Chapter 7.34
SHOPPING CART REGULATION
Sections:
7.34.020 Declaration of nuisance.
7.34.050 Shopping cart containment and retrieval plans.
7.34.080 Fees, penalties and disposition of carts.
7.34.090 Shopping cart signage.
7.34.100 Illegal possession or accumulation of carts.
7.34.010 Purpose.
It is the primary purpose of this chapter to provide for the prompt retrieval of lost, stolen or abandoned shopping carts in order to promote public safety and improve the image and appearance of the city. It is a purpose of this chapter to have the owners and operators of businesses providing shopping carts use the means available to them to deter, prevent or mitigate the removal of shopping carts from their business premises, and to retrieve any carts that may be removed despite these efforts. It is a further purpose of this chapter to prevent the illegal removal of shopping carts from the business premises, to prevent the continued possession of illegally removed carts, and to prevent the accumulation of illegally removed carts on public or private properties. (Ord. 3399 § 1, 2019).
7.34.020 Declaration of nuisance.
Retail establishments provide shopping carts for the convenience of customers shopping on the premises of the businesses. A shopping cart that has been removed from the premises of the business and left abandoned on public or private property throughout the city constitutes a public nuisance and a potential hazard to the health and safety of the public; each lost, stolen or abandoned cart shall constitute a separate violation. Shopping carts abandoned on public and private property can create conditions of blight in the community, obstruct free access to sidewalks, streets and other rights-of-way, interfere with pedestrian and vehicular traffic on pathways, driveways, public and private streets, and impede emergency services. It is for these reasons that such lost, stolen, or abandoned shopping carts are hereby 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.
For purposes of this chapter, any shopping cart located on any public or private property other than the premises of the retail establishment from which such shopping cart was removed shall be presumed lost, stolen, or abandoned, even if in the possession of any person, unless such person in possession thereof is:
(1) An authorized agent; or
(2) Retail establishment personnel; or
(3) Enforcement personnel; or
(4) An authorized customer. (Ord. 3399 § 1, 2019).
7.34.030 Definitions.
Except as otherwise expressly set forth herein, the following words and terms as used in this chapter shall have the following meanings:
(1) Administrator. The administrator of the community and economic development department.
(2) Authorized Agent. The owner, or an employee or authorized agent of the owner, entitled to possession of the shopping cart.
(3) Authorized Customer. A customer of the owner of the shopping cart, having the written permission of the owner or owner’s agent to remove the shopping cart from the owner’s premises.
(4) Cart Patrol and Retrieval Company. A contracted agent who recovers shopping carts on behalf of retail establishments within a one-half-mile radius of the contracting retail establishment(s) no fewer than two times per week.
(5) Enforcement Personnel. Any police officer, code enforcement inspector, or designated staff employed by the city of Longview.
(6) “Identification Sign” or “Cart Sign.” A clearly visible sign fastened to each cart that provides ownership information required by this chapter.
(7) Impounded Cart. Any shopping cart collected by authorized city personnel, regardless of whether or not the shopping cart is being transported to or is stored within city facilities.
(8) Lost, Stolen, or Abandoned Shopping Cart. A shopping cart that is either:
(a) Removed from the premises of a retail establishment by any person without the written permission or consent of the owner of the shopping cart or the retailer otherwise entitled to possession of such cart; or
(b) Left unattended, discarded or abandoned upon any public or private property other than the premises of the retail establishment from which the shopping cart was removed, regardless of whether such shopping cart was removed from the premises with permission of the owner;
(c) For purposes of this chapter, any shopping cart located on any public or private property other than the premises of the retail establishment from which such shopping cart was removed shall be presumed lost, stolen, or abandoned, even if in the possession of any person, unless such person in possession thereof is either:
(i) The owner, or an employee or authorized agent of the owner, entitled to possession of said shopping cart; or
(ii) An officer, employee or agent of a cart retrieval service hired by the owner to retrieve such carts; or
(iii) City enforcement personnel retrieving, storing or disposing of said cart pursuant to the provisions of this code; or
(iv) A customer with written permission from the owner or agent of the owner to take the cart off premises.
