ARTICLE IV. – SHOPPING CARTS
Sec. 26-70. – Intent.
It is the intent of this article to provide for the prompt retrieval of lost, stolen or abandoned shopping carts in order to promote public health, safety, and welfare and improve the image and appearance of the city. It is the further intent of this article to have the owners and operators of businesses providing shopping carts to use all means available to them to deter, prevent or mitigate the removal of shopping carts from their business premises and to prevent the illegal removal of shopping carts from the business premises.
Sec. 26-71. – Declaration of public nuisance.
Shopping carts that have been removed from the premises of businesses and left abandoned on public or private property throughout the city constitute a public nuisance and a potential hazard to the health, safety and welfare of the public. Such abandoned shopping carts create conditions of blight in the community, obstruct free access to sidewalks, streets, waterways and other public right of ways, interfere with pedestrian and vehicular traffic, and create impediments to the flow of water in the waterways when abandoned within drainage culverts and easements. Therefore, lost, stolen, or abandoned shopping carts are hereby declared to be a public nuisance which shall be subject to abatement in the manner set forth in this section, or as provided by law.
Sec. 26-72. – Definition.
For the purpose of this section, the term shopping cart as defined in F.S. § 506.502, as amended from time to time, means a basket mounted on wheels or a similar device which is generally used in a retail establishment by a customer for the purpose of transportation of goods of any kind.
Sec. 26-73. – Shopping cart containment and retrieval plan.
(a) Each retail establishment furnishing shopping carts to patrons to transport items purchased from the establishment, shall develop and implement a specific retrieval and abandoned cart prevention plan (the “plan”) to contain and retrieve its shopping carts that are found throughout the City of North Lauderdale. Plans must be submitted to the city within 60 days of the effective date of this ordinance, and must include an effective and specific method for containment and retrieving the retail establishment’s shopping carts found throughout the City of North Lauderdale.
(b) The city shall determine whether a retail establishment’s plan for containment and retrieval of its shopping carts submitted pursuant to this section is reasonably calculated to result in the proper containment and prompt removal of the retail establishment’s shopping carts found throughout the City of North Lauderdale on property other than that of the retail establishment furnishing the shopping carts to patrons. The shopping cart containment and retrieval plan shall include the following information:
(1) The number of employees who will be assigned such cart retrieval duties;
(2) The number of total hours per week that each assigned employee will perform such retrievals, and extent of training each assigned employee has received or will receive concerning the retrieval of lost, stolen, or abandoned shopping carts;
(3) A copy of each contract with a cart retrieval service or an indication that the cart retrieval will be performed in-house;
(4) The identification of the streets and bus stops which will be patrolled as required by this section as well as the manner, frequency, and times of such patrols;
(5) A process for implementing the signage requirements as set forth in section 26-74
(b) The city shall approve, reject or modify the containment and retrieval plan within 30 days of when the plan is submitted. If the plan is approved, the proposed measures shall be implemented no later than 30 days after said approval. If the containment and retrieval plan is rejected, the retail establishment shall modify the plan and re-submit it to the city no later than 30 days after the date of its rejection.
(c) Following the approval of a containment and retrieval plan, a retail establishment may file a written request with the community development director to amend its plan. The proposed amended plan is subject to the same criteria and review process as an original plan.
(d) If a retail establishment’s original or amended plan is approved by the city and subsequently, the community development director determines that the retail establishment’s plan for containment and retrieval of its shopping carts found throughout the City of North Lauderdale is ineffective, the community development director shall notify the establishment in writing, and the retail establishment shall submit a new or modified containment and retrieval plan to correct any deficiencies identified by the city within 30 days.
Sec. 26-74. – Signage.
(a) Signs on shopping carts required. Within 60 days of the effective date of this section, every shopping cart made available for use by customers shall have a sign permanently affixed to include identification of the owner of the shopping cart or the name of the business establishment, or both and the current telephone number to report abandoned carts.
(b) Notice to customers. Written notice shall be provided to customers as described herein that removal of shopping carts from the premises is prohibited.
(c) Within 60 days of the effective date of this article, each retail sales establishment that utilizes shopping carts in the daily operation of its business shall post a minimum of two signs not less than one and one-half feet by three feet in conspicuous locations on the inside of the retail sales establishment building and not visible from any public street. Such signs shall state the following:
“NOTICE—It is a violation of “F.S. § 506.513″, to remove a shopping cart, without written authorization, from its owner or from the premises or parking area on any retail establishment.”
Sec. 26-75. – Shopping carts to be maintained on-site.
(a) The owner of the retail establishment shall install specific physical measures on the carts or implement other measures to prevent cart removal from business premises. These measures may include, but are not limited to:
(1) Installing disabling devices on all carts;
(2) Posting store personnel to deter and stop customers who attempt to remove carts from the business premises;
(3) Installing bollards and chains around business entrances and exits to prevent cart removal;
(4) Requiring security deposits for use of all carts; or
(5) Providing folding carts for rental or sale that can be temporarily or permanently used for the purpose of transporting purchases.
(b) The owner shall provide personnel for the purpose of the retrieval of lost, stolen or abandoned shopping carts. Such personnel may be either employees of the business for on-site shopping cart retrieval or an independent contractor hired by the business owner to provide shopping cart retrieval services for the immediate neighborhood the business services.
(c) Employee training. The owner of the retail establishment shall implement and maintain a periodic training program for new and existing employees designed to educate such employees of the requirements of the shopping cart containment and retrieval plan and the provisions of state and city laws prohibiting the unauthorized removal of shopping carts from the premises of the retail establishment.
(d) The community development director shall have the authority to require businesses of 35,000 square feet or more to install systems or devices to contain shopping carts on-site within the property the business occupies.
Sec. 26-76. – Penalty for failure to submit, modify or implement shopping cart retrieval plan.
Any retail establishment that fails to timely submit a shopping cart containment and retrieval plan, implement a plan approved by the city, resubmit a rejected retrieval plan or make required modifications to containment and retrieval plan shall constitute a violation of this ordinance, and subject to code enforcement action and penalties in F.S. § 162.22.
Sec. 26-77. – Shopping cart theft and penalties for violation.
(a) It shall be unlawful to do any of the following acts, if a shopping cart has a permanently affixed sign as provided in this section:
(1) To remove a shopping cart from the parking area of a retail establishment with the intent to deprive the owner of the shopping cart the use of the cart; or
(2) To be in possession of any shopping cart that has been removed from the parking area of a retail establishment with the intent to deprive the owner of the shopping cart the use of the cart.
(b) This section shall apply only when a shopping cart:
(1) Has a sign permanently affixed to it that identifies the owner of the cart or the retailer, or both;
(2) Notifies the public of the procedure to be utilized for authorized removal of the cart from the premises;
(3) Notifies the public that the unauthorized removal of the cart from the premises or parking area of the retail establishment, or the unauthorized possession of the cart, is unlawful; and
(4) Lists a telephone number or address for returning carts removed from the premises or parking area to the owner or retailer.
(c) Any person who willfully violates any provision of this section is guilty of a misdemeanor.
(d) Any violation of this article by persons other than the owner of the shopping carts shall be pursuant to F.S. ch. 162.
