Gilroy Municipal Code Art. II Prevention of Abandoned Carts

Abandoned shopping carts constitute a nuisance, create potential hazards to the health and safety of the public, and interfere with pedestrian and vehicular traffic. The accumulation of abandoned shopping carts on public property creates conditions that may reduce property values, and promote blight and deterioration.

The intent of this article is to ensure that measures are taken by shopping cart owners to prevent the removal of shopping carts from a business premises, to make removal of shopping carts a violation of this code, and to facilitate the retrieval of abandoned shopping carts in a manner consistent with state law.

This chapter shall apply to all owners of a business establishment and other commercial services within the City of Gilroy that provide shopping carts for use by customers and members of the Public.

(Ord. No. 2007-10, § II, 4-16-2007)

For the purposes of this article, certain words, phrases, terms and their derivatives shall be construed as specified in this section. Words, phrases, and terms that are used in this article, but not specifically defined, shall have the meaning set forth in the applicable local or state, if appropriate. Other such words, phrases and terms shall be accorded their ordinary meanings.

“Abandoned cart prevention plan” or “ACPP”

shall mean a document submitted by the owner of the shopping cart pursuant to section 19A.19 of this chapter.

“Abandoned shopping cart”

shall mean any shopping cart that has been removed from the premises of a business establishment and has been left unattended on either private or public property.

“Agent”

shall mean the person or persons designated in the abandoned cart prevention plan who the owner of the shopping cart authorizes as the person(s) to perform or provide retrieval services on behalf of the owner. The agent may be the owner if so designated in the city approved abandoned cart prevention plan.

“Director”

shall mean the director of community development, or such other director or officer designated by the city administrator to administer this chapter.

“Electronic theft deterrent system”

shall mean a mechanical system which automatically locks the wheels of a shopping cart when the shopping cart is pushed outside the premises. Typically, such systems include a brake on the shopping cart and some type of perimeter wire around the premises which triggers the brake on the shopping cart.

“Existing business”

shall mean an establishment with a valid business license and which is open to the public on the date of approval of the ordinance from which this article derives.

“Owner”

shall mean any person or entity, who in connection with the conduct of a business, owns, leases, possesses, or makes a shopping cart available to customers or the public. For purposes of this chapter, owner shall also include the owner’s designated agent.

“Premises”

shall mean the entire area owned or utilized by the business establishment that provides shopping carts for use by customers, including any parking lot or other property provided by the owner for customer parking.

“Shopping cart”

shall mean a basket 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.

“Tenant improvement”

shall mean a construction project which would require a building permit to modify the physical condition of an existing building or space.

(Ord. No. 2007-10, § II, 4-16-2007)

§ 19A.14. through § 19A.15. (Reserved)

It shall be unlawful for any person, either temporarily or permanently, to remove a shopping cart from a premises or be in possession of a shopping cart that has been removed from a premises which is properly marked in conformity with this chapter without the written consent of the owner. This section shall not apply to shopping carts removed as authorized by the owner for the purposes of repair, maintenance or disposal.

(Ord. No. 2007-10, § II, 4-16-2007)

Owners of all businesses who provide shopping carts for customer use shall develop, implement and comply with the terms and conditions of an abandoned cart prevention plan or “ACPP,” as defined in this article, to prevent the unauthorized removal by any person of any shopping cart from the owner’s premises and, if removed, to retrieve the shopping cart within twenty-four (24) hours of the removal or notice of the removal. The ACPP shall be submitted to the director within sixty (60) calendar days of written notification by the director that such plan is required. A new owner of a business is required to submit an application to the director with either a new plan, or adoption of the plan submitted by the previous owner.

(Ord. No. 2007-10, § II, 4-16-2007)

The ACPP shall include the following elements:

(a) Name of Business/Owner. The name of the owner and the business name, the physical address where the business is conducted, name, address and phone number(s) of the on-site and off-site owner if different.

(b) Inventory of Carts. A complete list of all carts maintained on or in the premises.

(c) Community Outreach. A description of a community outreach process under which the owner shall cause notice to be provided to customers that the removal of carts from the premises is prohibited and is a violation of state and local law. This notice may include, but is not limited to, flyers distributed at the premises, warnings on shopping bags, signs posted in prominent places near door and parking lot exits, direct mail, announcements using intercom systems at the premises, web site or other means demonstrated to be effective to the reasonable satisfaction of the director. Any and all posting of signs shall comply with the provisions of Gilroy City Code.

(d) Cart Identification. Signs and cart identification information which conform to this ordinance and state law.

(e) Loss Prevention Measures. A description of the specific measures that the owner shall implement to prevent cart removal from the premises. These measures may include, but are not limited to, electronic or other disabling devices on the carts so they can not be removed from the premises, effective management practices, use of courtesy clerks to accompany customers and return the carts to the store, use of security personnel to prevent removal, security deposit for use of cart, or other demonstrable measures acceptable to the director that are likely to prevent cart removal from the premises.

