CHAPTER 125: SHOPPING CARTS
Section 125.003: Severability
a) Physical Containment System. Devices on all shopping carts, which prevent them from being removed from the business premises by locking the wheels or otherwise preventing the movement of the shopping carts off the business premises or from the business entrance/exit.
Section 125.004: Cart Containment Requirements
a) Except as otherwise provided, it shall be unlawful for owners or operators of any establishment that provided ten (10) or more carts to provide or offer, or permit to be offered, any shopping carts to customers of the retail establishment without an approved mandatory cart containment system meeting one or all of the following criteria:
1) Installation of disabling devices on all carts, which are activated when they cross a barrier at the entrance/exit to the business structure or the perimeter of the premises.
Section 125.005: Cart Retrieval Required
a) In addition to installing physical measures to prevent the removal of carts from the premises, each cart provider that provides ten (10) or more shopping carts shall also retrieve any abandoned shopping cart related to the business and collect all shopping carts located on the premises and confine them in a cart containment area at the end of each business day (other than an establishment open for business twenty four hours per day)
Section 125.006: Penalty
a) Violations of the mandatory requirements of this Chapter may be subject to misdemeanor, infraction and or administrative citation penalties as provided for in the San Gabriel Municipal Code.
San Francisco
San Francisco, CA
Section 1400: Findings
The Board of Supervisors finds as follows:
a) The City and County of San Francisco has a substantial interest in promoting the public health, safety, welfare and convenience of its citizens and visitors by ensuring that public streets, sidewalks and rights-of-way not be obstructed by unattended empty shopping carts left on either public property or on private property without the owner’s consent.
b) The proliferation of unattended empty shopping carts on City streets and public and private property has contributed to congestion of City sidewalks, impeded the flow of pedestrian and vehicular traffic, interfered with the use of streets, sidewalks and public rights-of-way, presented hazards to persons and property, contributed to litter problems and resulted in visual blight.
c) The purpose of this ordinance is to promote the public health, safety and welfare and the aesthetic qualities of the City by promoting removal of unattended empty shopping carts on public property or on private property without the owner’s consent so as to:
1) Provide for pedestrian and vehicular safety and convenience;
2) Ensure that there is no unreasonable interference in the flow of pedestrian or vehicular traffic, including ingress into, or egress from, any residence, place of business or public facility, or any legally parked or stopped vehicle; and
3) Reduce visual blight and clutter and litter problems associated with empty shopping carts.
(Added by Ord. 32-02, File No. 012234, App. 3/22/2002)
Section 1401: Definitions
a) “Director” means the Director of the Department of Public Works, or his or her designee.
b) “Empty shopping cart” means a shopping cart that does not contain personal property or merchandise purchased from a retail establishment. A shopping cart containing only litter or trash shall be considered an empty shopping cart for purposes of this definition.
c) “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.
d) “Personal property” shall mean property that consists of readily identifiable personal effects in usable condition or that appear to be temporarily stored for later retrieval including, but not limited to, blankets, clothing, radios, TVs, sleeping bags, ground covers, toiletries, eye glasses, jewelry, medications, personal papers, recyclables, shoes, tarpaulins, bags, backpacks, tents or luggage and other items of significant value.
f) “Property owner” means the owner of real property or his or her designated agent.
g) “Shopping Cart” means a basket that 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.
(Added by Ord. 32-02, File No. 012234, App. 3/22/2002)
Section 1402: Scope; Declaration of Nuisance
a) The requirements of this Article shall apply only to unattended empty shopping cart. Unattended empty shopping carts located on either public property or on private property without the owner’s consent are hereby declared a nuisance.
