Chapter 8.18
ABANDONMENT OF SHOPPING CARTS
Sections:
8.18.010 Declaration of public nuisance.
8.18.040 Administration and enforcement.
8.18.050 Shopping cart abatement.
8.18.060 Removal of wrecked shopping carts.
8.18.070 Assessments for shopping cart removal – Hearings.
8.18.080 Identification of shopping carts.
8.18.090 Removal from premises prohibited – Exceptions.
8.18.100 Abandonment prohibited.
8.18.110 Owner’s responsibility to prevent littering.
8.18.130 Supplementation of codes, statutes, ordinances, etc.
8.18.010 Declaration of public nuisance.
The city council makes the following findings and declarations: The accumulation and storage of wrecked, dismantled, or abandoned shopping carts, or parts thereof, on public or private property is found to create a condition tending to reduce property values, to promote blight and deterioration, to constitute an attractive nuisance creating a hazard to the health and safety of minors, to be aesthetically detrimental to the community and to be injurious to the health, safety and general welfare. Therefore, the presence of wrecked, dismantled, or abandoned shopping carts, or parts thereof, on public or private property, is declared to constitute a public nuisance which may be abated as such in accordance with the provisions of this chapter. (Ord. 09-1965 § 1, 2009; Ord. 95-1795 § 1, 1995.)
8.18.020 Definitions.
The following definitions shall apply to this chapter:
A. “Shopping cart” means a basket which is mounted on wheels or a similar device generally used in retail establishments by a customer for the purpose of transporting goods of any kind.
B. “Private property” means and includes front yards, corner side yards, parking lots, private roadways, and other areas not dedicated to public use, but otherwise plainly visible from any public right-of-way.
C. “Public property” means and includes, but is not limited to, all areas dedicated to public use for public facilities, parks, schools, public streets, roadways, parkways, alleys, sidewalks, flood control channels and any public right-of-way.
D. “Parkway” means that area between the sidewalks and the curb of any street, and where there is no sidewalk, that area between the edge of the roadway and the property line adjacent thereto. Parkway shall also include any area within a roadway which is not open to vehicular travel. (Ord. 09-1965 § 1, 2009; Ord. 95-1795 § 1, 1995.)
8.18.030 Abandoned cart.
A. When a shopping cart is left standing on any public or private property, the shopping cart shall be deemed to be abandoned and therefore a public nuisance pursuant to this chapter. The provisions of this subsection shall not apply to shopping carts left standing on private property (including the common areas of shopping centers adjacent thereto) of the owner of the shopping cart according to the name of such owner affixed thereto as required by CMC 8.18.080. In the event that a shopping cart is left standing on any public or private property or in the event the cart violates CMC 8.18.080, the owner thereof shall be responsible and liable for the removal and disposition of the abandoned shopping cart as provided in this chapter.
B. The city manager may, but shall not be obligated to exempt a shopping cart owner from the provisions of this section if the cart owner has implemented a cart containment or retrieval plan, in accordance with Chapter 5.70 CMC. (Ord. 09-1965 § 1, 2009; Ord. 95-1795 § 1, 1995.)
8.18.040 Administration and enforcement.
Except as otherwise provided in this chapter, the provisions of this chapter shall be administered and enforced by the city manager or his or her authorized representative. In the enforcement of this chapter, the city manager or his or her authorized representative may enter onto public or private property to examine a shopping cart or parts thereof, or to obtain information as to the identity of a shopping cart and to remove, or cause the removal of, a shopping cart, or parts thereof, declared to be a nuisance pursuant to this chapter. (Ord. 09-1965 § 1, 2009; Ord. 95-1795 § 1, 1995.)
8.18.050 Shopping cart abatement.
Upon discovering the existence of a wrecked, dismantled or abandoned shopping cart, or parts thereof, on public or private property within the city, the city manager, or his or her authorized representative, shall have the authority to cause the abatement and removal thereof in accordance with the procedure described in this chapter. Any shopping carts abated and removed from public or private property shall be stored at the city’s public works yard until claimed or disposed of pursuant to this chapter. (Ord. 09-1965 § 1, 2009; Ord. 95-1795 § 1, 1995.)
8.18.060 Removal of wrecked shopping carts.
The city manager, or his or her authorized designee, may determine that a wrecked shopping cart abated and removed according to the provisions of this chapter is in such poor condition that it may be immediately disposed of without giving notice to the owner as otherwise provided in this chapter. This action will be a discretionary decision of the city manager or his or her authorized designee, and shall be limited to those circumstances where it is determined to be highly unlikely that the owner would reclaim the shopping cart. (Ord. 09-1965 § 1, 2009; Ord. 95-1795 § 1, 1995.)
