This chapter is not intended as the exclusive regulation of
shopping carts within the City. Rather, the purpose of this chapter
is to supplement any applicable State law, including California Business
and Professions Code, Article 1, Chapter 19, of Division 8 (commencing
with Section 22435, as may be amended), by providing special procedures
for the abatement as public nuisances of certain shopping and laundry
carts.
(Prior code § 95.60; Ord. 752 3-15-22)
For purposes of this chapter only, and unless the context clearly
requires a different meaning, the words, terms and phrases set forth
in this section are defined as follows:
“Abandoned cart”
means any cart that has been removed from the business premises
and which is left unattended or discarded upon any public or private
property other than the premises regardless of whether the cart was
removed with permission from the owner.
“Business premises”
means the interior of a cart owner’s commercial establishment,
adjacent walkways, any loading area, and the parking area, as defined
herein.
“Cart”
means a shopping cart or laundry cart, as defined herein.
“Cart identification sign”
means a sign or engraved surface which is permanently affixed
to a cart containing all of the information specified in this chapter.
“Cart owner”
means the owner or operator of a commercial establishment
which provides shopping carts or laundry carts to customers or to
the public.
“Laundry cart”
means a basket which is mounted on wheels and used in a coin-operated
laundry or dry cleaning establishment by a customer or an attendant
of the establishment for the purpose of transporting fabrics and the
supplies necessary to process them.
“Parking area”
means a parking lot or other property provided by a retailer
for use by a customer for parking an automobile or other vehicle.
The parking area of a retail establishment located in a multistore
complex or shopping center shall include the entire parking area used
by the complex or center.
“Removed cart”
means a cart which is removed from the business premises
by any person without the written permission or consent of the cart
owner.
“Shopping cart”
means a basket which is mounted on wheels or a similar device
provided by the operator of a commercial establishment for the use
of customers for the purpose of transporting goods of any kind. (Business
and Professions Code, Section 22435.10) A shopping cart sold by a
commercial establishment to a retail customer for that customer’s
personal use is not a shopping cart for the purposes of this chapter.
(Prior code § 95.61; Ord. 752 3-15-22)
The City Council finds and declares as follows:
The presence of wrecked, dismantled, or abandoned carts, or
parts thereof, on private or public property is found to create a
condition tending to reduce the value of private property, to promote
blight and deterioration, to invite plundering, interfere with pedestrian
and vehicular traffic, to constitute an attractive nuisance creating
a hazard to the health and safety of minors, to create a harborage
for rodents and insects, and to be injurious to health, safety and
general welfare. The presence of wrecked, dismantled, or abandoned
carts, or parts thereof, on private or public property, except as
expressly hereinafter permitted, is declared a public nuisance which
may be abated as such in accordance with the provisions of this chapter.
(Prior code § 95.62; Ord. 752 3-15-22)
This chapter shall not apply to:
A. A cart,
or parts thereof, which is completely enclosed within a building in
a lawful manner where it is not visible from the street or other public
or private property; or
B. A cart,
or parts thereof, which is stored in a lawful manner on private property
in connection with the business of a licensed retail consumer goods
vendor when such storage or parking is necessary to the operation
of a lawfully conducted business or commercial enterprise; or
C. A cart,
or parts thereof, which is stored in a lawful manner on private property
in connection with the business of a licensed dismantler or junk dealer
when such storage is necessary to the operation of a lawfully conducted
business or commercial enterprise.
(Prior code § 95.63; Ord. 752 3-15-22)
Except as otherwise provided herein, the provisions of this
chapter shall be administered and enforced by the City Manager or
his/her designee. In the enforcement of this chapter, the City Manager
or his/her designee, may enter upon private or public property, in
a manner consistent with the United States and California Constitutions,
to examine a cart, or parts thereof, or obtain information as to the
identity of a cart and to remove, or cause the removal of, a cart,
or parts thereof, which is declared to be a nuisance pursuant to this
chapter.
(Prior code § 95.64; Ord. 752 3-15-22)
A. Every
cart owner shall post and maintain cart removal warnings which meet
all of the following minimum specifications:
1. Meet
or exceed 18 inches in width and 24 inches in height.
2. Using
block lettering not less than one-half inch in width and two inches
in height, contain a statement in two or more languages to the effect
that unauthorized removal of a cart from the business premises, or
possession of a cart in a location other than on the business premises,
is a violation of State law and City ordinance.
3. List
a local or toll-free telephone number for cart retrieval.
4. Be
affixed to an interior wall of the building or otherwise permanently
and prominently displayed within two feet of all customer entrances
and exits.
B. Cart
removal warnings on the exterior of the building are not considered
“signs” for the purpose of calculating any maximum allowable
signage in the City.