(9) Owner. Any person or entity that owns, leases, possesses, or makes more than 10 shopping carts available to customers or the public in connection with the conduct of a business.
(10) Parking Area. A parking lot or other property provided by a retail establishment for the use of customers of said retail establishment for the parking of customer vehicles. The parking area of a retail establishment located in a multi-store complex or a shopping center shall include the entire parking area used by the multi-store complex or shopping center.
(11) Premises. Any building, property, or other area upon which any retail establishment business is conducted or operated in the city of Longview, including the parking area provided for customers in such retail establishment.
(12) Retail Establishment. Any business located in the city of Longview which offers or provides shopping carts for the use of the customers of such business regardless of whether such business is advertised or operated as a retail or wholesale business, and regardless of whether such business is open to the general public, is a private club or business, or is a membership store.
(13) Security Measures. Physical impediments or methods to prevent removal of shopping carts from the premises of the retail establishment including, but not limited to:
(a) Electronically activated self-braking wheels;
(b) Poles mounted to shopping carts, which prevent their removal from the interior of the retail establishment;
(c) Utilization of a cart patrol and retrieval company;
(d) Dedicated security personnel; and
(e) Other measures deemed appropriate and effective by the administrator.
(14) “Shopping Cart” or “Cart.” A basket which is mounted on wheels or a similar device generally used in a retail establishment by a customer for the purpose of transporting goods of any kind. (Ord. 3399 § 1, 2019).
7.34.040 Exemptions.
The requirements of this chapter shall not apply to any retail establishment which provides a total of 10 or fewer shopping carts for use by customers of such business. This chapter shall not apply to carts that are removed for repair or maintenance by an owner or authorized agent entitled to possession of the shopping cart. (Ord. 3399 § 1, 2019).
7.34.050 Shopping cart containment and retrieval plans.
(1) Plans Required. 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 shopping cart containment and retrieval plan approved by the city to provide for the containment of shopping carts on the premises of the retail establishment (shopping cart containment plan), and for the retrieval of lost, stolen, or abandoned shopping carts which have been removed from the premises of the retail establishment (shopping cart retrieval plan).
Shopping cart containment and retrieval plans shall be required to be filed with the community development director either: within six months of the opening of the business; or, within six months of the effective date of the ordinance codified in this chapter. The plan shall include sections detailing the store’s strategy for preventing shopping carts from leaving the business site and parking lot (shopping cart containment), and defining the methods that will be implemented to retrieve shopping carts abandoned off site (shopping cart retrieval).
(2) Shopping Cart Containment Plans. Shopping cart containment plans shall detail the business’ approach to retain carts on the property occupied by the business. At a minimum, each shopping cart containment plan must demonstrate how the following requirements of subsections (2)(a) through (d) of this section will be met.
(a) Signs on Carts Required. Every shopping cart made available for use by customers shall have a sign permanently affixed to it that includes the following information in accordance with RCW 9A.56.270, as now enacted or hereafter amended:
(i) Identification of the owner of the shopping cart or the name of the business establishment, or both.
(ii) Notification to the public that unauthorized removal of the cart from the premises of the business, or the unauthorized possession of the cart, is a violation of city and state law.
(iii) Notification to the public of the procedure to be utilized for authorized removal of the cart from the business premises.
(iv) The cart owner’s current telephone and an electronic mail address (email) to report the location of the abandoned cart.
(v) The city of Longview’s abandoned cart reporting phone number: 360-442-5093. The following language is required: “CONTACT CART OWNER FIRST! If they do not retrieve it within 48 hours, please contact the City of Longview at 360-442-5093, or report it to the City via AskLongview.”