8.18.070 Assessments for shopping cart removal – Hearings.
A. Upon the abatement and removal of any shopping cart located on public or private property within the city, the city manager or his or her authorized representative shall notify the owner thereof (if the same can be ascertained) within 24 hours by providing written notice of abatement to (1) the last known address of the owner, (2) the last known facsimile number of the owner, or (3) the last known e-mail address of the owner. Such notice shall state the date the shopping cart was removed from public or private property, identify the location where the shopping cart may be claimed, and include a statement outlining the owner’s rights to an administrative hearing as set forth in subsection (C) of this section. Any such shopping cart removed and stored pursuant to these provisions shall be released to the owner thereof if claimed within 30 days after such removal and upon the payment of reasonable administrative fees. Notwithstanding the previous sentence, such administrative fees shall be waived if the shopping cart has been retrieved by the owner within three days following the date of the notice.
B. The administrative fees for the removal and storage of the shopping cart shall be established or modified by resolution of the city council and shall include the city’s actual cost of removal and storage of any shopping cart, or parts thereof, plus the proportional share of administrative costs in connection therewith.
C. Any owner of a shopping cart that has been removed and stored pursuant to this chapter may appeal the city’s decision by requesting an administrative hearing, in writing, within 10 days following the date of the notice. Any written request for appeal must clearly set forth the basis for the appeal and shall be accompanied by all administrative fees charged to date, plus any appeal fees, as established or modified by resolution of the city council. Failure to request an appeal (and tender all applicable fees) within the 10-day period shall constitute a waiver of the owner’s rights to appeal, and the owner must claim its shopping cart(s) (and pay all applicable fees) by the end of the 30-day period set forth in subsections (A) and (D) of this section. If an appeal is requested (and all applicable fees are tendered to the city) within the 10-day period, the owner’s time period to claim its shopping cart(s) shall be tolled pending the conclusion of the appeal hearing. Any hearing which is requested shall be conducted before an impartial hearing officer, in accordance with CMC 1.26.090 through 1.26.110. If good cause is shown for the abatement and removal of the shopping cart(s), the owner or its agent shall have 15 days from the date of the hearing officer’s decision to retrieve its shopping cart(s) upon payment of the administrative fees. If good cause is not shown for the abatement and removal of the shopping cart from public or private property, the administrative fees and appeal fees shall be waived and the owner or its agent shall have 15 days after the date of the hearing officer’s decision to retrieve its shopping cart(s) from the storage area.
D. Any shopping carts which are not retrieved by the owner of such shopping cart within 30 days after the mailing of written notice of abatement when such owner has not requested a hearing in accordance with this section, or within 15 days after the date of the hearing officer’s decision, when such owner has requested a hearing in accordance with this section, shall be deemed to be permanently abandoned and may be sold at public auction or otherwise disposed of. (Ord. 09-1965 § 1, 2009; Ord. 01-1885 § 2, 2001; Ord. 95-1795 § 1, 1995.)
8.18.080 Identification of shopping carts.
All shopping carts used in the city shall be properly identified by the owner thereof in accordance with Section 22435.1 of the State of California Business and Professionals Code and include at minimum the following: a permanently affixed sign that identifies the owner of the cart or the retailer, or both; notifies the public of the procedure to be utilized for authorized removal of the cart from the premises; 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; and lists a telephone number or address for returning the cart removed from the premises or parking area to the owner or retailer. (Ord. 09-1965 § 1, 2009; Ord. 95-1795 § 1, 1995.)
8.18.090 Removal from premises prohibited – Exceptions.
No person shall remove from the immediate store or parking premises of any food store, market or other mercantile establishment in the city, any shopping cart, wagon or similar device, bearing a notification affixed thereto in a conspicuous place thereon to the effect that such cart, wagon or device is not to be removed from the owner’s premises, unless such person is the owner or owner’s employee or agent. (Ord. 09-1965 § 1, 2009; Ord. 95-1795 § 1, 1995.)
8.18.100 Abandonment prohibited.
No person shall abandon or leave any such cart, wagon or device which has been removed from the owner’s premises upon any public street, alley, sidewalk, parkway or other public place, or upon any private property (except that of the owner of the cart, wagon or device) not under the control of such person abandoning or leaving such cart, wagon or device. (Ord. 09-1965 § 1, 2009; Ord. 95-1795 § 1, 1995.)
8.18.110 Owner’s responsibility to prevent littering.
The action of an owner or owner’s agent or employee to permit any such cart, wagon or device to be removed from the owner’s premises shall be considered littering. (Ord. 09-1965 § 1, 2009; Ord. 95-1795 § 1, 1995.)
8.18.120 Unlawful possession.
No person shall have in his/her possession any such cart, wagon or device which has been removed from the owner’s premises without authorization or which has been abandoned or left on private property under circumstances as described in CMC 8.18.030 unless such person so having possession has notified the police department of the presence and location of such cart, wagon or device. (Ord. 09-1965 § 1, 2009; Ord. 95-1795 § 1, 1995.)
8.18.130 Supplementation of codes, statutes, ordinances, etc.
This chapter is not to be construed as the exclusive regulation of wrecked, dismantled or abandoned shopping carts with the city; it shall supplement and be in addition to other regulatory codes, statutes and ordinances heretofore or hereafter enacted by the city, state or other legal entity or agency having jurisdiction. (Ord. 09-1965 § 1, 2009; Ord. 95-1795 § 1, 1995.)