping center.
"Premises"
means any building, property or other area upon which any
retail establishment business is conducted or operated in the City,
including the parking area provided for customers of such retail establishment.
"Retail establishment"
means any business located in the City which offers or provides
shopping carts for the use of the customers of such business regardless
of whether such business is advertised or operated as a retail or
wholesale business, and regardless of whether such business is open
to the general public, or is a private club or business, or is a membership
store.
"Shopping cart" or "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. The term shopping cart or cart
includes a laundry cart.
(3759-1/07)
Except as otherwise provided in this chapter, every owner who
provides shopping carts to customers for use on the premises of any
retail establishment shall develop, implement and comply with the
provisions of a written plan approved by the City to prevent customers
from removing shopping carts from the premises of such business without
authorization of the owner (the "cart containment plan"). The cart
containment plan, at a minimum, shall include the following elements:
A. Signs Affixed to Carts. Every shopping cart made available
for use by customers shall have a sign permanently affixed to it that
identifies the owner of the cart or the retailer or both; notifies
the public of the procedure to be utilized for authorized removal
of the cart from the premises; notifies the public that the unauthorized
removal of the cart from the premises of the business, or the unauthorized
possession of the cart, is a violation of state law, and lists a valid
telephone number or address for returning the cart removed from the
premises to the owner or retailer.
B. Notice to Customers. Written notice shall be provided to customers,
both in English and Spanish, that removal of shopping carts from the
premises is prohibited by state law. Such notice may be provided in
the form of flyers distributed on the premises, warnings printed on
shopping bags, direct mail, website notices or any other means demonstrated
to be effective. The cart containment plan shall identify the specific
measures to be implemented to comply with this notice requirement.
In addition, conspicuous signs shall be placed and maintained on the
premises near all customer entrances and exits and throughout the
premises, including the parking area, warning customers that removal
of shopping carts from the premises is prohibited by state law.
C. Physical Measures. Specific physical measures shall be implemented
and maintained by the owner to prevent, deter or impede the removal
of shopping carts from the premises. Such physical measures shall
be specifically identified in the cart containment plan and may include,
but are not limited to, the following: disabling devices installed
and maintained on carts, maintaining one or more security guards assigned
the responsibility to deter or stop customers from removing shopping
carts from the premises, preventing any shopping carts to be taken
outside the confines of building exits unless accompanied by an employee
of the business, bollards and chains in locations between the business
exits and the parking area which effectively prevent transporting
shopping carts into the parking area or off the premises, requiring
security deposits by customers for cart use, or rental or sale of
carts to customers.
D. Daily Cart Confinement. All shopping carts located on the
premises of the retail establishment (other than an establishment
open for business 24 hours per day) shall be collected at the end
of each business day by employees of the retail establishment and
shall be collectively confined in a secure manner at the cart containment
area on the premises as designated in the cart containment plan until
the commencement of the next business day. All shopping carts located
on the premises of any retail establishment open for business 24 hours
per day, other than carts then currently in use by a customer or patron,
shall be collected by employees of the retail establishment and returned
to the cart confinement area on the premises as designated in the
cart containment plan at least once per calendar day between the hours
of 9:00 p.m. and 12:00 midnight on each day the retail establishment
is open for business. The provisions of this subsection shall not
apply to any shopping carts located within an enclosed building.
E. Employee Training. The owner of the retail establishment shall
implement and maintain a periodic training program for its new and
existing employees designed to educate such employees concerning the
requirements of the cart containment plan and the provisions of state
law prohibiting the unauthorized removal of shopping carts from the
premises of the retail establishment. The cart containment program
shall expressly describe the employee training program.
F. Collaboration With Other Businesses. Two or more retail establishments
located within the same shopping or retail center or sharing a common
parking area may collaborate and submit a single cart containment
plan.
G. Exemptions. The requirements of this section shall not apply to any retail establishment which provides a total of less than 10 shopping carts for use by customers of such business, or which retail establishment complies with the requirements of Section
5.80.040 of this chapter.
