Concord Municipal Code Art. IV Shopping Cart Abandonment

Abandoned cart. Any cart that has been removed without written consent of the owner of the cart from the premises of the business establishment which owns the cart, regardless of whether it has been left on either private or public property. This provision shall not apply to carts that are removed for purposes of repair or maintenance.

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.

Owner. A person or business establishment owning or using shopping carts in connection with its business.

Person. Any person, corporation, partnership, association, joint stock company, and other entity capable of being sued.

Street. A street, avenue, road, alley, lane, highway, boulevard, concourse, driveway, culvert, crosswalk, sidewalk, park, parking lot, parking area, and place used by the general public.

(Code 1965, § 3140; Code 2002, § 62-131. Ord. No. 99-4; Ord. No. 95-10)

Cross references: Definitions generally, § 1.05.100.

Every person who, in connection with the conduct of a business, including but not limited to a food dispensing business, owns or makes any cart available to the public, shall mark or cause the same to be marked and identified conspicuously with the name, address, and telephone number of the owner. Such identification shall be in the form of a metal or plastic tag or plate securely fastened to the cart or standing on the frame of the cart.

(Code 1965, § 3141; Code 2002, § 62-132. Ord. No. 95-10)

There shall be posted by the owner of any retail establishment furnishing a parking area and shopping carts or laundry carts for its customers, prominently and conspicuously at all entrances to the retail establishment, a notice in substantially the following form:

REMOVAL OF SHOPPING CARTS (OR LAUNDRY CARTS, IF APPLICABLE,) FROM THESE PREMISES IS PROHIBITED BY LAW (CMC § 8.25.270) AND WILL SUBJECT THE VIOLATOR TO A MINIMUM FINE OF $100.00.

(Code 1965, § 3142; Code 2002, § 62-133. Ord. No. 95-10)

It shall be unlawful for any person except the owner of the cart or the owner’s agent to remove the cart from the premises of the business that owns or rightfully possesses the cart.

(Code 1965, § 3143; Code 2002, § 62-134. Ord. No. 95-10)

It shall be unlawful for any person, or an agent thereof, to leave, or permit to be left, any cart, either owned by him or in his possession, custody or control, upon any sidewalk, street, or other public place, or upon any private property, except that of the owner of such cart.

(Code 1965, § 3144; Code 2002, § 62-135. Ord. No. 95-10)

It shall be unlawful for any person, or an agent thereof, to be in possession of any cart while that cart is not located on the premises or parking lot of a retail establishment without the express written consent of the owner of the cart.

(Code 1965, § 3145; Code 2002, § 62-136. Ord. No. 95-10; Ord. No. 99-4)

Every owner who allows or intends to allow the use of carts outside the building of a business shall develop and implement a specific plan to prevent customers from removing carts from the business premises. The plan must include the following elements:

(1) Notice to customers. Written notification shall be provided to customers that removal of carts from the premises and parking lots is prohibited and a violation of state and local law. This notice may be provided in the form of flyers, warnings on shopping bags, or any form of written notification that will effectively notify customers of the prohibition;

(2) Signs. Signs shall be placed in pertinent places as required by section 8.25.260;

(3) Physical measures. Specific physical measures shall be implemented to prevent the cart removal from the business premises. These measures may include, but are not limited to, disabling devices on all carts, posting of a security guard to deter and stop customers who attempt to remove carts from the business premises, allowing no carts outside the building of the business unless in the company of an employee, bollards and chains around business premises to prevent cart removal, security deposits required for use of all carts, or the rental or sale of carts that can be temporarily or permanently used for the transport of purchases;

(4) Collaboration with other businesses. Two or more businesses may collaborate and submit to the city a single plan;

(5) Evaluation report. The owner shall prepare an annual report which shall be submitted to the city’s Director of Community Development each July 1, evaluating the measures that were used and approved in the prior year. The report shall include, but not be limited to, the inventory of carts owned/used by the business establishment and the number of carts that had to be replaced due to loss, theft, or abandonment; and

(6) Mandatory cart retrieval. In addition to the above provisions, an owner must provide to and have approved by the city, a plan to provide for retrieval of abandoned carts by its employees, or have entered into a contract for cart retrieval services that is approved by the city.