(b) Notice to Customers. Written notice shall be provided to customers that the removal of shopping carts from the premises is prohibited. Such notice may be provided in the form of fliers distributed on the premises, notices printed on shopping bags, direct mail, notices on business websites, or any other means demonstrated to be effective. Conspicuous signs 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 and city law.
(c) Employee Training. The owner of the retail establishment shall implement and maintain a periodic training program for new and existing employees designed to educate such employees of the requirements of the abandoned cart prevention plan and the provisions of state and city law prohibiting the unauthorized removal of shopping carts from the premises of the retail establishment.
(d) Measures to Contain Shopping Carts on Site. The owner of the retail establishment may install specific physical measures on the carts or implement other measures to prevent cart removal from business premises. These measures may include, but are not limited to:
(i) Installing disabling devices on all carts;
(ii) Posting store personnel to deter and stop customers who attempt to remove carts from business premises;
(iii) Installing bollards and chains around business premises entrances/exits to prevent cart removal;
(iv) Requiring security deposits for use of all carts; or
(v) Providing carts for rental or sale that can be temporarily or permanently used for the purpose of transporting purchases.
(e) 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 shopping cart containment plan.
(3) Shopping Cart Retrieval Plan. Shopping cart retrieval plans shall detail the business’s approach for retrieving shopping carts removed from the property occupied by the business. At a minimum, each shopping cart retrieval plan must demonstrate how the following requirements of this subsection will be met.
(a) Retrieval Personnel. The owner shall provide personnel for the purposes of the retrieval of lost, stolen or 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 shopping cart retrieval 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; or
(ii) Include a copy of each contract with a cart retrieval service (other than confidential financial information that may be retracted from the contract).
(b) Prompt Retrieval of Carts. The owner shall:
(i) Provide retrieval personnel in sufficient numbers to assure that all public streets within a minimum one-half-mile radius of the premises of the retail establishment are patrolled not less often than every 72 hours.
(ii) Immediately retrieve and remove each lost, stolen or abandoned shopping cart owned or provided by the retail establishment which is found as a result of such patrols from any public or private property upon which the cart is found.
(c) Patrol Area and Resources. The shopping cart retrieval plan shall:
(i) Identify the streets and bus stops which will be patrolled as required by this subsection as well as the manner, frequency, and times of such patrols.
(ii) Include information such as the number of trucks, hours of operation and retrieval personnel, as reasonably required by the city to assure that the owner is devoting sufficient resources to cart retrieval operation to comply with the approved shopping cart containment plan.
(iii) Provide a current telephone and an electronic mail address (email) to report the location of the abandoned cart. (It shall be the owner’s responsibility to notify the director of community development if the abandoned cart reporting telephone number or abandoned cart reporting electronic mail address is changed.)
(4) Plan Submittal and City Review.
(a) Plan Review and Decision. Upon the filing of any proposed plan pursuant to this chapter, and receipt of the required $25.00 processing fee, the community development director shall review said proposed plan and either: (i) approve, (ii) approve with conditions, or (iii) deny the abandoned shopping cart prevention plan. If the proposed plan is denied, the notice of decision given to the owner shall state the grounds upon which the proposed plan was denied. The owner may appeal a decision of the community development director to the hearing examiner in the time and manner provided in Chapters 1.32 and 1.33 LMC.
(b) Amendments by Owner. The owner of any retail establishment which has an approved abandoned shopping cart prevention plan conforming to the requirements of this chapter may, at any time, submit a proposed amendment to the approved plan, which shall be processed and a decision issued within 14 calendar days following the receipt thereof by the community development director.
(c) Implementation of Plan. The proposed measures shall be implemented no later than 90 days after city approval is given, unless otherwise stated in the decision approving the plan. Unless otherwise agreed, any modifications to the plan imposed by the city shall be implemented within 90 days after the city notifies the owner of the needed modifications.
(5) Appeals.
