AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF UKIAH ADDING ARTICLE 8 TO CHAPTER 2, DIVISION 2 AND ARTICLE 11 TO CHAPTER 1, DIVISION 7 OF THE UKIAH CITY CODE TO REGULATE SHOPPING CART CONTAINMENT AND RETRIEVAL.
The City Council of the City of Ukiah ordains as follows:
SECTION ONE. FINDINGS AND DECLARATION OF INTENT:
The City Council of the City of Ukiah hereby finds and declares as follows:
1. Abandoned shopping carts constitute a nuisance, create potential hazards to the health and safety of the public, and interfere with pedestrian and vehicular traffic within the City.
2. The accumulation of wrecked, dismantled and abandoned shopping carts on public and private property also tends to create conditions that reduce property values, promoting blight and deterioration in the City.
3. The intent of this Ordinance is to ensure that measures are taken by cart owners to prevent the removal of shopping carts from store premises.
4. This Ordinance is based in part on California Business and Professions Code section 22435 and following.
SECTION TWO. Article 8, entitled “Shopping Cart Containment and Retrieval” is added to Chapter 2, Division 2 of the Ukiah City Code and shall read as follows.
ARTICLE 8. SHOPPING CART CONTAINMENT AND RETRIEVAL
Sections: 2380 Applicability. 2381 Definitions. 2382 Prohibitions. 2383 Shopping cart identification signs. 2384 Shopping cart plan. 2385 Enforcement.
2380 Applicability.
This Article applies to:
A. Each business owner in the City that provides shopping carts for customer use on the business premises; and
Any person who removes or who is in possession of or who has abandoned an offsite shopping cart.
§2381 Definitions.
Administrator means the Director of Planning and Community Development or his or her designee.
Business owner or owner means one or more persons or any legal entity, such as, but not limited to, a corporation, limited liability company, partnership or association which owns a business that provides shopping carts for customer use on the premises.
Off-site shopping cart means a shopping cart which has been removed from the premises where it belongs in violation of the requirements of this Article.
Premises means the entire area owned or under the control of a business owner, including the parking area and for businesses in a shopping center or other development where common areas serve more than one business, the common area shared by the business with other businesses in the development.
Shopping cart or cart means a basket or a similar device which is mounted on wheels and is generally owned and used as part of a retail establishment and used by a customer for transporting goods.
Shopping cart plan means a document submitted to the City by the business owner, under Ukiah City Code Section 2384.C.
§2382 Prohibitions.
A. Prohibitions Applicable to Business Owners. It is unlawful and a violation of this Article for a business owner to:
1. Fail to affix an identifying sign to each shopping cart;
2. Fail to submit a shopping cart plan or request for exemption in conformance with Ukiah City Code Section 2384.B;
3. Fail to comply with an approved shopping cart plan; or
4. Allow or authorize a shopping cart to be removed from the premises, except to allow for shopping carts to be serviced or repaired by a qualified and licensed company off-site.
B. Other Prohibitions. It is unlawful and a violation of this Article for a person to:
1. Remove a shopping cart from the premises where it belongs; or
2. Possess an off-site shopping cart; or
3. Abandon an off-site shopping cart; or
Alter, convert, or tamper with a shopping cart, or remove any part or portion thereof or remove, obliterate or alter an identifying sign or serial numbers on a shopping cart.
§2383 Shopping cart identification signs.
The business owner shall have a sign permanently affixed to each cart in a prominent location.
The sign shall include all of the following information:
A. The identity of the owner of the cart or the business, or both;
B. The valid address or phone number of the business for returning the cart to the owner or business;
C. Notice to the public that the unauthorized removal of the cart from the premises or the unauthorized possession of the cart is a violation of state law and of the Ukiah City Code; and
D. Notice to the public that there shall be no authorized removal of the cart from the premises.
§2384 Shopping cart plan.
A. General requirement. Each owner of a business shall submit to the Administrator, obtain approval from the Administrator, and effectively implement a shopping cart plan in accordance with this Article.
B. Exemptions. A business owner is exempt from this Article, for two years at a time, if the owner submits an exemption request and meets all of the following requirements:
The business has effective restraints that prohibit any carts from exiting the premises or from operating off the premises. Examples of such effective restraints include but are not limited to: poles attached to carts to keep them from passing a certain point; electronic wheel locks on all carts which prevent wheels from rolling past the perimeter of the premises; physical constraints such as bollards; and continuous use of courtesy clerks to accompany customers and return the carts to the store.
2. The business secures all shopping carts during the hours the business is closed by storing carts inside or locking them up outside.
C. Contents of the shopping cart plan. The shopping cart plan shall include all of the following elements:
1. Name, address and telephone number of the business, the business owner and the name and telephone number of the on-site manager.
2. The number of on-site shopping carts, and the requirements for sign identification on carts.
3. Public notices. A description of a customer education process by which the business owner will inform customers that the removal or off-site possession or abandonment of carts is a violation of state law and this Article. This information may include business signs posted in prominent places, flyers, warnings on shopping bags, direct mail, in-store announcements, or other means demonstrated to be effective. Public notice to customers shall include signage permanently affixed to each shopping cart that that identifies the owner of the cart or the retailer, or both, as set forth in Business & Professions Code Section 22435.1 and Section 2383 of this Code.
4. Employee training. A description of an annual (or more frequent) employee training program to educate existing and new employees about the shopping cart plan.
