Redwood City Municipal Code § 14.126 Retrieval by the City

Editor's note— Ord. No. 2186, § 1, created February 28, 2000, repealed former Art. VI, §§ 14.90—14.97, relative to abatement of abandoned shopping carts, Ord. derived from Ord. No. 2075, § 2, adopted March 28, 1994.

The Council of Redwood City hereby finds that abandoned shopping carts are unsightly, interfere with pedestrian and vehicular traffic, accumulate over time on public and private property causing blight and similar conditions resulting in reduction of property values, constitute a public nuisance, and are detrimental to the public health, safety and welfare. The purpose of this Article is to promote the public health, safety, and welfare by facilitating the removal of wrecked, dismantled, and abandoned shopping carts and parts thereof from public and private property, thereby alleviating the safety hazards, unsafe conditions, and the impairment of property values resulting from the abandonment of such carts. This Article implements the provisions of Chapter 19 (Shopping and Laundry Carts; commencing with section 22435) of division 8 of the California Business and Professions Code.

(Ord. No. 2186 § 2, 2-28-00)

For purposes of this Article, the following words and terms shall have the meanings respectively ascribed thereto:

ABANDONED SHOPPING CART: Any shopping cart which has been removed from the premises of the owner of the shopping cart without the owner's written consent, irrespective of whether the shopping cart is located on private or public property; provided, that shopping carts which are removed from such premises for purposes of repair or maintenance and which are in the possession or custody of the party to whom they have been released, shall not be deemed abandoned; provided, further, that a shopping cart located on private property owned or occupied by the person who has been granted written permission by the owner of the shopping cart to have possession thereof for a period not to exceed seventy-two (72) consecutive hours, and which shopping cart is not visible at street or ground level from the public property adjacent to such private property, shall not be deemed abandoned.

DIRECTOR: The Director of Community Development, or his or her designee, including, without limitation, any independent contractor authorized or engaged by the City to retrieve shopping carts.

LAUNDRY CART: A basket which is mounted on wheels and used in a coin-operated laundry or dry-cleaning retail establishment by a customer or an attendant for the purpose of transporting fabrics and the supplies necessary to process them.

OWNER: The person, firm, partnership, corporation, association, or other entity who or which owns, or otherwise exercises possession and control over, shopping carts for the use of the owner's customers in connection with the management and operation of the owner's business enterprise, including any officer, employee, or agent of said person, firm, partnership, corporation, association, or entity.

PREMISES: The entire area owned and utilized by the business establishment that provides shopping carts for use by customers, including any parking lot or other off-street area provided by or for an owner for use by a customer for parking an automobile or other vehicle.

SHOPPING 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, including a laundry cart.

(Ord. No. 2186, § 2, 2-28-00)

A. Except as otherwise provided in this Article, this Article shall be administered and enforced by the Director. The Director is hereby authorized and directed to promulgate and implement rules, regulations and procedures necessary or appropriate for enforcement of this Article.

B. The Director is hereby authorized to enter into, on or upon any, public property to examine a shopping cart or parts thereof, or to obtain information as to the identity of the owner of any shopping cart, or to retrieve shopping carts in accordance with the provisions of this Article. As used herein, "public property" includes 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. Nothing in this Section contained shall be deemed a limitation upon the Director to enter private property pursuant to permission from the owner or occupant thereof or pursuant to a duly issued inspection warrant or other court order.

(Ord. No. 2186, § 2, 2-28-00)

Every owner shall affix to each Shopping Cart owned or provided by the owner a sign that includes the following information:

A. Identification of the owner of the shopping cart or the business establishment to which it pertains, or both;

B. Notification that the unauthorized removal of the shopping cart from the premises of the business establishment; or the unauthorized possession of the shopping cart, is a violation of state and local law;

C. Notification of the procedure for authorized removal of the shopping cart from the premises;

D. A current telephone number for reporting the location of abandoned shopping carts; and

E. An address for returning the shopping cart to its owner or to the business establishment identified thereon.

(Ord. No. 2186, § 2, 2-28-00)

Any owner who maintains or permits the use of shopping carts in violation of the provisions of Section 14.118 shall be guilty of an infraction and, upon conviction thereof, shall be punishable as set forth in Section 1.7B of this Code.

