Section 1.
Definitions. The following definitions shall apply in the interpretation and enforcement of this Ordinance only:
A. “Business Premises” Means the interior of a Cart Owner’s commercial establishment, adjacent walkways, loading areas, and the parking area.
B. “Cart Owner” means the owner or operator of a commercial establishment which owns or provides Shopping Charts for customer use to transport goods.
C. “Parking Area” means a parking lot or other property provided by a Cart Owner for use by a customer for parking a vehicle.
D. “Shopping Cart” means a framed basket that is mounted on wheels or any similar device which is provided by a commercial establishment for customer use to transport goods.
Section 2.
Shopping Cart Identification. Cart Owners shall permanently affix and continuously maintain an easily visible sign, label, or imprinted logo onto each Shopping Cart identifying the commercial establishment as the Cart Owner.
Section 3. Shopping Cart Removal Warning. Every Cart Owner shall post a notice on their Business premises in public view which shall contain a statement to the effect that unauthorized removal of a Shopping Cart from the Business Premises, or possession of a Shopping Cart in a location outside of the Business Premises without authorization is a violation of City Ordinance and shall be punishable by a fine of up to $300 and 90 days in jail.
Section 4. Shopping Cart Removal Authorization. Shopping Cart Removal Authorization.
A. Cart Owners may, at their discretion, provide written authorization to customers to remove Shopping Carts from the Business Premises.
B. Such carts permitted to be removed from the Business Premises shall be stamped or imprinted with a serial number that shall be recorded with the name of the customer who is authorized to remove the Shopping Cart from the Business Premises, and such carts shall be affixed with an easily visible colored triangle-shaped sign or label (in addition to the general label or logo required by Section 2).
C. Customers who have received written authorization to remove Shopping Carts from Business Premises must properly store the Shopping Carts out of the view of their neighbors and the general public.
Section 5. Violation; Penalties.
A. Shopping Carts that are discovered by City personnel off the Business Premises of a commercial establishment that do not contain proper cart identification as described in Section 2 of this Ordinance may be disposed of by the City of Meadville without notice to that commercial establishment.
B. Any Individual who removes a Shopping Cart from the Business Premises of a commercial establishment without authorization, or is seen in possession of a Shopping Cart in a location outside of the Business Premises without authorization shall be in violation of this Ordinance and shall be subject to a fine of $50 to $300 for each offense, and/or up to 90 days in jail.
C. Any individual with written authorization to remove a Shopping Cart as set forth in Section 4(C) shall be in violation of this Ordinance and shall be subject to a fine of $50 to $300 for each offense, and/or up to 90 days in jail.
Section 6. Cart Impounding.
A. Any instance in which a Shopping Cart owned or provided by a Cart Owner is found off the Business Premises, and the Cart Owner does not retrieve the Shopping Cart within 72 hours of having received notice from City personnel shall be considered a violation by the Cart Owner of this Ordinance. For purposes of this subsection, notice shall be deemed proper by telephone, email, or in writing.
B. A Shopping Cart that is not retrieved within 72 hours of the Cart Owner having received notice from City personnel shall be retrieved by City personnel and placed in storage. Cart Owners shall be notified via first-class mail that they have 10 days from the date of receipt of notice to retrieve the cart and pay a redemption fee as specified in the City’s fee schedule, based on the time and difficulty incurred by City personnel in the retrieval of the Cart. For the purposes of this subsection, City personnel may additionally contact Cart Owners via electronic mail to speed collection of the Cart by the Cart Owner.
C. Shopping Carts that are not retrieved after 10 days notice to the Cart Owner may be disposed of by the City of Meadville.