Loss prevention. A description of the measures that the business owner will implement to prevent the removal of shopping carts from the premises. These measures may include any of those listed in subsection B of this section or use of security personnel to prevent removal, security deposit for use of a cart, or other measures demonstrated to be effective.
6. Cart retrieval. A plan for mandatory retrieval of off-site shopping carts on at least a weekly basis, and within three business days of notice from the City under Ukiah City Code Section 2385.A. The Administrator may require retrieval on a more frequent time schedule based on the number of off-site carts from the business requiring retrieval. Cart retrieval may be done by the business owner, business employees or agents, or a cart retrieval service contracted for by the business owner or by a combination of owners. A business owner is not required to retrieve an off-site cart in someone’s possession and containing personal property of the person.
7. Implementation: The plan shall describe the measures the owner intends to take to prevent the removal of shopping carts from the premises, to retrieve off-site shopping carts on at least a weekly basis, and to modify these measures should they result in circumstances that would justify revocation of the plan as set forth in Subsection G of this Section.
D. Administrator review. Within 30 days after a shopping cart plan is submitted, the Administrator shall render a decision to approve or deny the plan, or to request additional information. If a plan is rejected as incomplete or inadequate, or if additional information is needed, the Administrator shall notify the owner in writing. The owner has 30 days from the date such notification is given to submit the additional information or a complete or adequate plan, as the case may be.
The Administrator may deny a plan on any of the following grounds:
1. The plan fails to include the information required under this Article or fails to adequately address the required elements.
2. The plan fails to meet the standards contained in Subdivision C.5 to prevent removal of carts.
3. Implementation of the plan violates this Article, or a local, state or federal law.
4. The owner knowingly makes a false statement in or omits material facts from the plan, or any amendment.
E. Plan modification. The owner may submit a plan modification of any previously approved shopping cart plan to address changed circumstances or to modify ineffective provisions. The Administrator shall review and consider the modification in the same manner set forth in Subsection D of this Section.
F. Biennial renewal. Every two years a business owner may renew an exemption or a previously approved shopping cart plan, without modification, if no more than six of the owner’s shopping carts have been found off-site within the previous three months. The owner shall submit a written application for renewal by July 1st, together with the owner’s statement that no more than six of the business’s shopping carts have been found off-site within the previous three months.
G. Denial or revocation. The Administrator may revoke a plan approved under Subsection D of this Section, deny a renewal under Subsection F of this Section, or revoke an exemption granted under Subsection B of this Section if:
1. A shopping cart has been found on public property on seven or more occasions within the prior three-month period;
2. The owner has failed to comply with a provision of this Article;
The owner has knowingly made a false statement or failed to disclose material information in an application, an amendment or a report required or provided under this Article.
§2385 Enforcement.
A. Retrieval. Whenever the Administrator notifies a business owner of an off-site cart, either verbally or in writing, the owner shall retrieve the cart within three business days.
B. Violations.
The following will be subject to any enforcement procedures permitted by law, as set forth in Subsection C of this Section:
1. An owner who violates this Article or a provision of the owner’s approved shopping cart plan;
2. A person who removes or possesses or abandons a shopping cart off-site;
3. A person who alters, converts, or tampers with a shopping cart; or
4. An owner of real property who allows off-site carts to remain on his, her or its real property.
C. The enforcement procedures permitted by law for violations of this Articleinclude:
1. Revocation of an exemption under Ukiah City Code Section 2384.B.
The requirement for a stricter shopping cart plan.
3. Prosecution as a misdemeanor under the authority of California Business and Professions Code sections 22435.2, 22435.3 or 22435.13 or Section 6098 of this Code.
4. Imposition of a fine not exceeding (1) one hundred dollars ($100.00) for a first violation, (2) two hundred dollars ($200.00) for a second violation within the same year, and (3) five hundred dollars ($500.00) for each additional violation within the same year.
5. Procedures for abatement of a nuisance under Ukiah City Code Sections 3452.K and 3402.A, the civil and criminal penalties in Ukiah City Code Section 3424, and any other applicable administrative procedures contained in the Ukiah City Code.
6. Civil action for enforcement, including to abate a public nuisance by injunction, the City Council declaring that a violation of this Article constitutes a public nuisance.
7. Proceedings for revocation of a use or site development permit, if applicable.
These enforcement procedures and penalties are cumulative with each other and any other remedy available at law or in equity, and are not mutually exclusive. Any one or more of them may apply and be used or charged in response to a single violation of this Article.
SECTION THREE. Article 11, entitled “Shopping Carts” is added to Chapter 1, Division 7 of the Ukiah City Code and shall read as follows.
ARTICLE 11. SHOPPING CARTS
Sections: 6096 Unauthorized removal, alteration, or possession of a shopping cart. 6097 Definitions. 6098 Penalty for Violation.
§6096 Unauthorized removal, alteration, or possession of a shopping cart.
It is unlawful and a public nuisance for any person to:
A. Remove a shopping cart from the business premises where it belongs; or
B. Possess or abandon an off-site shopping cart; or
C. Alter, convert, or tamper with a shopping cart, remove any part or portion thereof or remove, obliterate or alter an identifying sign or serial numbers on a cart.
§6097 Definitions.
All terms in this Article shall have the meaning stated in Section 2381 of this Code.
§6098 Penalty for Violation.
In addition to the penalty prescribed in Business and Professions Code Section 22435.3 or any amendment thereof, a violation of this Article is a misdemeanor, subject to a fine not exceeding five hundred dollars ($500.00) or imprisonment in the County jail for a period not exceeding three (3) months, or by both such fine and imprisonment.