(Added by Ord. 32-02, File No. 012234, App. 3/22/2002)
Section 1403: Impoundment
a) The Director may immediately impound an empty shopping carts located on either (1) public property outside the premises or parking area of a retail establishment, or (2) private property where the property owner has requested that the shopping carts be removed. Upon removal pursuant to this section, the Director shall give the owner of the shopping cart or his or her agent notice within 24 hours following the impound. That notice shall inform the owner or his or her agent as to the location where the shopping cart may be claimed. For purposes of this section, the parking area of a retail establishment located in a multi-store complex or shopping center shall include the entire parking area used by the complex or center.
b) Any shopping cart impounded pursuant to paragraph (a) shall be held at a location that is both reasonably convenient to the owner of the shopping cart, and which is open at least six hours of each business day.
c) The Director shall provide notice of each impounded shopping cart as follows: if the shopping cart contains information identifying a specific entity or person as the owner or contact, the Director shall give notice to that person. Otherwise, the Director shall give notice to the entity or person that the Director has reason to believe is the owner. Where an empty shopping cart contains indicia that it belongs to a particular company or retailer with more than one location in the City, but the cart contains no indication as to which location it belongs to, the Director shall make reasonable efforts to locate and notify the owner or agent. In the case of a retailer with multiple locations in the City, the Director may satisfy this requirement by providing notice to the retailer’s headquarters office, if located in San Francisco, or to the retailer’s area or regional office. Retailers may submit to the Director the name of one contact person or office to be the designated agent for notice by mail or telephone under this Article. Where an empty shopping cart lacks sufficient markings to enable the Director to determine the owner or owner’s agent, the Director may treat the empty shopping cart as abandoned property.
d) The Director can comply with the notice requirements imposed by this section by placing a telephone call during regular business hours to the owner or owner’s representative designated pursuant to paragraph (c) of this section, or on the shopping cart. Where no such person is designated, the Director shall call the owner at a number listed in the San Francisco telephone book. In addition, the Director shall give mailed notice to the address designated by the owner pursuant to paragraph (c) of this section, or in the absence of such a designation, to the address indicated on the shopping cart, or in the absence of such an address, to the address listed for the owner in the San Francisco telephone book.
e) Any impounded shopping cart that is reclaimed by the owner or his or her agent within two business days of the notice provided pursuant to paragraph (a) shall be released to the owner or agent at no cost, including waiver of any impound or storage fees.
f) Any impounded shopping cart that is not reclaimed by the owner or his or her agent within two business days following the date of notice pursuant to paragraph (a) shall be subject to payment of the actual costs incurred by the City in impounding and storing the shopping cart. The City shall have a lien on the shopping cart, and shall not release the shopping cart until such costs are paid in full by the retailer or the person(s) collecting the cart at the time of collection from the Department of Public Works.
g) Any impounded shopping cart that is not reclaimed by the owner or his or her agent within 30 days following the receipt of notice pursuant to paragraph (a) may be sold or otherwise disposed of by the Director.
(Added by Ord. 32-02, File No. 012234, App. 3/22/2002)
Section 1404: Emergency Impoundment
a) Notwithstanding any other provision of this Article, the Director may immediately impound any shopping cart that is located in such manner as to create a public hazard or an impediment to emergency services. In such cases, the Director shall notify the owner in accordance with Section 1403.
(Added by Ord. 32-02, File No. 012234, App. 3/22/2002)
Section 1405: Hearing
a) The owner, or his or her agent, of a shopping cart that has been impounded pursuant to this Article may request a hearing before the Director to contest the validity of the impoundment. The hearing request shall be made in writing to the Director within five business days from the date the actual notice given to the owner pursuant to this Article. The hearing shall be conducted within five business days of the date the Director receives the request, and shall be conducted in accordance with procedures established by the Director. In the hearing, the City shall bear the burden of demonstrating the factual basis for the removal and impound. If the Director determines that the shopping cart was wrongfully impounded, the shopping cart shall be returned to the owner or his or her agent, and any costs or charges otherwise due shall be waived.
(Added by Ord. 32-02, File No. 012234, App. 3/22/2002)
Section 1406: Carts Bearing Identification Signs
a) Where the Director seeks to impound a shopping cart that bears the identification required by California Business and Professions Code Section 22435.1, the requirements for notice, impoundment and recovery of the shopping cart shall be governed by Business and Professions Code Sections 22435 through 22435.7.
