ORDINANCE No. 778
WHEREAS, the Borough of Fountain Hill (“Borough”) finds that shopping carts are an eyesore, a potential hazard, and a nuisance; and WHEREAS, the Borough intends that the owners of shopping carts should be held responsible for containing their shopping carts on their respective Business Premises; NOW THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED AND ENACTED by the Borough of Fountain Hill, Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, in lawful fashion duly assembled, as follows:
SECTION 2. Required On-Site Cart Containment System; Exception.
A. Every Cart Owner shall operate and maintain an On-site Cart Containment System. A Cart Owner may be exempted from this requirement if he or she provides proof of contracting with a qualified cart retrieval service and submits an operations plan which demonstrates to the satisfaction of the Borough that the qualified cart retrieval service will both actively locate shopping carts within a one-mile radius of the Cart Owner’s Business Premises and respond to complaints from the public in a manner which results in the retrieval of shopping carts within twenty-four (24) hours after receiving complaint(s).
B. Each Cart Owner must contain all shopping carts on the Business Premises at all times.
SECTION 3. Violation; Penalties.
A. Any instance in which a shopping cart owned or provided by a Cart Owner is found off of the Business Premises shall be considered a violation by the Cart Owner of this Ordinance.
B. Any Cart Owner, whether a person, partnership or corporation, which violates any provision of this Ordinance shall be assessed a civil fine of not more than six hundred dollars ($600.00). Each day that a violation is continued shall constitute a separate offense. All fines shall be paid to the Borough for its general use.
C. The removal of any shopping cart from the Business Premises shall be considered a violation of this Ordinance. Any person found in violation of this Section 3.C. of this Ordinance shall be assessed a civil fine of not more than three hundred dollars ($300.00). Each day that a violation is continued shall constitute a separate offense. All fines shall be paid to the Borough for its general use.
D. Nothing herein contained shall prevent the Borough from taking such other lawful action as is necessary to prevent or remedy any violation.
SECTION 4. Cart Removal Warning.
A. Every Cart Owner shall post and maintain Cart Removal Warnings which shall contain a statement in two or more languages to the effect that unauthorized removal of a shopping cart from the Business Premises, or possession of a shopping cart in a location other than on the Business Premises, is a violation of the Borough Ordinance. The Cart Removal Warning shall list a local or toll-free telephone number for the Business Premises for the purpose of cart retrieval and shall be affixed to an interior wall of the building or otherwise permanently and prominently displayed within two (2) feet of all customer entrances and exits.
B. Cart Removal Warnings on the exterior of the building are not considered “signs” within the meaning of those regulated by the Borough Code of Ordinances.
SECTION 5. Cart Identification Signs for Shopping Carts.
A. Each shopping cart owned or used within the Borough shall have, permanently affixed and easily visible, a Cart Identification Sign or engraved surface which includes all of the following information: the name of the Cart Owner, the telephone number of the Cart Owner and/or commercial establishment to which the cart belongs, the individual cart identification number, if applicable, a valid toll-free phone number for cart retrieval, the procedure (if any) to be followed to obtain permission to remove the cart from the Business Premises, and a notice to the public that unauthorized removal of the cart from the Business Premises is a violation of the Borough Ordinance.
B. It shall be the responsibility of each Cart Owner to comply with subsection
(A) of this section, and to continuously maintain, or cause to be maintained, the Cart Identification Sign so that all of the required information is accurate and clearly legible.
SECTION 6. Physical Containment System.
A. A Cart Owner shall be required to install a Physical Containment System to the satisfaction of the Borough when the Cart Owner establishes a facility consisting of more than five thousand square feet of new construction.
B. A Cart Owner may be required to install a Physical Containment System to the satisfaction of the Borough and the Borough Solicitor following the ten (10) documented violations in a thirty (30) day period.
SECTION 7. Borough Powers Not Limited by this Ordinance.
Nothing in this Ordinance is intended to limit the ability of the Borough to remove or dispose of any cart to which a cart identification sign is not attached; any cart which has been left abandoned off of the Business Premises; any cart which impedes the provision of emergency services; or any cart which is an immediate threat to public health and safety, to the full extent permitted by state law.
