The purpose of this chapter is to set forth regulations to ensure measures are taken by the owners and operators of businesses, which provide shopping carts for the convenience of customers, to prevent the removal of shopping carts from business premises and parking lots, and to provide for the prompt retrieval of lost, stolen or abandoned shopping carts. The regulations in this chapter are designed to complement and supplement provisions of State law; any perceived conflict with State law should be read to give effect to State law so as to avoid a preemption issue.
(Ord. 202 § 1, 4-21-2009)
Except as otherwise expressly set forth herein, the following terms and phrases shall have the following meanings:
"Abandoned shopping cart,"
see "Lost, stolen or abandoned shopping cart."
"Cart" or "shopping cart"
means a basket that 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.
"City"
means the City of Lake Forest, California, or its designated representative.
"Director of Community Development"
means the Director of Community Development of the City or his/her designee.
"Enforcement personnel"
means any Orange County Sheriff's Deputy, Code Enforcement Officer or any other person designated by the Director of Community Development.
"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 fabrics.
"Lost, stolen or abandoned shopping cart"
means a shopping cart which is either:
1. 
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
2. 
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.
"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 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.
"Retail establishment"
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, or is a private club or business, or is a membership store.
(Ord. 202 § 1, 4-21-2009)
The Director of Community Development shall oversee the implementation, administration and enforcement of this chapter.
(Ord. 202 § 1, 4-21-2009)
A. 
Owners of every retail establishment that utilizes carts shall develop and implement a written Shopping Cart Retention/Retrieval Plan for the retrieval of lost, stolen or abandoned shopping carts which have been removed from the premises of their retail establishment. The plan may employ the personnel of the retail establishment itself or a professional retrieval service. The plan shall ensure adequate measures are employed so that all abandoned shopping carts are retrieved within 24 hours of: (1) their removal from the property; or (2) notification by enforcement personnel. Within 60 calendar days of the effective date of this section, all owners of retail establishments that utilize carts shall submit a copy of their Shopping Cart Retention/Retrieval Plan to the Director of Community Development. New retail establishments are required to submit a Shopping Cart Retention/Retrieval Plan prior to commencing business operations.
1. 
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 Shopping Cart Retention/Retrieval Plan.
B. 
Shopping carts located on the premises of all retail establishments shall be collected throughout the day and night and placed within a designated area.
C. 
Adequate signage shall be installed and maintained as provided under Section 5.40.070.
D. 
No person shall remove a cart from a retail establishment without the written consent of the owner.
E. 
Owners of every retail establishment that utilizes carts shall provide evidence that they have engaged the services of a valid shopping cart retrieval service or made adequate plans to use in-house employees to retrieve carts that leave the premises.
(Ord. 202 § 1, 4-21-2009)
If the Director of Community Development determines, based on the criteria provided in Section 5.40.060, that a Shopping Cart Retention/Retrieval Plan is ineffective at preventing the removal of shopping carts the offending retail establishment shall receive notification that they must implement one or more of the following physical measures to prevent the removal of carts from their premises:
1. 
Disabling devices on all carts, which are activated when the carts cross a barrier at the perimeter of the premises; or
2. 
Physical barriers located at doors, around loading areas or other defined perimeters, which will prevent the passage of carts beyond the barriers. The barriers may also be placed on the carts themselves so that the carts cannot pass through door openings or other defined perimeters; or
3. 
Utilization of security personnel to prevent the physical removal of carts from the premises; or
4. 
Utilization of employee(s) to escort customers with carts to their vehicles, ensuring that carts do not leave the premises.
(Ord. 202 § 1, 4-21-2009)
A. 
Retail establishments that are required to implement physical measures under Section 5.40.050 shall present to the Director of Community Development, within 30 calendar days of notification, a written Shopping Cart Containment Plan setting forth the physical measures the retail establishment proposes to implement. The fee for plan submission and review shall be set by the City Council via Resolution.
B. 
Plan Review and Approval. Upon the filing of any proposed Shopping Cart Containment Plan pursuant to this section the Director of Community Development shall review the proposed plan and either approve or deny the proposed plan within 30 calendar days following the receipt thereof by the Director of Community Development. The proposed Shopping Cart Containment Plan may be approved if the Director of Community Development finds that the proposed plan includes the following elements:
1. 
