[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town Board of the Town of Greenburgh 6-28-2000
by L.L. No. 4-2000. Amendments noted where applicable.]
The Town Board of the Town of Greenburgh finds and declares that the
unlawful taking, the misuse and abandonment of shopping carts and similar
conveyances constitute a threat to the protection and preservation of the
property of the Town and its inhabitants; constitute a hazard to the health,
safety and general welfare of the populace of the Town; adversely affect the
legitimate conduct of business in the Town of Greenburgh; and constitute a
nuisance detrimental to individual neighborhoods and the community at large.
The purpose of this chapter is to reduce the incidences of unlawful taking,
misuse and abandonment of these devices through reasonable safeguards, by
discouraging and preventing their removal from the property of the owner and
by the establishment of penalties for violations of this chapter. Furthermore,
it is the intention of the Town Board of the Town of Greenburgh to make available
to qualifying senior citizens and the disabled, who generally rely on shopping
carts for the transportation of groceries to their homes, a suitable conveyance
for this purpose.
As used in this chapter, the following words and terms shall have the
meanings indicated. The meanings of all other terms and words not specifically
defined shall be their generally accepted definition.
The leaving, discarding, dumping or placing of private property,
which shall include shopping carts, in a public place or on private property
other than the place of the person who makes the shopping cart available to
the public.
A person owning, making available or having control of a place where
shopping carts are utilized; the place of a person owning, making available
or where shopping carts are utilized.
An individual, corporation, partnership, association, joint-stock
company, society or other legal entity.
Every class of road, sidewalk, parking lot and other areas publicly
owned and operated, or privately owned and open to the public, or a segment
thereof, excluding the interior or parking area of any building where a shopping
cart was obtained.
To take, transport or otherwise remove for any purpose, a shopping
cart from the interior (if the building should have no parking area accessible
to the public) or parking area of the place of the person who makes the shopping
cart available to the public. Removal or transport of a shopping cart by the
owner or agent of the owner for repair, shipment to another location or for
any other legal purpose shall not constitute a violation of this chapter.
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.
All areas within the Town of Greenburgh outside of any incorporated
village therein.
It shall be unlawful for any person to remove, for any purpose, a shopping cart, with markings as set forth in § 420-5, from the interior of any establishment that does not contain a parking area or from the parking area of any establishment where a shopping cart was obtained. The possession of a shopping cart so marked by a person, other than the owner or agent of the owner, in a place other than that from which the shopping cart was legally made available to the public shall constitute a rebuttable presumption that such person did unlawfully remove such shopping cart from the premises of the owner.
It shall be unlawful for any person who obtains possession of a shopping
cart from an establishment to leave or abandon the shopping cart in any public
place or on private property other than property of the establishment.
Every establishment shall mark or cause to be marked any shopping cart
in a conspicuous and permanent manner with the name of and/or company logo,
the address and telephone number of the establishment from which it was made
available or permitted to be utilized. The markings required by this section
shall be affixed within 90 days of the adoption of this chapter. Such identification
shall be in the form of a metal or plastic tag securely affixed to the frame
of the shopping cart or in some other equally noticeable and permanent manner.
Upon expiration of this ninety-day period, any establishment with shopping
carts not affixed with the identifying markings required by this section shall
be in violation of this chapter.
Any person owning, making available or having control of a place where
shopping carts are utilized shall conspicuously post signs at said establishment,
said signs to be posted in the interior of the establishments and in the parking
lots of such establishments. The signs shall be in conformance with state
standards and shall notify the public that the unauthorized removal of a shopping
cart from the premises or parking area and/or the abandonment of a shopping
cart is a violation of Town law. Such signs shall also list an address and
telephone number for returning the shopping cart to the establishment. The
signs required by this section shall be erected within 90 days of the adoption
of this chapter. The Town Police Department shall, within 15 days of the adoption
of this chapter, provide the owner of each establishment with the wording
and form for the required signs, as well as indicate the number of signs that
must be posted on each owner's property. Upon the expiration of this ninety-day
period, it shall be a violation of this chapter for any person to own, make
available or permit shopping carts to be utilized in an establishment without
first posting the signs required by this section.
A.Â
Abandoned shopping carts are declared to be a nuisance
and a hazard.
B.Â
The Commissioner of Public Works of the Town, or such
other person whom the Town Board may by resolution appoint, may, without notice,
remove, from time to time, any shopping cart found in any public place. Confiscated
shopping carts shall be impounded at Police Headquarters, where they will
be held until redeemed, sold or otherwise disposed of as hereinafter provided.
C.Â
Whenever the Town shall have impounded three or more
carts bearing identification of ownership from any one establishment, the
Chief of Police, or such other person whom the Town Board may by resolution
appoint, shall mail a notice by certified mail, return receipt requested,
to the establishment at the address shown on the shopping cart's identification
tag. Such notice shall advise that the impounded shopping carts may be redeemed
at Police Headquarters upon payment of the administrative fee of $35 for each
shopping cart so redeemed. The notice shall also contain the hours and days
during which shopping carts may be redeemed.