(a) Filing of Appeal. Any owner aggrieved by any adverse decision of the community development director pursuant to this chapter may appeal such decision within 14 calendar days following the date of such decision by filing with the community development department or city clerk a written notice of appeal briefly stating the grounds for such appeal. The notice of decision shall be deemed filed on the date the $75.00 appeal processing fee has been paid. No appeal shall be accepted for filing and processing by the community development director unless accompanied by the appeal processing fee.
(b) Notice of Hearing. If the appeal is timely filed, the community development director shall cause the matter to be set for hearing. The appellant shall be provided not less than 10 calendar days’ written notice of the date, time and place of the hearing. The hearing examiner shall conduct the hearing pursuant to the provisions of Chapters 1.32 and 1.33 LMC.
(6) In lieu of installing an effective containment system, a cart owner may obtain a waiver of this section from the community development director by establishing, to the satisfaction of the community development director, that the cart owner maintains its own cart retrieval program that has been certified as effective by the community development director. The community development director will evaluate such programs according to a standard established to ensure that cart retrieval programs achieve the goals of this chapter.
No enforcement action for violating this section may be taken against a cart owner who has a valid waiver pursuant to this subsection. The city manager may revoke any waiver if the cart owner no longer qualifies for it.
(7) For purposes of this section, “effective containment system” means a system that results in no more than five shopping carts being removed without the owner’s consent from the business premises or parking area within any 12-month period. There is a rebuttable presumption that a cart found abandoned somewhere off the premises of the cart owner was removed from the premises without the cart owner’s consent. (Ord. 3399 § 1, 2019).
7.34.060 Impound procedures.
(1) Impound of Shopping Carts. The city may immediately impound any lost, stolen or abandoned shopping cart within the city where the location thereof will impede emergency services. The city may immediately impound any lost, stolen or abandoned cart within the city which does not have the required sign affixed to it. The city may impound any lost, stolen or abandoned shopping cart within the city which has the sign affixed thereto after providing the requisite notice to the owner, retailer, or agent, unless such notice has been voluntarily waived by the owner, retailer, or agent.
(2) Impoundment with Notice. Enforcement personnel may impound a shopping cart which has a sign affixed to it as described above, if both of the following conditions have been satisfied:
(a) Location outside of Premises. The shopping cart is located outside the premises or parking area of a retail establishment; and
(b) Failure to Retrieve Cart. The shopping cart is not retrieved within 48 hours from the time the owner of the shopping cart, or its agent, receives actual notice from the city of the shopping cart’s discovery.
(3) Impoundment without Notice. A shopping cart may be impounded without notice if one of the following conditions is satisfied:
(a) Hazardous Location. If a shopping cart will impede emergency services, or the normal flow of vehicular or pedestrian traffic, or is on private property, city enforcement personnel are authorized to immediately retrieve the shopping cart from public or private property and impound it; or
(b) Lack of Identification. If a shopping cart does not have the required identification sign affixed thereto, city enforcement personnel are authorized to immediately retrieve the shopping cart from the public or private property and impound it. (Ord. 3399 § 1, 2019).
7.34.070 Retrieval by owner.
Claims to recover an impounded shopping cart shall be presented to the city in accordance with the following:
(1) A cart owner or his authorized representative may, by appointment, inspect impounded carts to determine if any of the owner’s carts are present.
(2) A cart owner may reclaim an impounded cart at any time during normal business hours prior to disposal or destruction by paying all applicable administrative fees and fines, except as provided in subsection (3) of this section.
(3) No cart shall be released to a person seeking to reclaim it, unless such person submits to the city reasonably credible evidence of ownership or right to possession of the impounded cart. There shall be a presumption that an identified cart is owned by the business establishment designated on the cart.
(4) Any release of a cart to a person deemed by the city to be entitled thereto shall be an absolute defense of the city against any other person claiming to be entitled thereto. (Ord. 3399 § 1, 2019).