(Added by Ord. 32-02, File No. 012234, App. 3/22/2002)
Section 1407:Nature of Director’s Duties
a) It is the intent of the Board of Supervisors that the duties imposed upon the Director by this Article be directory in nature, and that as a result, the Director’s failure to comply with a particular procedural step shall not invalidate any subsequent action by the Director to which the procedural requirement relates.
(Added by Ord. 32-02, File No. 012234, App. 3/22/2002)
Section 1408: Limitation of Liability
a) By adopting this Article, the City and County of San Francisco is assuming an undertaking only to promote the general welfare. It is not assuming, nor is it imposing on its officers and employees an obligation for breach of which it is liable in money damages to any person who claims that such breach proximately caused injury.
(Added by Ord. 32-02, File No. 012234, App. 3/22/2002)
Section 1409: Severability
a) If any subsection, sentence, clause, phrase or word of this Article is for any reason declared invalid or unconstitutional or ineffective by any court of competent jurisdiction, such decision shall not affect the validity of the remaining portions of this Article or any part thereof. The Board of Supervisors hereby declares that it would have adopted this Article notwithstanding the unconstitutionality, invalidity, or ineffectiveness of any one or more of its sections, subsections, clauses, phrases or words.
(Added by Ord. 32-02, File No. 012234, App. 3/22/2002)
Section 1410: Signage Required on Carts
a) No business shall supply carts for use by its customers unless the cart has permanently affixed on it a sign that contains the following information:
1) Identification of the owner of the cart or the business providing the cart for use, or both;
2) Identification of the procedures to be utilized for authorized removal of the cart from the premises or parking area;
3) Notification that removal of the cart from the premises or parking area of the business establishment and/or the unauthorized possession of the cart is a violation of state law; and
4) A valid telephone number or address for returning the cart to the owner or business providing the cart.
(Added by Ord. 68-05, File No. 050071, App. 4/15/2005)
Section 1411: Mandatory Signage on Premises
a) Every business that owns or provides carts for the use of its customers within the City and County of San Francisco shall post conspicuous signs at or near each entrance to its parking lot and the public entrance doors to its store notifying its customers that removal of carts from the premises is prohibited without written authorization.
(Added by Ord. 68-05, File No. 050071, App. 4/15/2005)
Section 1412: Exemptions
a) A business that has a physical security device, such as trip wires or barriers, that prevents customers from removing carts from the premises shall be exempt from both the cart and the premises signage requirements.
b) A business that does not have a physical security device shall be exempt from the cart signage requirements if: (1) the business retrieves carts at least two days per week at San Francisco Department of Public Works shopping cart retrieval yard; and (2) has permanently affixed to the cart information sufficient to identify the owner.
(Added by Ord. 68-05, File No. 050071, App. 4/15/2005)
Section 1413: Securing of Carts
a) Every business that owns or provides carts for the use of its customers shall ensure that all carts on its premises are secured such that a member of the public may not remove any carts from the premises during the hours that the business is closed.
(Added by Ord. 68-05, File No. 050071, App. 4/15/2005)
Section 1414: Penalty
a) Any person violating this Article or any rules or regulations issued pursuant to this Article of which the person has been given notice, shall be guilty of an infraction and subject to a fine of not in excess of $100.
b) The violation of any provision of this Article that would otherwise be an infraction shall be a misdemeanor if the person who has violated such provision has previously been convicted of two or more violations within the 12-month period immediately preceding the current offense and the prior convictions are admitted by the person charged with the violations or are alleged in the accusatory pleading. For this purpose, a bail forfeiture shall be deemed to be a conviction of the offense charged. A person convicted of a misdemeanor pursuant to this subsection shall be subject to imprisonment in the County Jail for a period not exceeding 30 days or a fine not exceeding $500, or both.
(Added by Ord. 68-05, File No. 050071, App. 4/15/2005
