8.10.070 Cart containment and retrieval by owners.
A. Mandatory Secure Containment of Shopping Carts After Hours. Every shopping cart owner must lock or otherwise securely contain all shopping carts of the owner 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 cart confinement area on the premises until the commencement of the next business day.
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 12:00 p.m. (noon) and 12:00 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.
3. Shopping carts being transported by the owner, or an officer, employee, or authorized agent of the owner, to or from a business location of the owner.
B. Mandatory Retrieval of Carts. All abandoned shopping carts of a retail establishment that are found off the premises of the retail establishment 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 given be by telephone, email 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 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.
C. Retrieval Services. Persons retained to perform shopping cart retrieval services must carry written authorization from the owner to be presented upon request by the director or designee. Vehicles used by retrieval services must bear conspicuous signs identifying the name of the cart retrieval service. (Ord. 1713 § 2, 2022)