(Ord. No. 2186, § 2, 2-28-00)

Any person in possession of a shopping cart outside the premises of a business establishment without the express prior written approval of its owner, unless the person is in the process of immediately returning the shopping cart to the owner, shall be guilty of an infraction and, upon conviction thereof, shall be punishable as set forth in Section 1.7B of this Code. Written permission to remove a shopping cart shall be valid for a period not to exceed seventy-two (72) consecutive hours.

(Ord. No. 2186, § 2, 2-28-00)

Any person who, having a shopping cart in his or her possession or custody, leaves or permits to be left any shopping cart upon any sidewalk, street, or other public place, or upon any private property, such that it becomes an abandoned shopping cart, shall be guilty of an infraction and, upon conviction thereof, shall be punishable as set forth in Section 1.7B of this Code.

(Ord. No. 2186, § 2, 2-28-00)

Every owner shall prepare and implement a specific written plan to prevent their respective customers from removing shopping carts from each owner's premises and to retrieve shopping carts that have been removed therefrom. Said plan shall, as a minimum, include the following elements and shall be subject to the hereinafter specified approvals:

A. Notices:

1. Notice to Customers: Written notice shall be provided to customers that removal of shopping carts from the premises is prohibited and a violation of state and local law. The notice may be provided in the form of flyers, warnings on shopping bags, or any other form of written notification that will provide effective notice to customers of the prohibition.

2. Signs: Signs shall be placed in appropriate places near customer exits and near parking area exits to warn customers that shopping cart removal is prohibited and constitutes a violation of State and local law.

B. Preventive Measures: Specific physical measures shall be implemented to prevent the removal of shopping carts from the owner's premises. These measures may include, but are not limited to, devices on shopping carts that automatically disable them if they are removed from the premises, employment of personnel to advise and deter customers from removing shopping carts, installation of obstacles to prevent the removal of shopping carts, collection of security deposits for use of shopping carts, provision for rental or sale of shopping carts to customers and similar or like measures.

C. Retrieval Measures: Specific measures shall be implemented to retrieve shopping carts that are removed from the owner's premises. Such measures may include, but are not limited to, employment of personnel or contractors to retrieve shopping carts.

D. Evaluation Report: Annually by July 1st of each year, each owner shall submit a written report to the director evaluating the effectiveness of the measures which were used by the owner during the prior year to prevent the removal of shopping carts from the owner's premises and to retrieve shopping carts. The report shall include, but not be limited to, the inventory of shopping carts owned or used by the owner, the number of shopping carts which were retrieved after removal from the owner's premises, and the number of shopping carts which were replaced due to loss, theft or abandonment.

E. Approval: Every plan and evaluation report submitted pursuant to this section shall be subject to the Directors reasonable approval. In the event the Director disapproves a plan or report, or any part or portion thereof the Director shall notify the owner of such disapproval and the owner shall submit a revised or modified plan to the Director within thirty (30) days of the Director's notification. If the revised or modified plan does not conform to the reasonable requirements of the Director, the owner shall be subject to prosecution therefor pursuant to the provisions of Section 14.123 without limitation upon such other penalties and remedies as the Director may pursue.

(Ord. No. 2186, § 2, 2-28-00)

A. Any owner who fails to submit to the Director for approval the plan required under Section 14.122 within thirty (30) days of the effective date of the ordinance enacting this Article, or within sixty (60) days of the commencement of the owner's business, whichever is later, or who fails to submit the evaluation report described in subsection D of Section 14.122, or who fails to implement the measures established in an approved plan, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be punishable as set forth in Section 1.7A of this Code.

B. In addition to the penalties hereinabove provided, and as an administrative remedy upon a finding of violation, the Director is hereby authorized to require installation of disabling devices on all shopping carts which prevent their removal from an owner's premises with respect to any owner who violates the provisions of subsection A of this Section.

(Ord. No. 2186, § 2, 2-28-00)

The Director may retrieve and impound any abandoned shopping cart, or any shopping cart observed in a location outside the owner's premises after the expiration of three (3) days from having given actual notice to the owner of the shopping cart that said cart has been so observed and must be retrieved by the owner within three (3) days from the date of such notice.