C. Each
cart owned or used within the City shall have, permanently affixed
and easily visible, a cart identification sign or engraved surface
which includes all of the following information: the name of the cart
owner, the telephone number of the cart owner and/or commercial establishment
to which the cart belongs, an address for returning the cart to the
owner or business premises, the individual cart identification number,
a valid toll-free phone number for cart retrieval, the procedure (if
any) to be followed to obtain permission to remove the cart from the
business premises, and a notice to the public that unauthorized removal
of the cart from the business premises is a violation of State law
and City ordinance.
D. It shall be the responsibility of each cart owner to comply with subsections
A and
C of this section, and to continuously maintain, or cause to be maintained, the cart identification sign so that all of the required information is accurate and clearly legible.
(Prior code § 95.65; Ord. 752 3-15-22)
A. Cart
Containment Plan—Required.
1. Every
cart owner shall implement, operate, and maintain an on-site cart
containment plan. The cart owner shall implement, operate, and maintain
the following measures in the on-site cart containment plan:
a. Install and maintain electronic or other disabling devices on all
carts which prevent them from being removed from the business premises
by locking the wheels or otherwise preventing the movement of the
carts.
b. Install and maintain physical measures to prevent the removal of
carts from the business premises. These measures may include physical
barriers and security guards to deter unlawful removal of carts from
the business premises. All carts shall be securely locked and stored
at all times while the business is closed.
c. Conduct ongoing employee training to educate new and existing employees
about procedures to prevent cart removal, including the operation
of the on-site cart containment plan.
d. Secure and continuously maintain a qualified cart retrieval service
to retrieve carts which have been removed from their business premises.
The qualified cart retrieval service shall respond to complaints from
the public or notifications from the City in a manner which results
in the retrieval of carts within 24 hours of receiving the notification.
Additionally, qualified cart retrieval services shall actively locate
removed carts within a one-mile radius of the business premises at
least once per week. The qualified cart retrieval service shall not
place any limits on daily loads or days per week to retrieve carts
within the City.
2. Each
cart owner must contain all carts on the business premises at all
times. All carts must be accounted for at the end of each business
day.
3. Cart
owners shall conduct regular maintenance to ensure disabling devices
are working properly. If at any time, a cart owner determines the
disabling device installed on a cart is not working properly, the
cart shall be pulled from circulation until it is repaired. The cart
owner shall inspect, test, and repair all abandoned carts returned
to the owner prior to making the returned carts available for use.
4. A
cart that does not have an electronic or other disabling device shall
not be in circulation unless and until such device is added to the
cart.
B. On-Site
Cart Containment Plan Review. The review of on-site cart containment
plans shall be conducted pursuant to this subsection.
1. Existing
cart owners must develop and submit an on-site cart containment plan
within 60 days from the date of the City notice stating that such
a plan is required pursuant to this chapter.
2. New
cart owners or cart owners who have relocated must submit an on-site
cart containment plan at the time of applying for a business license
or certificate of occupancy. A cart owner applying for a renewed license
or certificate, but which did not previously submit an on-site cart
containment plan, shall submit such plan upon application for renewal.
3. Two
or more cart owners located within the same shopping or retail center
or sharing a common parking area may collaborate and submit a single
on-site cart containment plan.
4. At
the time a cart owner submits an on-site cart containment plan, the
cart owner shall pay a fee for the review and administration of the
plan as set forth by resolution of the City Council.
5. The City Manager or designee shall review on-site cart containment plans and may approve, deny, or require modifications. Once a plan is approved, the cart owner shall have 30 days to begin implementation. Cart owners may appeal a denial of an on-site cart containment plan within 14 calendar days. The applicable provisions of Chapter
4.36 of this Code shall govern the proceedings of such an appeal.
(Prior code § 95.66; Ord. 752 3-15-22)
A. Any
person who violates any provision of this chapter shall be guilty
of a misdemeanor.
B. Except as pursuant to subsection
F, a violation of any provision of this chapter shall constitute a public nuisance and may be abated according to the provisions of this Code or by any other means provided by law.
C. The
remedies set forth in this chapter shall be cumulative and in addition
to any and all other remedies, civil, equitable or criminal, afforded
to the City under the law.
D. A separate
offense occurs for each day a violation of, or failure to comply with,
any provision of this chapter is committed, continued, permitted,
maintained, or allowed to be continued.
E. The
failure of a cart owner to submit, establish, or maintain a cart containment
plan as required by this chapter shall subject the owner to a civil
penalty of up to $1,000, plus an additional penalty of $50 for each
day of noncompliance.
F. Fines.
Pursuant to
Business and Professions Code Section 22435.7(f), a fine
in the amount of $50 is hereby imposed upon each cart owner of a cart
for each occurrence in excess of three during a specified six-month
period for failure to retrieve carts in accordance with this chapter.
An occurrence includes all shopping carts impounded in accordance
with this chapter in a one-day period. This subsection does not apply
to and does not limit or prohibit any other fee, fine or penalty that
the City may charge for violation of this chapter.
(Prior code § 95.100; Ord. 752 3-15-22)