(3759-1/07)
Except as otherwise provided in this chapter, every owner who
provides shopping carts to customers to use on the premises of any
retail establishment shall develop, implement and comply with the
provisions of a written plan approved by the City to provide for the
retrieval of lost, stolen or abandoned shopping carts which have been
removed from the premises of the retail establishment (the "cart retrieval
plan"). The cart retrieval plan, at a minimum shall include the following
elements:
A. Signs Affixed to Carts. Every shopping cart made available
for use by customers shall have a sign permanently affixed to it that
identifies the owner of the cart or the retailer or both; notifies
the public of the procedure to be utilized for authorized removal
of the cart from the premises; notifies the public that the unauthorized
removal of the cart from the premises of the business, or the unauthorized
possession of the cart, is a violation of state law, and lists a valid
telephone number or address for returning the cart removed from the
premises to the owner or retailer.
B. Retrieval Personnel. The owner shall provide personnel for
purposes of the retrieval of lost, stolen or abandoned shopping carts.
Such personnel may be either employees of the business or one or more
independent contractors hired by the owner to provide shopping cart
retrieval services, or a combination of both. The cart retrieval plan
shall either:
1. Identify
the number of employees who will be assigned such cart retrieval duties,
the number of total hours per week that each assigned employee will
perform such services (in addition to any on-premises retrieval duties
to which such employee may be assigned) and the training each of such
personnel has received or will receive concerning the retrieval of
lost, stolen or abandoned shopping carts; or
2. Include
a copy of each contract with a cart retrieval service (other than
confidential financial information which may be redacted from the
contract).
For purposes of this section, those persons identified in the
cart retrieval plan as providing cart retrieval services, whether
employees of the business or independent contract services, shall
be referred to in this section as "retrieval personnel." The owner
shall provide written authorization to all retrieval personnel which
authorization shall be carried by each such person while performing
cart retrieval services on behalf of the owner and shall be provided
to any enforcement personnel upon request. Each vehicle used by retrieval
personnel shall bear conspicuous signs on the vehicle identifying
either the name of the retail establishment for which such retrieval
service is being performed or, if applicable, the name of the cart
retrieval service with which the retail establishment has contracted
for such services.
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C. Prompt Retrieval of Carts. The owner shall provide retrieval
personnel in sufficient number to ensure that all public streets within
a minimum one mile radius of the premises of the retail establishment
are patrolled not less often than every 48 hours, and all bus stops
within a minimum one mile radius of the retail establishment are patrolled
not less often than every 24 hours, and each lost, stolen or abandoned
shopping cart owned or provided by the retail establishment that is
found as a result of such patrols is immediately retrieved and removed
from any public or private property upon which the cart is found.
The cart retrieval plan shall identify the streets and bus stops which
will be patrolled as required by this subsection; the manner, frequency
and times of such patrols; and the procedures to be employed by the
retail establishment to identify and retrieve any lost, stolen or
abandoned shopping carts. The cart retrieval plan shall identify the
number of trucks, hours of operation of the retrieval personnel, and
such other information as reasonably required by the City to ensure
that the owner is devoting sufficient resources to cart retrieval
operations to comply with the provisions of this section and the approved
cart retrieval plan.
D. Exemptions. The requirements of this section shall not apply to any retail establishment which provides a total of less than 10 shopping carts for use by customers of such business, or which retail establishment complies with the requirements of Section
5.80.030 of this chapter.
(3759-1/07)
It is unlawful for any person to do any of the following, if a shopping cart has a permanently affixed sign pursuant to Sections
5.80.030(A) and
5.80.040(A):
A. Remove
a shopping cart from the premises or parking area of a business establishment.
B. Leave
or abandon a shopping cart at a location other than the premises or
parking area of the retail establishment.
C. Alter,
convert, or tamper with a shopping cart, or to remove any part or
portion thereof or to remove, obliterate or alter serial numbers on
a cart.
D. Be in
possession of any shopping cart while that cart is not located on
the premises or parking lot of a business establishment.
(3759-1/07)