Chapter 5.91 — ABANDONED SHOPPING CARTS

The city of Palm Desert finds that abandoned shopping carts in the city create potential hazard to the health and safety of the public, interfere with pedestrian and vehicular traffic, and create a public nuisance. The accumulation of abandoned carts on public and private property tends to create conditions that reduce property values, and promote blight and deterioration that result in a public nuisance. This chapter is intended to ensure that measures are taken by the owners of shopping carts to prevent the removal of the shopping carts from the owner's premises, to make removal of the cart a violation of this code, and to facilitate the retrieval of abandoned shopping carts in a manner consistent with state law.

(Ord. 1187, 2009; Ord. 1393 § 1, 2023)

For purposes of this chapter, the following words and phrases shall have the meanings set forth below:

"Abandoned shopping cart" means any shopping cart that is left unattended, discarded, or abandoned upon any public property other than the premises from which the shopping cart was removed, without the written consent of the shopping cart's owner.

"City" means the city of Palm Desert or its designated representatives.

"City Manager" shall mean the city manager of the city of Palm Desert, or designee.

"Occurrence" means the retrieval or impoundment by the city pursuant to this chapter of all shopping carts of an owner in a one-day period.

"Owner" means any person who owns or provides shopping carts for use by customers in connection with the operation of a business.

"Premises" means the entire area owned and utilized by a retail establishment that provides shopping carts for use by customers, including any parking area or other off-street area provided by an owner, or shared with other retail establishments, for the use by customers for parking automobiles or other vehicles.

"Parking area" means a parking lot or other property provided by a retail establishment for use by a customer for parking an automobile or other vehicle. In a multistore complex or shopping center, "parking area" includes the entire parking area used by or controlled by the complex or center.

"Person" means a natural person or legal entity, however formed, as well as any trustee, heir, executor, administrator, receiver, or assign, or any combination of such persons.

"Public property" means the outdoor common area of any building, business premises, apartment building or complex, or other premises or portion thereof which is adjacent to public property, open to the public, and which contains a shopping cart or shopping carts visible at street or ground level from the adjacent public property.

"Retail establishment," with regard to shopping carts, means any business located in the city which offers or provides shopping carts for the use by customers of such business regardless of whether such business is advertised or operated as a retail or wholesale business, and regardless

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City of Palm Desert, CA § 5.91.020

PALM DESERT CODE

§ 5.91.060

of whether such business is open to the general public, is a private club or business, or is a membership store.

"Shopping cart" means a basket mounted on wheels or a similar device generally used by a customer for the purpose of transporting goods of any kind within a retail establishment or designated parking or loading area of that business establishment. Shopping cart also includes a cart used in a coin-operated laundry or dry-cleaning retail establishment for purposes of transporting clothes and necessary cleaning materials.

(Ord. 1187, 2009; Ord. 1393 § 1, 2023)

This chapter applies to all retail establishments located in the city that provide shopping carts for customer use and to all shopping carts on and off the premises of retail establishments within the city.

(Ord. 1393 § 1, 2023)

• A. The city manager and any enforcement officer have the authority to administer and enforce this chapter.

• B. The city manager may adopt supplemental regulations or policies to implement and interpret this chapter. These regulations or policies must conform with the purpose of this chapter.

• C. To the extent otherwise permitted by law, an enforcement officer may enter onto any public or private property in the city to retrieve, remove, store, and dispose of any lost, stolen, or abandoned shopping cart, or any part thereof.

• (Ord. 1393 § 1, 2023)

• A. It is unlawful for any person to temporarily or permanently remove a shopping cart from a business premises without the owner's prior written consent.

• B. It is unlawful for any person to be in possession of a shopping cart that has been removed from a business premises.

• C. Removal or possession of a cart for the purpose of repair, maintenance, or disposal is exempt from this section.

• (Ord. 1187, 2009; Ord. 1393 § 1, 2023)

Pursuant to Section 22435.1 of the Business and Professions Code, every shopping cart owned or provided by an owner shall have a sign permanently affixed to the shopping cart that includes the following information:

• A. The owner's name, business address, and phone number.

• B. Notice of the procedure to be used for authorized shopping cart removal from the premises.

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City of Palm Desert, CA

BUSINESS TAXES, LICENSES AND REGULATIONS

§ 5.91.060

§ 5.91.080

• C. Notice that unauthorized removal of the shopping cart from the premises of a retail establishment, or the unauthorized possession of the shopping cart, is a violation of state law and this chapter.