One or more of the physical measures required under Section 5.40.050 A.; and
2. 
All of the Retrieval conformance measures required under Section 5.40.040 B. through E.
The decision of the Director of Community Development shall be made in writing and notice thereof shall be transmitted to the owner in accordance with the provisions of Section 1.01.300 of this Code. If the proposed Shopping Cart Containment Plan is denied, the notice of decision given to the owner shall state the grounds upon which the proposed plan was denied. A decision of the Director of Community Development may be appealed by the owner in the time and manner provided in this section.
C. 
Amendments by Owner. The owner of any retail establishment which has an approved Shopping Cart Containment Plan conforming to the requirements of this chapter may, at any time, submit a proposed amendment to the approved plan. The amendment shall be processed in the same manner as a new plan, and shall require a new fee.
D. 
Amendments by City. The Director of Community Development may require the owner of any retail establishment with an approved Shopping Cart Containment Plan to amend said plan when the approved plan is failing to comply with the provisions of this chapter. Evidence of noncompliance shall include:
1. 
Within a 30 calendar day period, three or more incidents of shopping carts found off the premises by enforcement personnel for a period of time in excess of 24 hours; or
2. 
Failure to maintain required signage as provided in Section 5.40.070.
E. 
Appeal of Decision. Within 15 calendar days from the decision of the Director of Community Development on a submitted Shopping Cart Containment Plan, an owner may file an appeal in accordance with Chapter 1.12 of this Code. In the absence of a timely appeal, the decision of the Director of Community Development shall be final and conclusive.
(Ord. 202 § 1, 4-21-2009)
A. 
Within 90 calendar days of the effective date of this section, every shopping cart made available for use by customers shall have a sign permanently affixed to it, not smaller than 60 square inches, consisting of white lettering at least three-sixteenth inches in height on a contrasting background which:
1. 
Identifies the specific name and location of the retailer that owns or uses the cart;
2. 
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 and local law; and
3. 
Lists a valid telephone number or address for returning the cart removed from the premises to the retailer.
B. 
Within 90 calendar days of the effective date of this section, signs shall be posted at the entrance and exit to the retail establishment, measuring no less than 17 inches by 22 inches in size, consisting of white lettering no smaller than one inch in height on a contrasting background which notifies customers that shopping carts may not be removed from the premises. Additional signs may be posted on the premises notifying customers that shopping carts may not be removed from the premises.
C. 
Such signs shall be maintained in legible condition at all times and replaced as becomes necessary due to weathering, damage, vandalism, etc.
(Ord. 202 § 1, 4-21-2009; Ord. 367, 2/6/2024)
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:
1. 
Is the owner, or an employee or authorized agent of the owner, entitled to possession of the shopping cart;
2. 
Is an officer, employee or agent of a cart retrieval service hired by the owner to retrieve such carts;
3. 
Is enforcement personnel repositioning carts from a hazardous location (e.g., traffic lanes) to an adjacent, secure location, or otherwise impounding and disposing of carts having no identifying information; or
4. 
Has written permission or consent to be in possession of the shopping cart from the owner entitled to possession of the shopping cart.
(Ord. 202 § 1, 4-21-2009)
A. 
Any violation of this chapter shall be deemed a misdemeanor punishable by six months in jail, or a one thousand dollar ($1,000.00) fine, or both.
B. 
It is declared a public nuisance for any person owning, leasing, occupying or having charge or possession of any retail establishment in the City to allow shopping carts to be removed from their premises in violation of this chapter. Any violation may be abated by the City through civil proceedings by means of a restraining order, preliminary or permanent injunction, or in any other manner provided by law for the abatement of such nuisances. Any person who violates any of the provisions of this chapter shall be responsible for the City's attorney fees and legal costs associated with the abatement.
C. 
The penalties set forth in this chapter are cumulative and in addition to all other remedies, violations and penalties set forth in the Lake Forest Municipal Code, state law or federal law.
(Ord. 202 § 1, 4-21-2009)