(f) Employee Training. A description of an ongoing employee training program that shall be implemented by the owner and that shall be designed to educate new and existing employees on the ACPP and conditions contained therein no less frequently than annually.

(g) Mandatory Cart Retrieval. A plan for retrieval of abandoned carts by the owner within twenty-four (24) hours of being notified.

(Ord. No. 2007-10, § II, 4-16-2007)

Every owner who, pursuant to this article, is required to submit an ACPP, or who submits an application for a modification of an ACPP, shall submit with the plan or plan modification a fee for the director’s review of the plan or plan modification in the amount set forth in the schedule of fees established by resolution of the city council.

(Ord. No. 2007-10, § II, 4-16-2007)

(a) Each owner shall submit an ACPP in compliance with section 19A.19 to the director. The director may approve or deny the plan and notify the owner of such decision within thirty (30) days of receipt. If approved, the ACPP shall be implemented by the owner no later than thirty (30) calendar days from the date of approval.

(b) The director may deny a plan based upon any of the following grounds:

(1) Implementation of the plan violates any provision of the building, zoning health, safety, fire, police or other provision of this code or any county, state or federal law which substantially affects public health, welfare, or safety;

(2) The plan fails to include all of the information required by this chapter;

(3) The plan is insufficient or inadequate to prevent removal of shopping carts from the premises;

(4) The plan fails to address any special or unique conditions due to the geographical location of the premises as they relate to cart shopping retention and prevention efforts.

(5) Implementation of the plan violates a term or condition of a plan or other requirement of this title;

(6) The owner knowingly makes a false statement of fact or omits a fact required to be revealed in an application for the plan, or in any amendment or report or other information required to be made.

(c) If the plan is rejected as incomplete or inadequate, the director shall indicate areas of incompleteness or inadequacy, and the owner shall have an additional thirty (30) calendar days in which to resubmit a complete and adequate plan.

(d) An owner who fails to submit a complete plan to the satisfaction of the director, or fails to implement approved plan measures or fails to comply with the approved plan measures, will be subject to enforcement of these requirements through any lawful means available to the city.

(e) The director’s decision to deny a plan shall be final.

(Ord. No. 2007-10, § II, 4-16-2007)

At any time after the director’s approval of any ACPP, the owner may submit to the director an application for a modification of the previously approved plan to address a change in circumstances, address an unanticipated physical or economic impact of the plan, or modify an inadequate or ineffective plan.

(Ord. No. 2007-10, § II, 4-16-2007)

An ACPP shall be deemed ineffective if, during any consecutive three (3) month period, more than one (1) of an owner’s shopping carts are found abandoned in the public right-of-way and have not been timely retrieved in accordance with the ACPP. In such a case, the director shall provide the owner with written notification that its ACPP has been deemed ineffective. The owner shall then submit to the director a written plan to remedy the problem, which the owner shall then implement. If the ACPP is deemed ineffective a second time, the owner shall be required to install an electronic theft deterrent system, if not already present, within ninety (90) calendar days of notification by the director. If an electronic theft deterrent system has already been installed, the owner shall revise its ACPP to include, and shall implement, supplemental loss prevention measures to ensure that the shopping cart thefts and abandonment cease.

(Ord. No. 2007-10, § II, 4-16-2007)

(a) New Commercial and Industrial Businesses. All new commercial and industrial businesses that employ shopping carts shall be required to implement a shopping cart electronic theft deterrent system at their business premises.

(b) Existing Development. All existing commercial and industrial businesses that employ shopping carts shall be required to implement a shopping cart electronic theft deterrent system at their business premises when constructing any tenant improvement project that exceeds a cost of one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000.00).

(Ord. No. 2007-10, § II, 4-16-2007)

Owners who are required to install electronic theft deterrent systems in accordance with this article shall maintain the systems in working order.

(Ord. No. 2007-10, § II, 4-16-2007)

In the event that the ownership of a business changes, the new owner will be subject to the terms of this chapter and will be required to comply with any and all provisions of this chapter.

(Ord. No. 2007-10, § II, 4-16-2007)

(a) Every owner shall comply with the provisions of this chapter and every provision of the owner’s approved ACPP.

(b) Any owner who violates any provision of this article or any provision of the owner’s approved ACPP shall be subject to enforcement procedures for each violation through any lawful means available to the city, including without limitation institution of criminal enforcement in accordance with section 1.7 of the Gilroy City Code, or administrative penalties in accordance with section 6A of the Gilroy City Code.

(Ord. No. 2007-10, § II, 4-16-2007)

The city shall notify the owner of an abandoned shopping carts as identified on the signage information permanently affixed to the shopping cart. The city notification shall be documented and provided either by telephone or by written notice. The notification shall require that the identified cart(s) be retrieved pursuant to the conditions for retrieval as set forth in the owner’s ACPP.

(Ord. No. 2007-10, § II, 4-16-2007)

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Editor’s note: Previously this code contained two sections numbered 19A.27. This section was editorially renumbered during the 2009 republication to remove the duplication.