(Ord. No. 2186, § 2, 2-28-00)

Notwithstanding the provisions of Section 14.124, and as an alternative thereto, the Director may retrieve and impound any abandoned shopping cart without providing the three (3) day notice specified in Section 14.124; provided, that the Director shall give actual notice to the owner of the impounded shopping cart within twenty-four (24) hours following the impound, which notice shall inform the owner of the location where the shopping cart may be claimed. Any shopping cart reclaimed by the owner within three (3) business days following the date of such notice shall be released and surrendered to the owner at no charge, including waiver of any impound and storage fees or fines which otherwise would be applicable. The abandonment of any such shopping cart so retrieved within the three (3) day period shall not be deemed an occurrence for purposes of prosecution or imposition of administrative costs and fines under this Article.

The owner of any shopping cart not reclaimed within three (3) business days following the date of actual notice as provided hereinabove shall be subject to prosecution or the imposition of any administrative costs, fees, fines, interest and other penalties applicable under this Article commencing on the fourth business day following the date of notice.

Any shopping cart not reclaimed by the owner within thirty (30) days of the date of receipt of actual notice as provided hereinabove may be sold or disposed of pursuant to Section 14.127.

(Ord. 2186, § 2, 2-28-00)

A. Pursuant to the provisions of subdivision (f) of Business and Professions Code section 22435.7, any owner who fails to retrieve the owner's shopping carts within three (3) days from the date that notice pursuant to Section 14.124 has been given, shall be guilty of a violation of said subdivision (f) and of this Section 14.126 and, upon conviction thereof, shall be punishable by a fine of fifty dollars ($50.00) for each occurrence in excess of three (3) during the six (6) month periods ending on June 30th and December 31st of each calendar year.

B. Pursuant to subdivision (i) of Business and Professions Code section 22435.7, any owner who fails to reclaim the owner's shopping carts which have been impounded by the City pursuant to Section 14.125, within three (3) business days from the date of actual notice of impoundment provided pursuant to Section 14.125, shall be guilty of a violation of said subdivision (i) of Business and Professions Code Section 22435.7 and, upon conviction thereof shall be punishable by a fine of fifty dollars ($50.00) for each occurrence in excess of three (3) during the six (6) month periods ending on June 30th and December 31st of each calendar year.

C. For purposes of this section, an occurrence includes the retrieval of all shopping carts of an owner in a one-day period.

D. In addition to the fines imposed pursuant to subsection A or B hereof, the owner shall be required to pay the City's actual costs for retrieving and storing the owner's shopping carts.

(Ord. No. 2186, § 2, 2-28-00)

Pursuant to subdivision (g) of Business and Professions Code Section 22435.7, the Director may sell or otherwise dispose of any shopping cart which has been impounded by the Director and which has not been reclaimed by its owner within thirty (30) days of receipt of a notice of a violation of this Article.

(Ord. No. 2186, § 2, 2-28-00)

Pursuant to subdivision (c) of Business and Professions Code Section 22435.7, the Director or any City officer, employee, or agent may immediately retrieve any shopping cart from public or private property if its location impedes emergency services.

(Ord. No. 2186, § 2, 2-28-00)

Any owner who has entered into a contract with the City to provide for the retrieval of abandoned shopping carts or who is a party to a consortium of businesses which has entered into a shopping cart retrieval agreement approved by the City shall be exempt from the provisions of Sections 14.122 through 14.123 of this Article, provided that the owner has complied with all other pertinent provisions of this Article.

(Ord. No. 2186, § 2, 2-28-00)

The provisions of this Article are cumulative in addition to any and all other procedures or remedies provided in ordinances of the City or by State law for the abatement of, or prosecutions for, nuisances, and proceedings for abatement pursuant to this Article shall not prejudice nor affect any other action, whether civil, criminal, equitable or administrative, for the abatement or other remedy of such conditions. Without limitation upon the foregoing, violations of the provisions of this Article shall be, and are, enforceable under the provisions of Articles II (Administrative Penalties — Citations) and III (Compliance and Administrative Orders) of Chapter 1 of this Code. Nothing contained herein shall be deemed to invalidate, supersede, or render ineffective any other provision of this Code or any ordinance of this City. Neither the inclusion nor the failure to include, under the terms of this Article, any act or condition otherwise in violation of any provision of this Code or other ordinance of this City, unlawful or constituting a nuisance, shall be deemed to render such act or condition lawful.

(Ord. No. 2186, § 2, 2-28-00)