• (Ord. 1393 § 1, 2023)

• A. Every shopping cart owner must lock or otherwise securely contain all owner's shopping carts after business hours in a manner that prevents theft or removal from the premises. All shopping carts located on the premises of a retail establishment, other than an establishment open for business twenty-four hours per day, must be collected at the end of each business day by the owner, employees, or authorized agents of the retail establishment and be collectively confined in a secured manner in a designated shopping cart confinement area on the premises until the commencement of the next business day.

• B. All shopping carts located on the premises of any retail establishment open for business twenty-four hours per day, other than carts then currently in use by a customer, must be collected by the owner, employees, or authorized agents of the retail establishment and returned to a designated cart confinement area on the premises at least twice per calendar day between the hours of twelve p.m. (noon) and twelve a.m. (midnight) on each day the retail establishment is open for business. This section does not apply to:

  1. Shopping carts located within an enclosed building;

  2. Shopping carts removed from the premises of a retail establishment for purposes of repair or maintenance that are in the possession or custody of the party to whom removal has been authorized in writing by the shopping cart owner; or

  3. Shopping carts being transported by the owner, or an officer, employee, or authorized agent of the owner, to or from the owner's business premises.

• C. All abandoned shopping carts that are found off premises must be retrieved as soon as practicable by the owner, or an authorized agent of the owner, including a cart retrieval service retained by the owner. The city shall notify the owner of an abandoned shopping cart when such shopping cart is located in a place that can be accessed safely by the owner. Such notice may be given by telephone, e-mail, or text message to the owner or owner's agent designated in the abandoned shopping cart prevention and retrieval plan, if an approved plan is in place, and shall include the shopping cart's location. Within three business days from the date the owner of the cart is provided with notice by the city that an abandoned shopping cart of the owner has been located, the owner or agent shall cause the identified shopping cart(s) to be retrieved.

• D. Persons retained to perform shopping cart retrieval services must carry written authorization from the owner to be presented upon request by the city manager. Vehicles used by retrieval services must bear conspicuous signs identifying the name of the shopping cart retrieval service.

• (Ord. 1187, 2009; Ord. 1393 § 1, 2023)

• A. The city manager may immediately retrieve and impound any shopping cart, in accordance with the provisions outlined in Business and Professions Code Section 22435.7.

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City of Palm Desert, CA

PALM DESERT CODE

§ 5.91.080

§ 5.91.090

• B. Impoundment Following Three-Day Notice. A shopping cart that has a sign affixed to it in accordance with the provisions of this chapter and Business and Professions Code Section 22435.1 may be impounded by the city provided both of the following conditions are met:

  1. The shopping cart is located outside the premises of a retail establishment; and

  2. Except as provided in subsection (C) of this section, the shopping cart is not retrieved within three business days from the date the owner of the shopping cart, or the owner's agent, receives actual notice from the city of the shopping cart's discovery and location.

• C. Impoundment Without Three-Day Notice. The city may retrieve and impound any abandoned shopping cart without first giving three business days' notice provided:

  1. The city manager provides actual notice to the owner, or the owner's agent, of the shopping cart's impoundment within twenty-four hours following the impound;

  2. The notice informs the owner, or the owner's agent, of the location where the shopping cart may be claimed;

  3. Any shopping cart reclaimed by the owner, or the owner's agent, within three business days after the date of actual notice to the owner, or the owner's agent, of the impound, must be released and surrendered to the owner, or the owner's agent, at no charge, including the waiver of any impound and storage fees or fines which otherwise would be applicable; and

  4. The shopping cart is held at a location that is both: (a) reasonably convenient to the owner of the shopping cart; and (b) open for business at least six hours of each business day.

• D. Immediate Retrieval and Impoundment by City for Impeding Emergency Services. The city manager may immediately retrieve and impound any shopping cart from public or private property if the location of the shopping cart impedes emergency services.

• E. Any cart reclaimed by the owner or their agent within three business days from the date the owner of the shopping cart, or their agent, is given actual notice by the city of the shopping cart's discovery and location, or impoundment, shall not be deemed an occurrence for purposes of this chapter.

• F. The owner of any shopping cart that is not reclaimed within three business days after the date the owner has been given actual notice by the city of the shopping cart's discovery and location, or impoundment, is subject to prosecution or the imposition of administrative costs, fees, fines, interest and other penalties applicable under state law and this chapter commencing four business days after the date of notice.

