Chapter 4.70 — Shopping Cart Containment and Retrieval

Sections:

• 4.70.010 Purpose, Declaration of Nuisance 4.70.020 Definitions

• 4.70.030 Exemption

• 4.70.040 Cart Containment Plan and Cart Retrieval Plan 4.70.050 Plan Submission and Approval

• 4.70.060 Penalties for Failing to Submit a Prevention Plan

• 4.70.070 Notification for Retrieval of Abandoned Carts 4.70.080 Administrative Costs and Fees 4.70.090 Disposition of Carts after 30 days

All new stand-alone retail establishments or retail establishments located within a retail center shall utilize disabling devices installed and maintained on carts by owners to prevent, deter or impede the removal of shopping carts from the premises. In this regard, the shopping cart containment plan shall apply to only those defined, established and shopping centers that predate this ordinance and did not install a disabling devise to prevent shopping carts from leaving the premises.

A. Shopping carts removed from the premises of retail establishments and left abandoned on public or private property throughout the City constitute a public nuisance and a potential hazard to the health and safety of the public. The proliferation of lost, stolen or abandoned shopping carts on public and private property sidewalks, streets, parking lots and other ways, interferes with pedestrian and vehicular traffic on public and private streets, and impedes emergency services. For the aforementioned reasons, such lost, stolen or abandoned shopping carts are declared to be a public nuisance which shall be subject to abatement in the manner set forth in this chapter or in any other manner provided by law.

B. The purpose of this chapter is to set forth regulations to ensure that reasonable measures are taken by the owners and operators of business which provide shopping carts for the convenience of customers to first and foremost prevent the removal of shopping carts from business premises and parking lots, and secondarily to provide for the prompt retrieval of lost, stolen or abandoned shopping carts, to complement and supplement provisions of state law, and to adopt local regulations to the extent not otherwise preempted by state statute regarding the unauthorized removal of shopping carts from the premises and parking areas of retail establishments.

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The following words and terms shall have the following meanings:

• a) “City” means the City of Tehachapi

• b) “Director of Planning” means the Planning Director of the City and his/her designee(s)

• c) “Enforcement personnel” means any police officer or code enforcement officer employed by the City.

• d) “Lost, stolen or abandoned shopping cart” means a shopping cart which is either

• (i) Removed from the premises of a retail establishment by any person without the written permission or consent of the owner of the shopping cart or the retailer otherwise entitled to possession of such cart, or

• (ii) Left unattended, discarded, or abandoned upon any public or private property other than the premises of the retail establishment from which the shipping cart was removed, regardless of whether such shopping cart was removed from the premises with the permission of the owner.

• For the purpose of this chapter, any shopping cart located on any public or private property other than the premises of the retail establishment from which such shopping cart was removed shall be presumed lost, stolen or abandoned, even if in the possession of any person, unless such person in possession thereof either:

• (i) Is the owner, or an employee or authorized agent of the owner, entitled to possession of the shopping cart,

• (ii) Is an officer, employee or agent of a cart retrieval service hired by the owner to retrieve such carts,

• (iii) Is an enforcement officer retrieving, storing or disposing of the cart pursuant to the provisions of this chapter.

• e) “Owner” means any owner, manager, or operator of any retail establishment.

• f) “Laundry Cart” means 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.

• g) “Parking area” means a parking lot or other property provided by a retail establishment for the use of customers of such retail establishment for parking of customer vehicles. The parking area of a retail establishment located in a multi-store complex or shopping center shall include the entire parking area used by the multi-store complex or shopping center.

• h) “Planning Commission” means the Planning Commission of the City.

• i) “Premises” means any building, property or other area upon which any retail establishment business is conducted or operated in the City, including the parking area provided for customers of such retail establishment.

• j) “Retail Establishment” means any business located in the City which offers or provides shopping carts for the use of the customers of such business regardless of whether such business is advertised or operated as a retail or wholesale business, and regardless of whether such business is open to the general public, or is a private club or business, or is a membership store.

• k) “Shopping Cart” or “Cart” means 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 within the establishment and to and from the retail establishment to a customer’s awaiting vehicle. The term shopping cart or cart includes a laundry cart.

The requirements of this Ordinance shall not apply to any retail establishment which provides a total of less than ten (10) shopping carts for use by customers of such business.

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Every retail establishment that uses ten (10) or more carts shall develop, implement and comply with the provisions of a written plan approved by the City to provide for the prevention of removal and the retrieval of lost, stolen or abandoned shopping carts which have been removed from the premises of the retail establishment. The cart retrieval plan, at a minimum shall include the following elements:

A. Signs Affixed to Carts.

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

B. Notice to Customers.

Written notice shall be provided to customers, in English and in Spanish, that removal of shopping carts from the premises is prohibited by state law. Such notice may be provided in the form of flyers distributed on the premises, warnings printed on shopping bags, direct mail, website notices or any other means demonstrated to be effective. The cart containment plan shall identify the specific measures to be implemented to comply with this notice requirement. In addition, conspicuous signs shall be placed and maintained on the premises near all customer entrances and exits and throughout the premises, including the parking area,

C. Physical Measures.

Specific physical measures shall be implemented and maintained by the owner to prevent, deter or impede the removal of shopping carts from the premises. Such physical measures shall be specifically identified in the cart containment plan and may include, but are not limited to, the following:

1. retro-fitted disabling devices installed and maintained on carts, maintaining one or more security guards assigned the responsibility to deter or stop customers from removing shopping carts from the premises, or

2. preventing any shopping carts to be taken outside the confines of building exits unless accompanied by an employee of the business, bollards and chains in loca-

tions between the business exits and the parking area which effectively prevent transporting shopping carts into the parking area or off the premises, requiring security deposits by customers for cart use or rental or sale of carts to customers.

