Abandoned shopping carts constitute a nuisance, create potential
hazards to the health and safety of the public, and interfere with
pedestrian and vehicular traffic within the County of Sacramento.
The accumulation of wrecked, dismantled and abandoned shopping carts
on public or private property also tends to create conditions that
reduce property values, promoting blight and deterioration in the
County. The intent of this chapter is to insure 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 Code, and to facilitate the retrieval of abandoned
carts as permitted by State law. Further, except where excluded, this
chapter is intended to supplement existing State law regarding shopping
carts as set forth in California Business & Professions Code,
Section 22435, et seq.
(SCC 1589 § 1, 2015)
As used in this chapter:
A.
"Abandoned cart" means any cart that has been removed in violation of Section 4.63.050, regardless of whether it has been left on either private or public property. This provision shall not apply to carts that are removed at the direction or request of the owner for purposes of repair or maintenance.
C.
"Hearing
Officer" means the person appointed by the County Executive to preside
over and render judgments at hearings in accordance with this chapter.
The Hearing Officer may be an employee of the County. However, they
shall not have any interests in any property subject to any hearing
at which they preside. The Hearing Officer may also be a person who
is not a County employee, but who is retained pursuant to a contract
to provide such services. Any such Hearing Officer shall be qualified
by training or experience or shall be an attorney or an administrative
law judge.
D.
"Cart"
means a basket which is mounted on wheels, a flat surface or structure
mounted on wheels, or a similar device, provided by a business establishment
for use by a customer for the purpose of transporting goods of any
kind, including, but not limited to, grocery store shopping carts.
E.
"Enforcement
personnel" means any law enforcement officer, code enforcement officer,
or other designated County of Sacramento employee.
F.
"Owner"
means any person or entity, who in connection with the conduct of
a business, owns, leases, possesses, uses, or otherwise makes carts
available to customers or the public. For purposes of this chapter,
owner shall also include the owner's on-site or designated agent that
provides the carts for use by its customers.
G.
"Premises"
means the entire area owned, occupied and/or utilized by the business
establishment that provides carts for use by customers, including
any parking lot or other property provided by the owner for customer
parking or use.
(SCC 1589 § 1, 2015)
The provisions of this chapter shall be enforced by the Department
of Community Development and/or Department of Transportation, or their
designee. To the extent otherwise permitted by law, Enforcement personnel
or designees, may enter onto any public or private property in the
County to retrieve, remove, store, and dispose of any lost, stolen,
or abandoned shopping cart, or any part thereof.
(SCC 1589 § 1, 2015)
Every cart owned or provided by any business establishment in
the County of Sacramento must have a sign permanently affixed to it
that contains the following information:
A.
The
identity of the owner of the cart or the name of the business establishment,
or both;
B.
An address
for the owner or business establishment for cart return;
C.
A telephone
number for reporting the location of the abandoned cart;
D.
Notification
of the procedure to be utilized for authorized removal of the cart
from the business premises; and
E.
Notification
that the unauthorized removal of the cart from the premises or parking
area of the business establishment is a violation of State law and
this Code.
(SCC 1589 § 1, 2015)
A.
It shall
be unlawful to either temporarily or permanently remove a cart from
the premises or parking area of a business establishment without the
express prior written approval of the owner or on-duty manager of
the business establishment. Written permission shall be valid for
a period not to exceed 72 hours.
B.
Except
in cases where written permission is granted, it shall be unlawful
to be in possession of a cart that has been removed from the premises
or parking area of a business establishment unless it is in the process
of being immediately returned to the owner or business establishment.
C.
This
section shall not apply to carts that are removed at the direction
or request of the owner for the purposes of repair or maintenance.
D.
Failure
to comply may subject the violator to any civil, criminal, or administrative
remedies or fines as provided by law.
(SCC 1589 § 1, 2015)
Every owner shall prepare and implement an Abandoned Cart Prevention
Plan to prevent customers from removing carts from the business premises.
The Plan must, at a minimum, include the following elements:
A.
Identification.
The name of the business, address and phone number of the premises
where the business is conducted, and the address and phone number
of the cart Owner, if different;
B.
Notice
to Customers. A procedure for providing notification to customers
that removal of carts from the premises and parking lots is prohibited
and is a violation of state and local law. In addition to the warnings
on shopping carts, notification may also be placed on the company's
website or on signs on the premises of the business that effectively
apprise customers of the prohibition;
C.
Physical
Measures. A description of the specific physical measures that will
be implemented to prevent cart removal from the business premises.
These measures may include, but are not limited to, disabling devices
on all carts, posting of a security guard or employee to deter and
stop customers who attempt to remove carts from the business premises,
storage of carts inside the building when the store is closed or if
space is not available inside, cable and locks on the carts stored
outside when the building is closed, requiring security deposits for
use of all carts, or the rental or sale of carts that can be temporarily
or permanently used for transport of purchases; and
D.
Abandoned
Cart Retrieval. An effective daily procedure for retrieval and cleaning
of abandoned carts located within a one mile radius of the business
premises by the owner's employees, or proof that the Owner has entered
into a contract for cart retrieval services and that carts are cleaned
before they are returned to circulation and use within the business.