• (Ord. 1187, 2009; Ord. 1393 § 1, 2023)

• A. Approved Plan Required. Every owner who provides or intends to provide shopping carts to customers must develop, implement, and comply with the terms and conditions of an approved abandoned shopping cart prevention and retrieval plan ("plan") to prevent unauthorized removal of shopping carts from a premises.

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City of Palm Desert, CA

BUSINESS TAXES, LICENSES AND REGULATIONS

§ 5.91.090

§ 5.91.090

• B. Plan Contents. At a minimum, the plan shall include the following requirements:

  1. Preliminary information. The name of all owners, the business name, the physical address where the business is conducted, and the name, address, and phone number(s) of the on-site and off-site owner, if different. In addition, the name and contact information of the person, or job title of the person, who will be responsible for accepting all shopping carts retrieved by the city and returned to the retail establishment during its normal business hours.

  2. Cart inventory. A complete list of all shopping carts maintained in or on the premises.

  3. Cart identification. Signs and shopping cart identification must conform to state law. Owners shall attach an example of the proposed shopping cart ownership identification sign in conformance with Business and Professions Code Section 22435.1 and Section 5.91.030 of this chapter.

  4. Customer outreach. A description of a community outreach process under which the owner will cause notice to be provided to customers that the removal of shopping carts from the premises is prohibited and is a violation of state and city 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 exists, direct mail, announcements using intercom systems at the premises, website or other means demonstrated to be effective to the reasonable satisfaction of the city manager.

  5. Languages. The information required above must be provided in English and Spanish or in such other language the city manager may reasonably require.

6. Loss prevention measures. A description of specific measures that the owner shall implement to prevent shopping cart removal from the owner's premises. These measures may include, but are not limited to, electronic or other disabling devices on the shopping carts so that they cannot be removed from the premises, effective management practices, use of courtesy clerks to accompany customers and return the shopping carts to the store, use of security personnel to prevent removal, security deposit for use of shopping cart, or other demonstrable measures acceptable to the city manager that are likely to prevent shopping cart removal from the premises. Shopping cart owners must conduct regular maintenance to ensure disabling devices and/or security deposit systems are working properly. If at any time, a cart owner determines the disabling device installed in a cart is not working properly, the cart shall be pulled from circulation until it is repaired. The cart owner shall inspect, test, and repair all abandoned carts returned to the owner prior to making the returned shopping carts available for use.

   7. Employee training. A description of an ongoing training program that will be implemented by the owner that is designed to educate new and existing employees on the plan and any conditions contained herein at least annually.

   8. Mandatory shopping cart retrieval. A plan for retrieval of abandoned shopping carts by the owner within three business days after knowing of a cart's removal from the owner's premises or after receiving notice from the city that the shopping cart has been abandoned.

• D. Review and Approval of Plans. Each plan will be evaluated and must be approved by the

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City of Palm Desert, CA § 5.91.090

PALM DESERT CODE

§ 5.91.110

city manager. The city manager may deny the plan if the requirements of this chapter have not been satisfied. If the plan is denied, the city must serve the applicant with a written notice of denial. The notice must state the reasons for denial to assist the owner with obtaining plan approval. An owner must submit a revised plan within fifteen days of receiving a notice of denial. The city manager may impose conditions of approval of a plan if he or she determines it to be reasonably necessary to ensure compliance with the requirements of this chapter. Such conditions may include disabling devices on all shopping carts used by the business in order to prevent removal of shopping carts from the business premises.

• E. Plan Validity. A plan is valid upon approval and will be reviewed at the time that the retail establishment's business license is up for renewal. A plan approved pursuant to this chapter is valid only as to the owner and approved location, and is therefore nontransferable to other persons or locations.

• F. Changes to Plan. If an owner proposes any change in the operations or information in an approved plan, the owner must notify the city in writing of any such proposed change, and same must be approved by the city manager before the change takes place.

• G. Existing Owners. Upon adoption of this chapter, owners of existing businesses subject to the plan requirement must submit a plan for approval within thirty days of receiving notice from the city that such a plan is required.

• H. Mandatory Loss Prevention Measures. If a retail establishment has five or more shopping carts removed without the owner's written consent within the twelve month period commencing with the issuance or renewal of a business license, the city may require the business to obtain and maintain electronic or other disabling devices on all of owner's shopping carts at the retail establishment.