D.Â
If, after 15 days following the mailing of the notice described in § 420-7C, no person representing the establishment has presented themselves to the Police Department, or such person as may be designated by resolution of the Town Board, to redeem this property, the Town shall have the right to dispose of the shopping carts through public auction or in whatever other manner it deems appropriate.
E.Â
Shopping carts that are impounded that do not contain
the identifying information required by this chapter shall be held for a reasonable
time at Police Headquarters, such time not to be less than 30 calendar days.
During this period, these shopping carts may be reclaimed by the establishment,
provided that proof of ownership of the shopping carts is produced, and, further,
provided that the administrative fee is paid for each shopping cart redeemed.
F.Â
If, after the minimum thirty-calendar-day period described in § 420-7E has elapsed and no person representing the establishment has presented themselves to the Police Department or such person as may be designated by resolution of the Town Board to redeem this property, the Town shall have the right to dispose of the shopping carts that do not contain identifying information through public auction or in whatever other manner it deems appropriate.
The proceeds realized from the redemption or sale of shopping carts
shall be deposited in the general funds of the Town.
Beginning 90 days after the adoption of this chapter, any new application
submitted to any Town department or board for the construction or conversion
of an establishment shall require, as a condition of approval of the application,
that each shopping cart of the establishment be equipped with a security device
as follows:
A.Â
Establishments planning to own, make available or have
utilized more than 150 shopping carts shall be required to install a system
that causes a wheel of the shopping cart to lock when the conveyance is moved
across an antenna located at the perimeter of the establishment's parking
area.
B.Â
Establishments planning to own, make available or have utilized 150 or fewer shopping carts shall have the option of installing the system described in § 420-9A or a shopping cart handle lock system deactivated through the introduction of a coin or coins that may be redeemed by the user upon return of the shopping cart.
C.Â
Except for establishments utilizing five or fewer shopping carts in their operations, beginning 36 months after adoption of this chapter, all establishments shall be required to have installed the appropriate shopping cart security system mandated for new applicants under § 420-9A and B. At the expiration of this thirty-six-month period, it shall be unlawful for any establishment shopping cart not to be equipped with the appropriate security device as described in § 420-9A and B.
A.Â
This chapter shall not apply to any cart or personal
property which may come into the possession or custody of any department of
the Town pursuant to any other ordinance, law or regulation.
B.Â
Any person owning, making available or permitting shopping carts to be utilized and actually conducting business in the Town at the time this chapter takes effect may apply to the Town Board for an exemption or modification of the requirements of § 420-9. Any such request shall set forth the grounds upon which the exemption or modification is justified, and specifically address concerns of the health, safety and general welfare of the populace; any impacts to the legitimate conduct of business within the Town; and the impacts to individual neighborhoods and the community at large. The Board shall not grant any request for an exemption or modification unless the Chief of Police first evaluates the request and makes a favorable recommendation to the Board.
C.Â
The Town Board shall have the authority to rescind any exemption or modification granted under this section upon recommendation from the Chief of Police that shopping carts utilized by an establishment granted the exemption or modification have become either a hazard to the health, safety and general welfare of the populace of the Town; adversely affect the legitimate conduct of business within the Town; and/or constitute a nuisance detrimental to individual neighborhoods and the community at large. Prior to such rescission, the Town Board shall notify the establishment of the recommendation by the Chief of Police, said notice to be sent by certified mail, return receipt requested, to the person identified in the exception or modification request at the address provided in that request. The establishment shall have 20 days from the date of mailing of the rescission notice to request an opportunity to be heard by the Town Board. The establishment's request shall be made by certified mail, return receipt requested, and shall be deemed timely made if the official postmark of the United States Postal Service is dated within 20 days of the official United States Postal Service postmark on the rescission notice. In the event that an exemption or modification is rescinded, the establishment shall be required to install the additional mitigation measures mandated under § 420-9 within one year of the date notice of the decision was forwarded.
D.Â
The provisions of this section shall not apply to any
establishment commencing operations after adoption of this chapter.
Commensurate with the adoption of this chapter, the Town shall appropriate
a sum of money not to exceed $1,000 for the purchase of collapsible shopping
carts or some other suitable conveyance for distribution to qualifying senior
citizens and the disabled, who have a need for and generally rely on shopping
carts for the transportation of groceries and other merchandise to their homes.
The criteria and application process employed to decide which persons are
entitled to receive such collapsible shopping cart or similar conveyance shall
be proposed by the Town's Police Advisory Commission and approved by the Town
Board. Carts shall be purchased by the Police Department and stored at Police
Headquarters for distribution to qualifying applicants.
If any clause, sentence, paragraph, subdivision, section or part of
this chapter or the application to any person or circumstance shall be adjudged
by any court of competent jurisdiction to be invalid or unconstitutional,
such order or judgment shall not affect, impair or invalidate the remainder
thereof, but shall be confined in its operation to the clause, sentence, paragraph,
subdivision, section or part of this chapter, or its application to the person
or circumstance directly involved in the controversy in which such order or
judgment shall be rendered.