7.34.080 Fees, penalties and disposition of carts.
(1) Failure to Retrieve Carts. The city may impound any shopping cart not retrieved by its owner after the owner has received the city’s 24-hour verbal or electronic notice.
(2) Impounded Carts. The city shall charge a fee to the owner of a shopping cart if the owner fails to retrieve its impounded shopping cart(s) after receiving notice from the city in the amount of a $25.00 fine for each cart. Each cart the city collects shall constitute a separate violation. However, any owner having installed a locking device on its carts, and that locking device having been disabled by other than the owner, then that cart shall be exempt from the $25.00 fine.
(3) A cart owner may reclaim an impounded cart at any time during normal City Hall business hours (between 8:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m., Monday through Thursday, except holidays) prior to disposal or destruction by paying all applicable administrative fees and fines. Cart retrieval may be arranged by contacting the code compliance office at 360-442-5093 (or city shops or waste control if given the contract for handling abandoned shopping carts).
(4) Disposition of Carts. The city may sell or otherwise dispose of any cart not reclaimed from the city within 15 days from the date of the city’s notification to the owner. In the event of such disposal, the director is authorized to take appropriate steps to collect the $25.00 administrative impoundment fee, as well as the additional $25.00 disposal fee, per shopping cart. The shopping cart disposal fee shall be in addition to the administrative impoundment fee, and the administrative impoundment fee shall be due and owing regardless of whether or not the shopping carts are retrieved.
(5) A violation of any of the provisions of LMC 7.34.050, 7.34.070 or 7.34.090 shall constitute a Class III civil infraction, with the fine as set forth in LMC 1.30.040. Each day on which a violation of the provisions of LMC 7.34.050, 7.34.070 or 7.34.090 occurs shall be a new and separate violation.
(6) Administrative Fees. An administrative fee to cover the city’s cost for the removal, tagging and storage of abandoned shopping carts and associated administrative activities performed by the city, or a contractor, may be established by resolution of the city council and imposed upon the owners of abandoned carts. Such fee shall not exceed the city’s reasonable estimate of actual cost. (Ord. 3399 § 1, 2019).
7.34.090 Shopping cart signage.
(1) Identification Signs on Carts Required. Each shopping cart made available for use by customers shall have an identification sign permanently affixed to it that includes the following information in accordance with RCW 9A.56.270, as now enacted or hereafter amended:
(a) Identifies the owner of the shopping cart or the name of the business establishment, or both;
(b) Notifies the public of the procedure to be utilized for authorized removal of the cart from the premises;
(c) Notifies the public that the unauthorized removal of the cart from the premises of the business or parking area of the retail establishment, or the unauthorized possession of the cart, is unlawful; and
(d) Lists a current telephone number or address for returning carts removed from the premises or parking area to the owner or retailer.
(2) Notice to Customers. Owners shall provide written notice to customers that the removal of shopping carts from the premises is prohibited. Such notice may be provided in the form of fliers distributed on the premises, notice printed on shopping bags, direct mail, notices on business websites, or any other means demonstrated to be effective. Additionally, all owners shall display and maintain conspicuous signs 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 and city law. (Ord. 3399 § 1, 2019).
7.34.100 Illegal possession or accumulation of carts.
(1) Any person who removes a shopping cart from the premises of the owner of the shopping cart, without the written permission of the owner or the owner’s authorized agent, or who knowingly possesses a shopping cart without the written permission of the owner, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor.
(2) Any owner or lessee of real property that knowingly allows one or more shopping carts to remain on the property without the written permission of the owner of the shopping cart or the owner’s authorized agent shall be guilty of a misdemeanor.
(3) It shall be a defense to the prosecution of a violation of this section that the owner or lessee of real property, within 48 hours of discovering a shopping cart on the property owned or leased by said party, attempted to contact the owner of the shopping cart, notifying the owner of the shopping cart of the existence of the shopping cart upon said real property. (Ord. 3399 § 1, 2019).