Effective thirty days from the date of adoption of the ordinance codified in this chapter, as a prerequisite to the renewal of a business license for any business providing shopping carts in the city of Palm Desert, the business must demonstrate that it has had four or fewer shopping carts removed without the owner's written consent within the previous twelve months or that it has installed electronic or other disabling devices on all shopping carts. (Ord. 1187, 2009; Ord. 1393 § 1, 2023)

It is the owner's responsibility to ensure that the business complies with the abandoned shopping cart prevention and retrieval plan at all times. In construing and enforcing this chapter and any regulations promulgated under this chapter, the act, omission, or failure of an agent, officer, representative, or other person acting for or employed by an owner, within the scope of his or her employment or office, shall in every case be deemed the act, omission, or failure of the owner. (Ord. 1187, 2009; Ord. 1393 § 1, 2023)

The city may immediately sell or otherwise dispose of any shopping cart that meets one of the following conditions:

• A. That is not reclaimed from the city within thirty days of notification to the owner, or the owner's agent, of the cart's discovery and location, or impoundment.

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City of Palm Desert, CA

BUSINESS TAXES, LICENSES AND REGULATIONS

§ 5.91.110

§ 5.91.130

• B. The owner of the cart cannot be determined for any reason, including if the cart fails to have the identification required by state law or this chapter.

• C. If the cart's condition renders it unusable. (Ord. 1393 § 1, 2023)

Any owner may contract with the city for the retrieval of abandoned shopping carts by entering into a written contract to pay the city's fees for such service. Any owner that has a contract with the city to provide for retrieval of abandoned carts, shall be exempt from the loss prevention measures requirement in Section 5.91.090(B)(6) of this chapter. This exemption is valid only if the other provisions of this chapter are complied with by owner. (Ord. 1393 § 1, 2023)

• A. General. When an enforcement officer has determined that a violation of this chapter exists, the enforcement officer may use the procedures set forth in this chapter for the abatement of such public nuisance that is being committed on public property or may utilize any other procedure authorized by law. The remedies, procedures, and penalties provided by this chapter are cumulative to each other and to any other available remedy under city, state, or federal law.

• B. Violation for Failure to Retrieve Shopping Cart.

  1. Pursuant to Business and Professions Code Section 22435.7(f), any owner that fails to retrieve the owner's shopping cart(s) within three business days from the date of being given notice of the cart's or carts' discovery and location, or impoundment, by the city, is guilty of a violation of this chapter and may be punished by administrative fine of fifty dollars for each occurrence in excess of three during a six month period.

  2. In addition to the fines imposed above the owner shall pay the city's actual costs for retrieving and storing the owner's shopping cart(s) within three business days from being given notice of the shopping cart's or carts' discovery and location, or impoundment, by the city, in which case, all fines, costs and fees shall be waived.

• C. Other Violations. Notwithstanding the fines and costs authorized by Business and Professions Code Section 22435.7(f), when an enforcement officer determines there is a violation of the provisions of this chapter, he or she is authorized to issue a notice of violation or an administrative citation to the responsible party pursuant to Chapter 8.81 (Administrative Citations) of this code. Nothing in this section shall preclude the city from also issuing an infraction citation upon the occurrence of the same offense on the same day to any responsible party. Unless otherwise provided herein, any person who fails to comply with a notice of violation shall be subject to a fifty dollar administrative fine. Unless otherwise provided herein, any person who fails to comply with: (1) a first administrative citation or second violation of the same code section within thirty-six months shall be subject to a one hundred dollar administrative fine; (2) a second administrative citation, third or additional violations of the same code section within thirty-six months shall be subject to a two hundred fifty dollar fine; (3) a third administrative citation shall be subject to a two hundred fifty dollar administrative fine per violation per day.

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City of Palm Desert, CA

PALM DESERT CODE

§ 5.91.130

§ 5.91.130

• D. When an enforcement officer determines there is a violation of the provisions of this chapter, he or she may issue an infraction citation pursuant to the provisions set forth in Chapter 1.08 (Citations for Code Violations), including, but not limited to, the imposition of any and all criminal penalties set forth therein if there is any violation of this chapter committed, caused or maintained by any responsible party.

• E. The city attorney is authorized to bring a civil or equitable action, at his or her discretion, to seek the abatement of any violation of this chapter.

• (Ord. 1187, 2009; Ord. 1393 § 1, 2023)

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City of Palm Desert, CA

BUSINESS TAXES, LICENSES AND REGULATIONS

§ 5.92.010

§ 5.92.020