(SCC 1589 § 1, 2015)
A.
Plan
Submission. Owner shall prepare the Abandoned Cart Prevention Plan
form and submit it to the Planning Director within 180 days after
adoption of this ordinance. Proposed businesses shall have an approved
Abandoned Cart Prevention Plan prior to commencing business.
B.
Abandoned
Cart Prevention Plan Fee. A fee set by the Board of Supervisors shall
be paid to the Office of Planning and Environmental Review at the
time of submittal of the Abandoned Cart Prevention Plan.
C.
Approval,
Rejection, or Denial of Plan. The Planning Director or designee shall
approve, reject as incomplete, or deny the proposed Abandoned Cart
Prevention Plan within 60 days of Plan submission. The Planning Director
or designee may deny a Plan based on the following grounds:
1.
Implementation
of the Plan violates any provision of the building, zoning, health,
safety, fire, police code or other provision of this code or any city,
state, or federal law which substantially affects public health, welfare,
or safety;
2.
The
Plan fails to include all of the information required by this chapter;
3.
The
Plan fails to address any special or unique conditions due to the
geographical location of the premises as they relate to cart retention
and prevention efforts;
4.
Implementation
of the Plan violates a term or condition of a Plan or other requirement
of this chapter;
5.
The
owner knowingly makes a false statement of fact or omits a fact required
to be revealed in an application for the Plan, or in any amendment
or report or other documents required for submission.
D.
Plan
Resubmission. If the Plan is rejected as incomplete, the Planning
Director or designee shall indicate areas that are incomplete, and
the owner shall have an additional 30 days within which to resubmit
a complete and adequate Plan. The Planning Director or designee shall
approve or deny the resubmitted Plan within 30 days of the date of
resubmission.
E.
Plan
Implementation. Once the Plan is approved, the measures included in
the Plan shall be implemented as soon as commercially feasible but
in no event later than 60 days after the Plan's approval, with the
exception of cart containment systems and disabling devices on carts,
which if included in the Plan shall be installed within a commercially
feasible timeframe based on factors including, but not limited to,
ownership rights and permits required.
F.
Reevaluation. The Office of Planning and Environmental Review shall notify the owner in writing if operation of the Plan demonstrates the Plan's insufficiency or inadequacy in preventing removal of carts from the premises. Plan insufficiency or inadequacy will be determined based upon reports received from contracted cart collectors, verified complaints received by the County, and inspections made by those tasked with enforcement of this chapter. If after 14 days of the owner receiving the written notice, the insufficiencies or inadequacies remain, the Office of Planning and Environmental Review may reevaluate the Plan, at which time the Office of Planning and Environmental Review may require a new Plan. If a new Plan is required, another Abandoned Cart Prevention Plan Fee will be required. If a new Plan is submitted, the proposed measures shall be implemented as soon as commercially feasible but in no event later than 60 days after approval is received. The measures from the previously approved Plan shall be continued until the new Plan is approved and the new measures are implemented. If the Office of Planning and Environmental Review requires a new Plan, the owner shall have the same right to appeal as set forth in subsection G of this section.
G.
Appeals. Any person whose Abandoned Cart Prevention Plan has been denied by the Planning Director or designee may request an appeal hearing before a Hearing Officer by filing a written notice of appeal stating the grounds therefor with the Deputy County Executive of Public Works not later than 10 calendar days after the date of the denial. The written notice must be accompanied by a copy of the Abandoned Cart Prevention Plan and the appeal fee set by the County Board of Supervisors. The Deputy County Executive shall schedule the appeal for a hearing before the Hearing Officer within 30 business days of the appeal being received and shall serve written notice of such time and date upon the appellant at least 10 days before the hearing. The appellant shall have the right to appear in person at the hearing and present oral, written and/or photographic evidence. The Hearing Officer shall review the basis for appeal, the evidence submitted by appellant, the proposed Abandoned Cart Prevention Plan, all of the grounds for denial set forth in subsection C above, as well as the Planning Director's determination and evidence in support thereof, and shall provide a written decision with factual findings granting or denying the appeal within 30 days of the hearing. The decision by the Hearing Officer shall be final and binding, and no further appeal shall be authorized to any other County Board, Commission, or court of law.
(SCC 1589 § 1, 2015; SCC
1606 § 54, 2017)
Failure of an owner to submit an Abandoned Cart Prevention Plan and take the necessary steps to receive Plan approval and/or failure to implement an approved Plan in the manner set forth in this chapter and within the time frames specified in this chapter is a public nuisance and violators will be subject to enforcement pursuant to Sacramento County Code Section 16.18.401(H).
Failure to comply may also subject the violator to any civil,
criminal, or administrative remedies as provided by law.
(SCC 1589 § 1, 2015)
If any section, subsection, paragraph or sentence of this ordinance,
or any part thereof, is for any reason found to be unconstitutional,
invalid or beyond the authority of the County of Sacramento by a court
of competent jurisdiction, such decision shall not affect the validity
or effectiveness of the remaining portions of this ordinance.
(SCC 1589 § 1, 2015)
