CHAPTER 12.30: SHOPPING CARTS
Section 12.30.010: Purpose
a) The proliferation of lost, stolen or abandoned shopping carts on public and private property causes blighting conditions in the community, results in the obstruction of free access to public and private sidewalks, streets, parking lots and other ways, interferes with pedestrian and vehicular traffic on public and private streets, and impedes emergency services. For the aforesaid reasons, such lost, stolen or abandoned shopping carts are declared to be a public nuisance which shall be subject to abatement in the manner set forth in this chapter or in any other manner provided by law. The purpose of this chapter is to set forth regulations to ensure that reasonable measures are taken by the owners and operators of businesses which provide shopping carts for the convenience of customers to deter the removal of shopping carts from business premises and parking lots, and provide for the prompt retrieval of lost, stolen or abandoned shopping carts.
Section 12.30.030: Shopping Cart Signs Required.
a) Each shopping cart used within the City shall have a permanently affixed, and clearly visible, sign that:
1) Identifies the owner of the cart or owner’s retail establishment, or both;
2) Lists the address of the owner of the retail establishment for shopping cart return and a telephone number at which a person may contact the owner to retrieve the shopping cart;
3) Notifies the public of the procedure to be utilized for authorized removal of the cart from the premises; and
4) 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 a violation of state law.
b) It shall be the responsibility of each shopping cart owner to comply with subsection (A) of this section, and to continuously maintain, or cause to be maintained, the required sign in such a manner that the required information is accurate, current, and clearly legible. (Ord. 1336 § 1, 2008)
Section 12.30.040: Unauthorized Removal or Possession of a Shopping Cart.
a) It is unlawful to do any of the following acts, if a shopping cart has a permanently affixed sign as provided in PMC 12.30.030:
1) To remove a shopping cart from the premises or parking area of a retail establishment with the intent to temporarily or permanently deprive the owner or retailer of possession of the cart.
2) To be in possession of any shopping cart that has been removed from the premises or the parking area of a retail establishment, with the intent to temporarily or permanently deprive the owner or retailer of possession of the cart.
3) To be in possession of any shopping cart with serial numbers removed, obliterated, or altered, with the intent to temporarily or permanently deprive the owner or retailer of possession of the cart.
4) To leave or abandon a shopping cart at a location other than the premises or parking area of the retail establishment with the intent to temporarily or permanently deprive the owner or retailer of possession of the cart.
5) To alter, convert, or tamper with a shopping cart, or to remove any part or portion thereof or to remove, obliterate or alter serial numbers on a cart, with the intent to temporarily or permanently deprive the owner or retailer of possession of the cart.
6) To be in possession of any shopping cart while that cart is not located on the premises or parking lot of a retail establishment, with the intent to temporarily or permanently deprive the owner or retailer of possession of the cart.
b) This section shall not apply to the owner of a shopping cart or to a retailer, or to their agents or employees, or to a customer of a retail establishment who has written consent from the owner of a shopping cart or a retailer to be in possession of the shopping cart or to remove the shopping cart from the premises or the parking area of the retail establishment, or to do any of the acts specified in subsection (a) of this section.
c) In any civil proceeding, any shopping cart which has a sign affixed to it pursuant to PMC 12.30.030 shall establish a rebuttable presumption affecting the burden of producing evidence that the property is that of the person or business named in the sign and not abandoned by the person or business named in the sign.
d) In any criminal proceeding, it may be inferred that any shopping cart which has a sign affixed to it pursuant to PMC 12.30.030 is the property of the person or business named in the sign and has not been abandoned by the person or business named in the sign. (Ord. 1336 § 1, 2008)
Section 12.30.060L Shopping Cart Control Plan.
a) Except as otherwise provided in this chapter, every owner who provides shopping carts to customers for use on the premises of any retail establishment shall develop, implement and comply with the provisions of a written plan approved by the City designed to prevent customers from removing shopping carts from the premises of the retail establishment without authorization of the owner and to provide for the prompt retrieval of any abandoned shopping cart. The plan shall include the following elements:
1) Signs Affixed to Carts. Every shopping cart made available for use by customers shall comply with the sign requirements of PMC 12.30.030.
2) Signs Posted on Premises. Conspicuous signs, in both English and Spanish, shall be placed and maintained on the premises near all customer entrances and exits and throughout the premises, including the parking area, warning customers that removal of shopping carts from the premises is prohibited by state law.
3) Shopping Cart Inventory. The cart control plan shall include a complete list of all shopping carts maintained on or in the retail establishment.
4) Cart Containment. Specific physical measures shall be implemented and maintained by the owner to prevent, deter or impede the removal of shopping carts from the premises. Such physical measures shall be specifically identified in the cart control plan and may include, but are not limited to, the following:
I) Electronic or other disabling devices installed and maintained on carts;
II) Maintaining one or more security guards assigned the responsibility to deter or stop customers from removing shopping carts from the premises;
III) Any other physical measures designed to prevent, deter or impede the removal of shopping carts from the premises that is approved by the City.
5) Employee Training. The owner of the retail establishment shall implement and maintain a periodic training program for its new and existing employees designed to educate such employees concerning the requirements of the cart control plan and the provisions of state law prohibiting the unauthorized removal of shopping carts from the premises of the retail establishment. The cart control plan shall expressly describe the employee training program.
6) Cart Confinement During Non-Business Hours. The cart control plan shall include a plan for storing shopping carts during non-business hours to prevent theft while the retail establishment is closed.
7) Shopping Cart Retrieval. The cart control plan shall include provisions for the retrieval of abandoned shopping carts. The cart retrieval element should identify the following:
I) Retrieval Personnel. The owner shall provide personnel for purposes of the retrieval of abandoned shopping carts. Such personnel may be either employees of the business or one or more independent contractors hired by the owner to provide shopping cart retrieval services, or a combination of both. The cart control plan shall either (i) identify the number of employees who will be assigned such cart retrieval duties, the number of total hours per week that each assigned employee will perform such services (in addition to any on-premises retrieval duties to which such employee may be assigned), and the training each of such personnel has received or will receive concerning the retrieval of abandoned shopping carts, and/or (ii) include a copy of each contract with a cart retrieval service (other than confidential financial information which may be redacted from the contract).
II) Retrieval Area. The owner shall provide retrieval personnel in sufficient number to assure that all public streets within a minimum one and one-half mile radius of the premises of the retail establishment are patrolled not less often than every 48 hours, and all bus stops within a minimum one and one-half mile radius of the retail establishment are patrolled not less often than every 24 hours, and each abandoned shopping cart owned or provided by the retail establishment which is found as a result of such patrols is immediately retrieved and removed from any public or private property upon which the cart is found. The cart control plan shall identify the perimeter streets and bus stops in which all streets within the perimeter area will be patrolled as required by this subsection; the manner, frequency and times of such patrols; and the procedures to be employed by the retail establishment to identify and retrieve any abandoned shopping carts. The cart control plan shall identify the number of trucks, hours of operation of the retrieval personnel, and such other information as reasonably required by the City to assure that the owner is devoting sufficient resources to cart retrieval operations to comply with the provisions of this section and the approved cart control plan.
c) Collaboration with Other Businesses. Two or more retail establishments located within the same shopping or retail center or sharing a common parking area may collaborate and submit a single cart control plan.
d) Exemption. The requirements of this section shall not apply to any retail establishment that provides a total of 10 or less shopping carts for use by customers. (Ord. 1336 § 1, 2008)