(Code 1965, § 3146; Code 2002, § 62-137. Ord. No. 95-10; Ord. No. 99-4)

(a) Submission of plan; approval process; request for hearing.

(1) The proposed plan for preventing cart removal shall be submitted to the city’s Director of Community Development for compliance with section 8.25.300 within 60 days after adoption of this article and by July 1 of each year thereafter. The city’s Director of Community Development shall approve or reject the plan within 30 days of receipt. If approved, the proposed measures shall be implemented by no later than 30 days after approval. If the proposed plan is the same as the previous year, the prevention measures shall be continued.

(2) Should the city’s Director of Community Development reject the plan, the owner may request an administrative hearing in order to resolve this dispute.

(3) The request for hearing shall be made in writing to the City Manager as soon as practicable. After receiving the request for hearing, the City Manager, or his designee, shall conduct a hearing. A continuance of the hearing may be granted upon written request to the City Manager.

(4) Written notice of the date, time, and place of the hearing shall be served at least ten days prior to the hearing. Notice of the hearing shall be sent to the owner by first class mail at the address provided by the owner. The hearing shall be set no sooner than 20 days following the request for hearing.

(b) Evaluation report. A report evaluating the effectiveness of the plan established pursuant to subsection (a) above shall be furnished to the city by July 1 of each year. The Director of Community Development shall approve or reject the report. If the Director of Community Development rejects the report, the owner shall have the same right to appeal as set forth in subsection (a) of this section.

(c) Failure to submit prevention plan or implement prevention measures. Any owner that fails to submit a plan, implement the proposed plan measures, or implement any required modifications to the plan by the city within the timeframes specified in this article shall be required to keep all carts inside the building of the business.

(d) Penalty for failure to submit evaluation report or keep carts inside building.

(1) Any owner that fails to timely submit an evaluation report as required by Section 8.25.300(5) or fails to keep all carts inside the building of the premises, if applicable, shall be subject to a civil penalty of $1,000.00, plus an additional penalty of $50.00 for each day of noncompliance.

(2) The city shall have reasonably determined whether or not a plan is being effectively implemented and may require modifications to a plan. The city shall determine that a plan is not effective and shall require that all carts be kept inside the building of a business.

(Code 1965, § 3147; Code 2002, § 62-138. Ord. No. 99-4)

(a) Notice to retrieve carts. The city shall notify the owner of any abandoned carts owned or used by the business establishment that have been located within the city. The owner shall have three days from the date the notification is given to retrieve the carts from the specified location. The city shall keep a record of notifications for retrieval of abandoned carts for purposes of determining the effectiveness of the plans to prevent the removal of carts.

(b) Administrative costs and fines for failure to comply with notice. Any owner that fails to retrieve its abandoned cart(s) after receiving the three-day notice by the city shall pay the city’s administrative costs for retrieving the cart(s) and providing the notification to the owner. Such costs shall be set forth in the Resolution Establishing Fees and Charges for Various Municipal Services. Any owner that fails to retrieve abandoned cart(s) within three days in accordance with this article in excess of three times during a specified six-month period shall be subject to a $50.00 fine for each occurrence. An occurrence includes all carts owned by the owner that are impounded by the city in a one-day period.

(c) Impoundment without notice. Notwithstanding subsection (a) of this section, the city may impound an abandoned cart without providing the three-day notice, provided that the owner is provided with actual notice within 24 hours following the impound and the notice informs the owners as to the location where the cart may be claimed. Any cart reclaimed by the owner within three business days following the date of actual notice shall be released to the owner without charge. Any cart not reclaimed by the owner within three business days following actual notice shall be subject to the fees and penalties set forth in subsection (b) of this section.

(d) Disposition of unclaimed carts. Any cart not reclaimed from the city within 30 days after notification to the owner shall be sold or otherwise disposed of by the city.

(Code 1965, § 3148; Code 2002, § 62-139. Ord. No. 99-4)

A violation of this article shall constitute an infraction punishable by Section 1.05.220.

(Code 1965, § 3149; Code 2002, § 62-140. Ord. No. 95-10; Ord. No. 99-4)