Costa Mesa Municipal Code § 15-18 Plan submission, review and approval

(a) Containment plans shall be submitted to the city's chief of code enforcement. The plan shall explain in detail how the retail establishment intends to comply with the requirements of this article, including in particular sections 15-16 and 15-17.

(b) Upon the filing of a proposed containment plan the chief of code enforcement shall review the plan for compliance with each applicable requirement of this article, and shall either approve or deny the plan within 30 calendar days of its receipt. The decision shall be made in writing, and notice thereof shall be transmitted to the owner of the retail establishment within 15 calendar days pursuant to the provisions of section 15-20. If the proposed plan is denied, the notice of decision shall state the grounds upon which the proposed plan was denied.

(c) The decision of the chief of code enforcement shall be subject to appeal by the owner within the time and manner specified in section 15-19. In the absence of a timely appeal, the decision of the chief of code enforcement shall be final an conclusive.

(Ord. No. 09-8, § 1, 7-21-09)

The owner of any retail establishment which has an approved plan conforming to the requirements of this article, may, at any time, submit a proposed amendment to the approved plan which amendment shall be processed in accordance with the procedure provided for a proposed plan as set forth above in section 15-18.

(Ord. No. 09-8, § 1, 7-21-09)

(a) Grounds. An approved containment plan may be revoked by the city upon any of the following grounds:

(1) The owner of any retail establishment is operating, or is permitting operation of, the retail establishment in violation of one or more of the provisions of the approved plan, and has failed to correct the violation(s) for a period of at least 15 calendar days following the date of receipt of written notice of such violation(s) from the city; or

(2) The owner of a retail establishment with an approved plan is operating, or is permitting the operation of the retail establishment, in violation of one or more of the requirements of this article, and has failed to correct the violation(s) for a period of at least 15 calendar days following the date of receipt of written notice of such violation(s) from the city; or

(3) The mandatory cart containment plan, as approved, is inadequate to reasonably prevent the removal of shopping carts from the premises of the retail establishment.

(b) Order to show cause. If at any time following the approval of a plan the chief of code enforcement obtains information or evidence that any of the grounds for revocation in section 15-18.2(a) may exist, the chief of code enforcement shall issue a written order to the owner of the retail establishment to show cause as to why the approved plan should not be revoked. The chief of code enforcement shall schedule a hearing thereon, which hearing shall not be less than 15 calendar days nor more than 30 calendar days following the date such order to show cause is provided to the owner of the retail establishment. The order shall identify the date, time and place for the hearing. The order shall state the grounds upon which it is proposed to revoke the approved plan, and shall include the information and evidence, or a summary thereof, upon which such order was issued.

(c) Notice. The order to show cause shall be delivered pursuant to the requirements of section 15-20 of this article.

(d) Conduct of hearing. The hearing shall be conducted informally and the formal rules of evidence shall not be applicable. The owner and the city shall each have the opportunity to present relevant evidence and witnesses. The parties may each be represented by legal counsel or other representatives of their choice. The city shall bear the burden of proof to establish, by a preponderance of the evidence, that grounds exist to revoke the plan. The chief of code enforcement, at his or her discretion, and as an alternative to revocation, may consider amendment of the plan if the grounds for the order to show cause are solely the inadequacy of the approved plan.

(e) Decision of chief of code enforcement. Within 15 calendar days following conclusion of the hearing, the chief of code enforcement shall render his or her decision in writing either dismissing the proceedings, revoking the plan, or amending the plan. If the plan is revoked or amended, the decision shall specify the findings of fact and the reasons for such action. If the plan is amended, the decision shall also specify the details of the amendment(s) to the plan.

(f) Notice of decision. Notice of the decision shall be given as provided in section 15-20.

(g) Appeal of decision. The decision of the chief of code enforcement shall be subject to appeal by the owner within the time and manner specified in section 15-19 of this article. In the absence of a timely appeal, the decision of the chief of code enforcement shall be final and conclusive.

(Ord. No. 09-8, § 1, 7-21-09)

(a) Beginning on the date the decision to revoke the containment plan becomes final, and continuing thereafter until such time as a new containment plan is approved by the city for the affected retail establishment, the owner of the retail establishment that is the subject of the revocation shall not be permitted to provide or otherwise make available any shopping carts for use by its customers, patrons or employees.

(b) Notwithstanding any other provision of this article, an owner of a retail establishment shall not be eligible to submit a new proposed plan to the city for processing for a minimum of 180 days following the date the decision to revoke the prior plan becomes final. Any proposed containment plan submitted to the city for such retail establishment during the one hundred eighty day (180) period shall be returned to the owner of the retail establishment as untimely.

(Ord. No. 09-8, § 1, 7-21-09)