The accumulation 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. Responsibility for minimizing or eliminating this impact
rests with individuals who use shopping carts and the businesses which
provide shopping carts for their patrons. The intent of this chapter
is to ensure that measures are taken by store owners to prevent the
removal of shopping carts from store premises and parking lots, to
make the removal of shopping carts a violation of this chapter, and
to facilitate the retrieval of abandoned carts as permitted by State
of California law. The presence of wrecked, dismantled or abandoned
shopping carts, or parts thereof, on public property, is declared
to constitute a public nuisance which may be abated as such in accordance
with the provisions of this chapter.
(Ord. 1727 § 1)
The following words and phrases shall have the meanings ascribed
to them unless otherwise noted:
means a shopping cart located outside the premises or parking
lot or facility of the business establishment which furnishes the
shopping cart for use by its patrons.
is a plan that retail owners will have and use for the recovery
of off-premises shopping carts when violations are reported.
is a company, corporation or individual that finds off-premises
shopping carts and returns the carts to their rightful owners.
shall mean the City of Oroville.
shall be the city department, its director or deputy director,
or other person so designated either by the city council or City Code
or ordinance as responsible for enforcement of the provisions of this
chapter.
means not within the lot area of the business establishment.
means any basket of any size, mounted on wheels or a similar
device, including parts thereof, provided by a store operator for
the purpose of transporting goods of any kind within a business establishment
or designated parking or loading area of that business establishment.
means the owner of the shopping cart, the agent of the owner
of the shopping cart, including individuals or business entities,
or business establishments which furnish the shopping cart for use.
means the lot area maintained and managed by the business
that may include the building, parking lot and adjacent walkways,
and where the business' shopping carts are permitted.
(Ord. 1727 § 1)
The director of community development and public works and the
police chief, hereinafter referred to collectively as "department
head," shall enforce the provisions of this chapter. Employees of
the aforementioned departments may enter onto public or private property
as permitted by California law to examine a shopping cart or parts
thereof, or to obtain information as to the identity of a shopping
cart owner, and to remove, or cause the removal of, a cart, or parts
thereof, declared to be a nuisance pursuant to this chapter.
(Ord. 1727 § 1)
All shopping cart owners shall secure, prevent, and retrieve
shopping carts which have been removed from their store premises.
(Ord. 1727 § 1)
A.
All
shopping cart owners shall permanently affix a sign to their shopping
carts identifying the owner of the shopping cart and notifying the
public of the procedure utilized for unauthorized removal of the cart
from the store premises and that unauthorized removal of the shopping
cart from the store premises or parking area of the retail establishment
or the unauthorized possession of the shopping cart is a violation
of state law with a valid telephone number or address for returning
the shopping cart removed from the store premises or parking area
to the owner.
B.
Upon
request, shopping cart owners shall provide to the department head
information, including, but not limited to, a report concerning shopping
cart use, loss and recovery specific to that business location, and
such other information deemed reasonable by the department head to
determine the adequacy of the shopping cart containment system or
control method.
C.
All
shopping cart owners shall provide the department head a name of a
contact person and phone number who shall be responsible for the collection
of off-premises shopping carts when cart violations occur. Such person
shall be capable of being contacted during normal business hours,
7 days a week.
D.
All
shopping cart owners shall provide the department head an action plan
regarding shopping cart recovery of off-premises carts.
If carts are not retrieved 72 hours after notification by the city more than 15 times in a 6-month period, the owner's "action plan" will be deemed invalid. Once an action plan is deemed invalid, the owner shall comply with Section 9.16.060 pertaining to shopping cart control measures.
E.
All
shopping cart owners shall post a sign in English and Spanish not
less than 8-1/2 inches in height and 14 inches in width with block
lettering in a conspicuous place on the building within 4 feet of
all customer entrances and exits stating, at a minimum, the following:
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REMOVAL OF SHOPPING CARTS FROM THE PREMISES IS PROHIBITED BY
LAW.
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California Code
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Business & Professions Code § 22435.2
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Code of the City of Oroville § 9.16.050
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(Ord. 1727 § 1)
All shopping cart owners shall effectively contain, control,
and prevent shopping carts from leaving the boundaries of the premises.
Owners shall actively retrieve all shopping carts that have been taken
off-premises. In the event an action plan fails, owners shall use
the following procedure to retrieve shopping carts that have been
abandoned off-premises.
A.
The
owner of shopping carts, at owner's expense, shall hire a cart retrieval
company. The hired cart retrieval company shall sign a service agreement
contract with the owner(s) of shopping carts. The sole responsibility
of the cart retrieval company shall be to retrieve off-premises shopping
carts for all owners.
B.
In the
event that owner(s) fail to utilize the cart retrieval service, or
to follow cart prevention measures which result in shopping carts
being abandoned off-premises resulting in city personnel picking up
and storing shopping carts, the following requirements shall be applied:
The owner shall be required by the city to install a standardized
cart containment system with a wheel locking or stopping mechanism
that is used in conjunction with an electronic or magnetic barrier
along the perimeter of the store premises. The wheel locking or stopping
mechanism shall activate when the shopping cart crosses the electronic
or magnetic barrier.
(Ord. 1727 § 1)
Procedures related to removal and possession of any shopping
carts shall be in accordance with Business and Professions Code, Sections
22435.2 through 22435.5.
(Ord. 1727 § 1)
Any person who violates any of the provisions of this chapter
is guilty of an infraction punishable by a fine as provided in Government
Code Section 36900.
(Ord. 1727 § 1)
Procedures related to authorization for abatement, removal and
storage of abandoned shopping carts shall be pursuant to Business
and Professions Code, Section 22435.7.
(Ord. 1727 § 1)
A.
In addition
to the infraction penalty, any shopping cart not reclaimed by the
owner or his/her agent within 3 business days following the date of
actual notice of abandoned shopping carts shall be subject to paying
the following fine schedule:
1.
A
fine not exceeding $____________* for the first violation;
2.
A
fine not exceeding $__________* for a second violation of the same
section of this chapter within 6 months;
3.
A
fine not exceeding $________* for the third violation, and for each
subsequent violation of the same section of this chapter within 6
months.
B.
City
administrative fees for the removal and storage of shopping carts
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 proportionate share of administrative
costs in connection therewith. The schedule for such fees shall remain
on file and be available in the finance department of the city.
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* See Master Fee Schedule for current amount.
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(Ord. 1727 § 1)
All fines and fees shall be due and payable within 30 days after
issuance of the fine.
(Ord. 1727 § 1)