D. Daily Cart Confinement.

All shopping carts located on the premises of the retail establishment 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 at the cart containment area on the premises as designated in the cart containment 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 carts then currently in use by a customer patron, shall be collected by employees of the retail establishment and returned to the cart confinement area on the premises as designated in the cart containment plan at least once per calendar day between the hours of 9:00 p.m. and 12:00 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.

E. 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 cart containment plan and the provisions of state law prohibiting the unauthorized removal of shopping carts from the premises of the retail establishment. The cart containment program shall expressly describe the employee training program.

F. Retrieval Personnel.

The owner shall provide personnel for purposes of the retrieval of lost, stolen or abandoned shopping carts. Such personnel may be either employees of the business or one or more independent contractors hired by the owner to provide shopping cart retrieval services, or a combination of both.

G. 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 cart containment plan.

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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 within the City, shall comply with the City’s Improvement Standards with regard to Cart Containment requirements.

B. Existing Retail Establishments.

Unless otherwise expressly exempt hereunder, each existing retail establishment shall submit a proposed plan complying with the requirements of Sections 4.70.040 of this chapter to the Director of Planning within 120 calendar days following the date of adoption of this chapter. No such retail establishment existing on the date this chapter is adopted shall provide or continue to provide shopping carts for the use of its customers after the 120th calendar day following the date of adoption of this chapter without a plan approved by the City as conforming to the requirements of Section 4.70.040 of this chapter, provided, however, such date shall be extended for the period, if any, during which an appeal of the denial of such plan is pending pursuant to the provisions of this chapter. Each proposed plan shall be accompanied by a processing fee in an amount as set by resolution of the City Council. No proposed plan shall be accepted for filing and processing by the Director of Planning unless accompanied by the processing fee as established by the City Council.

C. Plan Review and Approval.

Upon the filing of any proposed plan pursuant to Section 4.70.040 of this chapter (collectively referred to herein as the “plan”), and receipt of the required processing fee, the Director of Planning or his/ her designee shall review said proposed plan and either approve or deny approval of said proposed plan within 30 calendar days following the receipt thereof the Director of Planning. If the proposed plan complies with each of the applicable requirements of this chapter, the Director of Planning shall approve the plan, otherwise the proposed plan shall be denied. The decision of the Director of Planning shall be made in writing and notice thereof shall be

transmitted to the owner of the retail establishment by the United States Postal Service, first-class mail, postage prepaid, or by personal delivery or fax transmission. The notice of decision of the Director of Planning shall be deemed given to the owner on the date of personal delivery or on the date of the fax transmission to the owner, notices given by the United States Postal service, first-class mail, postage prepaid, shall be deemed given to the owner on the third day following the date of deposit in the course of transmission with the United States Postal Service first-class mail, postage prepaid. If the proposes plan is denied, the notice of decision given to the owner shall state the grounds upon which the proposed plan was denied.

en by the United States Postal service, first-class mail, postage prepaid, shall be deemed given to the owner on the third day following the date of deposit in the course of transmission with the United States Postal Service first-class mail, postage prepaid. If the proposes plan is denied, the notice of decision given to the owner shall state the grounds upon which the proposed plan was denied.

D . A decision of the Director of Planning may be appealed by the owner to the City Planning Commission within ten (10) calendar days following the date of giving the notice of such decision. The notice of appeal shall be in the context of a Public Hearing pursuant to Tehachapi Zoning Ordinance Chapter 10.40 (Public Hearing) and shall be accompanied by the fee fixed by resolution of the City Council.

E. Amendments by Owner.

The owner of any retail establishment which has an approved plan conforming to the requirements of this chapter 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 in subsection C above. Each proposed amendment shall be accompanied by a processing fee in an amount as set by resolution of the City Council. Nor proposed amendment shall be accepted for filing and processing by the Director of Planning unless accompanied by the processing fee as established by the City Council.

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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 a $1,000 civil penalty, plus an additional penalty of $50 for each day of noncompliance.

Pursuant to Business and Professions Code Section 22435.7 , the City shall notify the Owner of any abandoned carts owned or used by the business establishment that have been located within the City of Tehachapi within twenty – four (24) hours of impoundment. The Owner shall have three (3) business days from the date the notification is given to retrieve the carts from the City.

Pursuant to Business and Professions Code Section 22435.7, any Owner that fails to retrieve its abandoned cart(s) within three (3) business days after receiving notice from the City, shall pay the City’s administrative costs for retrieving the cart(s) and providing the notification to the Owner. Any Owner who fails to retrieve abandoned carts in accordance with this Chapter in excess of three times during a specified six-month period, shall be subject to a $50 fine for each occurrence. An occurrence includes all carts owned by the Owner that are impounded by the City in a one-day period.

Pursuant to State law, any cart not reclaimed from the City within thirty (30) days after notification to the Owner shall be sold or otherwise disposed of by the City.

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