Chapter 6.78 — SHOPPING CARTS

The following words and phrases shall have the meanings ascribed to them unless otherwise noted:

Abandoned shopping cart means a shopping cart located outside the premises or parking lot or facility of the business establishment which furnishes the shopping cart for use by its patrons.

Code enforcement officer means an officer of the City of Eastvale Code Enforcement Department or his or her designee.

Community development director means the community development director of the City of Eastvale or his or her designee.

Shopping cart means any basket of any size, mounted on wheels or a similar device, including parts thereof, provided by a store operator for the purpose of transporting goods of any kind within a business establishment or designated parking or loading area of that business establishment.

Shopping cart owner means the owner of the shopping cart, the agent of the owner of the shopping cart, including individuals or business entities, or the business or retail establishment which furnishes the shopping cart for use.

Store premises or retail establishment means the lot area, maintained and managed by the business, that may include the building, parking lot and adjacent walkways, and where the business' shopping carts are permitted.

(Ord. No. 2017-01, § 2, 3-22-2017; Ord. No. 23-22, § 1, 2-8-2023)

Except as otherwise provided in this chapter, the provisions of this chapter shall be administered and enforced by the code enforcement officer, community development director and police department of the city. In enforcing the provisions of this chapter, employees of the aforementioned departments may enter onto public property to examine a shopping cart or parts thereof, or to obtain information as to the identity of a shopping cart owner, and to remove, or cause the removal of a shopping cart, or parts thereof, declared to be a nuisance pursuant to this chapter.

(Ord. No. 2017-01, § 2, 3-22-2017; Ord. No. 23-22, § 1, 2-8-2023)

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 plan approved by the city planning department in coordination with the city code enforcement department to prevent customers from removing shopping carts from the premises of such business without authorization of the owner and to provide for the retrieval of removed or abandoned shopping carts which have been removed from the premises of the retail establishment (the "plan"), and shall demonstrate compliance with all other purposes and provisions of this chapter. The plan, at a minimum, shall include the following elements:

(a)

Owner information. The name of the owner; the physical address where the retail establishment is conducted; and the name, address, and telephone number(s) of the owner and all on-site managers, including any changes of such persons.

(b)

Shopping cart inventory. The number of shopping carts to be used or located on the premises.

(c)

Signs affixed to shopping carts. Every shopping cart made available for use by customers shall have a sign permanently affixed to it that identifies the owner of the shopping cart; notifies the public that the unauthorized removal of the cart from the premises of the retail establishment, or the unauthorized possession of the cart, is a violation of state law, and lists a valid telephone number and address for returning the shopping cart removed from the premises to the owner.

(d)

Notice to customers. All business owners shall post a sign not less than 18 inches in width and 24 inches in height with block lettering not less than one-half inch in width and two inches in height in a conspicuous place on the building within two feet of all customer entrances and exits stating, at a minimum, the following:

REMOVAL OF SHOPPING CARTS FROM THE PREMISES IS PROHIBITED BY LAW. B & P Code Section 22435.2

(e)

Prevention measures. A description of the specific measures that the business owner will implement to prevent removal of any cart from the business premises. Such measures may include, but are not limited to, electronic or other disabling devices on any cart so they cannot be removed from the business premises; management practices; use of courtesy clerks to accompany customers and return shopping carts to the inside of the business premises; use of security personnel to prevent removal; security deposits for cart usage; and other demonstrably effective measures acceptable to the city that are likely to prevent removal of shopping carts from the business premises.

(f)

New development requirements. New developments and businesses of over 5,000 square feet in area and having more than ten shopping carts shall be required as a condition of approval to install a wheel lock containment system, or similar device, to the satisfaction of the code enforcement officer and community development director prior to the issuance of a certificate of occupancy for the facility.

(g)

Mandatory shopping cart retrieval operations. The procedure by which the business owner or qualified shopping cart retrieval service will search, find and return shopping carts removed from the business premises. The cart retrieval operation must demonstrate that shopping carts will be actively located within one mile of the business premises and respond to complaints from the public or notifications from city enforcement personnel in a manner which results in the retrieval of shopping carts within 24 hours of receiving the notification. If a business owner contracts with a cart retrieval service, the retrieval service must have a city business registration certificate and shall not place limits on daily loads or days per week to retrieve shopping carts within the city. The owner shall provide written authorization to all retrieval personnel, which authorization shall be carried by each such person while performing cart retrieval services on behalf of the owner and shall be provided to any enforcement personnel upon request. Each vehicle used by retrieval personnel shall bear conspicuous signs on the vehicle identifying either the name of the retail establishment for which such retrieval service is being performed or, if applicable, the name of the cart retrieval service with which the retail establishment has contracted for such services.

(h)

Employee training. The owner of the retail establishment shall implement and maintain a periodic training program for its new and existing employees designed to educate such employees concerning the requirements of the plan and the provisions of state law prohibiting the unauthorized removal of shopping carts from the premises of the retail establishment. The plan shall expressly describe the employee training program.

(i)

Daily shopping cart confinement. All shopping carts located on the premises of the retail establishment (other than an establishment open for business 24 hours per day) shall be collected at the end of each business day by employees of the retail establishment and shall be collectively confined in a secure manner in the shopping cart confinement area, as designated in the approved plan, until the commencement of the

next business day. All shopping carts located on the premises of any retail establishment open for business 24 hours per day, other than shopping carts then currently in use by a customer or patron, shall be collected by employees of the retail establishment and returned to the cart confinement area, as designated in approved plan, at least once per calendar day between the hours of 9:00 p.m. and midnight on each day the retail establishment is open for business. The provisions of this subsection shall not apply to any shopping carts located within an enclosed building.

(j)

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 plan.

(k)

Additional information. Any other information deemed appropriate by the community development director to ensure compliance with this chapter and specified within the plan application.

(l)

Exemptions. The requirements of this section 6.78.030 shall not apply to any retail establishment which provides a total of ten or fewer shopping carts for use by customers of such business.

(Ord. No. 2017-01, § 2, 3-22-2017; Ord. No. 23-22, § 1, 2-8-2023)

(a)

New or relocated retail establishments. Unless otherwise expressly exempt hereunder, each new retail establishment, and any existing retail establishment relocating to a different location with the city, shall submit a proposed plan complying with the requirements of section 6.78.030 to the code enforcement officer and community development director, and obtain approval thereof by the city, prior to the issuance of a business license or certificate of occupancy, whichever occurs first. Each proposed plan shall be accompanied by a processing and inspection fee in an amount as set by resolution of the city council. No proposed plan shall be accepted for filing and processing by the community development director unless accompanied by the fee established by the city council.

(b)

Existing retail establishments. Unless otherwise expressly exempt hereunder, each existing retail establishment shall submit a proposed plan complying with the requirements of section 6.78.030 to the code enforcement officer and community development director within 60 calendar days following the date of adoption of this chapter. Each proposed plan shall be accompanied by a processing and inspection fee in an amount as set by resolution of the city council. No proposed plan shall be accepted for filing and processing by the code enforcement officer and community development director unless accompanied by the fee as established by the city council.

(c)

Plan review and approval.

(1)

Upon the filing of any proposed plan pursuant to section 6.78.030 and receipt of the required applicable processing fee, the code enforcement officer and community development director shall review the proposed plan and either approve, revise or deny the proposed plan within 30 calendar days following the receipt thereof by the community development director.

(2)

If approved, the plan shall be implemented no later than 30 days from the date of notification to the owner of the approval. An inspection by enforcement personnel shall be made of the premises to confirm compliance at the conclusion of the 30-day period.

(3)

The decision of the code enforcement officer and community development director shall be made in writing and notice thereof shall be transmitted to the owner of the retail establishment by first-class mail, or by personal delivery. 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.

(4)

The code enforcement officer and community development director may deny a plan based upon any of the following grounds:

a.

Implementation of the plan would violate provisions of the building, zoning, health, safety, fire, police or other municipal codes, or any county, state, or federal law that substantially affects public health, welfare or safety;

b.

The plan fails to include all the information required by this chapter;

c.

The plan is insufficient or inadequate to prevent removal of carts from the owner's premises;

d.

The plan fails to address any special or unique conditions, due to the geographical location of the premises, as they relate to cart retention and prevention efforts;

e.

Implementation of the plan would violate a term or condition of another city policy or requirement of this code;

f.

The owner has knowingly made a false statement of fact, or omits a fact required to be revealed in an application for a plan, or in any addendum or report or other information required to be provided regarding the plan.

(5)

If the plan is rejected as incomplete or inadequate, the code enforcement officer and community development director shall indicate the areas of incompleteness or inadequacy, and the owner shall have an additional 15 days in which to resubmit a corrected plan.

(d)

Plan modification. At any time subsequent to the code enforcement officer and community development director's approval of a plan, the owner may request a modification of a previously approved plan to address a change in circumstances, an unanticipated physical or economic impact of the plan, or a need to modify an ineffective plan. Each proposed amendment shall be accompanied by a processing fee in an amount as set by resolution of the city council. No proposed amendment shall be accepted for filing and processing by the code enforcement officer and community development director unless accompanied by the processing fee as established by the city council.

(e)

Annual renewal. Every owner that is subject to the provisions of this chapter shall annually update the plan on file with the code enforcement officer and community development director, on or before the annual renewal of the retail establishments' business registration. The update shall include any changes, additions or modifications to the plan; or a declaration that the information contained in the plan is still accurate and in full force and effect. Retail establishments that have installed a physical containment system, (such as wheel locks or similar electronic devices), that has been found to prevent the removal of carts from the premises and subsequently being abandoned on public and private property, will require renewal of the plan once every three years.

(Ord. No. 2017-01, § 2, 3-22-2017; Ord. No. 23-22, § 1, 2-8-2023)

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 time frames specified in this chapter shall be subject to enforcement proceedings and penalties pursuant to section 1.01.200 et seq. of this Municipal Code.

Procedures related to removal and possession of any shopping carts shall be pursuant to Business and Professions Code, §§ 22435.2—22435.5.

(Ord. No. 2017-01, § 2, 3-22-2017)

(a)

Procedures related to authorization for abatement, removal and storage of abandoned shopping carts shall be pursuant to Business and Professions Code, Section 22435.7.

(b)

The administrative fees for the removal and storage of shopping carts shall be established or modified by resolution of the city council and shall include the actual cost of removal and storage of any shopping cart, or parts thereof, plus the proportionate share of administrative costs in connection therewith. The schedule for such fees shall remain on file and be available in the finance department of the city. The code enforcement officer shall review the fees charged for such service at least once annually, and may, with the approval of the city manager, recommend changes to the council when the costs for such services make it appropriate.

(Ord. No. 2017-01, § 2, 3-22-2017; Ord. No. 23-22, § 1, 2-8-2023)

Notwithstanding the provisions of section 1.01.200 of this Code, whenever in this chapter, any act is prohibited or declared unlawful or the doing of any act is required, or the failure to do any act is declared to be unlawful, it shall be a misdemeanor pursuant to Business and Professions Code § 22435.3.

(Ord. No. 2017-01, § 2, 3-22-2017)

This chapter is not to be construed as the exclusive regulation of wrecked, dismantled or abandoned shopping carts within 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 any other legal entity or agency having jurisdiction.

(Ord. No. 2017-01, § 2, 3-22-2017)