Loading...
Ordinance 2000-15ORDINANCE NO. 2000-15 AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF GILROY REPEALING AND ADDING CHAPTER 19A OF THE GILROY MUNICIPAL CODE REGULATING SHOPPING CARTS WHEREAS, Chapter 19A of the Gilroy City Code regulates the retrieval, impoundment, return and disposal of shopping carts left on public property; and WHEREAS, the Califomia State Legislature, finding that the retrieval of shopping carts by local agencies is a matter of statewide concern, has added California Business and Professions Code sections 22435.7and 22435.8 to the California Code to regulate shopping cart retrieval, impoundment, return and disposal by local agencies and to invalidate ordinance provisions that conflict with those and related sections; and WHEREAS, California Business and Professions Code section 22435.7 authorizes local agencies to collect from shopping cart owners actual costs incurred, plus specified fines should there be three occurrences within a six-month period involving the same shopping cart owner, for shopping cart owners' failure to retrieve shopping carts in a timely manner; and WHEREAS, the City Council finds it necessary and convenient to amend Chapter 19A of the Gilroy City Code to conform to State law; and WHEREAS, the City Council seeks to expressly authorize the delegation to one or more public or private entities of the performance of some or all of the functions authorized pursuant to this Chapter. NOW, THEREFORE, THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF GILROY DOES HEREBY ORDAIN AS FOLLOWS: Section I That the existing Chapter 19A of the Gilroy City Code as added by Ordinance No. 93-4 is hereby repealed in its entirety. Section II That a new Chapter 19A is added to the Gilroy City Code to read as follows: ~NVH\483382.3 01~9261NHSE0OO -1- ORDINANCE NO. 2000-15 Sections: 19A 19A.01 19A.02 19A.03 19A.04 19A.05 19A.06 19A.07 19A.08 19A.09 19A.10 19A.11 19A.12 Chapter 19A SHOPPING CART MANAGEMENT, REMOVAL, IMPOUND, RETRIEVAL AND DISPOSAL FINDINGS, PURPOSE AND APPLICABILITY DEFINITIONS REQUIRED SIGNS ON SHOPPING CARTS REMOVAL OR POSSESSION OF REMOVED SHOPPING CARTS PROHIBITED AUTHORITY TO IMPOUND NOTICE OF RETRIEVAL OR LOCATION AUTHORITY TO STORE AUTHORITY TO DISPOSE RECLAMATION BY SHOPPING CART OWNERS FINES RECOVERY OF COSTS AUTHORITY TO CONTRACT FOR RETRIEVAL SERVICES; ADMINISTRATION OF SHOPPING CART RETRIEVAL FUNCTIONS. SECTION 19A.01: FINDINGS, PURPOSE, AND APPLICABILITY. The City Council hereby makes the following findings and declarations: The accumulation of wrecked, dismantled, lost or abandoned shopping carts, or parts thereof, on public or private property is found to create a condition tending to reduce property values, promote blight and deterioration, constitute an attractive nuisance creating a hazard to the health and safety of minors, and be aesthetically detrimental to the community and injurious to health, safety and the general welfare. Furthermore, the accumulation of these shopping carts interferes with pedestrian and vehicular traffic, waterways and storm drainage systems. Therefore, the presence of wrecked, dismantled, lost or abandoned shopping carts, or parts thereof, on public or private property, is declared to constitute a public nuisance which may be abated in accordance with the provisions of this Chapter. The purpose of this Chapter is to avoid the detrimental effects of wrecked, dismantled, lost or abandoned shopping carts in accordance with State law. This Chapter provides for the prompt retrieval of shopping carts by their owners and the impoundment and disposal of unclaimed shopping carts by the City, and authorizes the City to recover its costs and fines as prescribed by State law. \NVH~483382.3 01439261NHSEO00 -2- ORDINANCE NO. 2000-15 SECTION 19A.02: DEFINITIONS. A. "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. B. "Occurrence" shall mean a lapse of more than three (3) business days during which a shopping cart is unclaimed by its owner following the impotmdment and notice of impoundment and storage, or notice of location, of the shopping cart. C. "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 storeowner for customer parking. D. "Shopping Cart" shall mean a basket motmted on wheels or a similar device generally used in a retail establishment by a customer for the purposes of transporting goods of any kind. E. "Storeowner" shall mean any person or entity who, in connection with the conduct of a business, owns, possesses or makes available shopping carts to customers for use on the premises of the person's or entity's business establishment. For purposes of this Chapter, "storeowner" also shall include an on-site manager or designated agent who provides shopping carts for use by customers of the business establishment. SECTION 19A.03: REQUIRED SIGNS ON SHOPPING CARTS. 1. Every storeowner who makes shopping carts available to customers for thc purposes of transporting goods shall have the duty to permanently affix, or cause to be permanently affixed, a sign on each shopping cart that contains the information specified in subsection (2) of this Section. 2. Every shopping cart owned or provided for the use of customers by any business establishment in the City of Gilroy shall have a sign permanently affixed to it that contains the following information: A. The name of the owner of the shopping cart or the name of the business establishment where the shopping cart is in lawful use, or both; B. Notification to the pubhc of the procedure to be used for authorized removal of the shopping cart from the premises; C. Notification to the public that the unauthorized removal of the shopping cart from the premises, or the unauthorized possession of the shopping cart off premises, is a violation of State and City laws; cart; and A telephone number to contact to report the location of an abandoned shopping \NVH\483382.3 01 ..09261NHSE000 -3 - ORDINANCE NO. 2000-15 E. An address where the shopping cart can be returned to the store, owner. SECTION 19A.04: REMOVAL OR POSSESSION OF REMOVED SHOPPING CARTS PROHIBITED. A. It shall be unlawful to either temporarily or permanently remove a shopping cart from the premises of a business establishment without the express prior written approval of the storeowner. B. It shall be unlawful to be in possession of a shopping cart that has been removed from the premises of a business establishment unless it is in the process of being immediately returned to the business establishment. C. It shall be unlawful to leave or abandon a shopping cart at a location other than the premises of the storeowner with the intent to temporarily or permanently deprive the storeowner of possession of the shopping cart. D. It shall be unlawful to alter, convert, or tamper with a shopping cart, or to remove any part of the shopping cart or to remove, obliterate or alter serial numbers on the cart, or to be in possession of any shopping cart with serial numbers removed, obliterated, or altered with the intent to temporarily or permanently deprive the storeowner of possession of the shopping cart. SECTION 19A.05: AUTHORITY TO IMPOUND. The City may retrieve and impound any shopping cart leR on public or private property when the shopping cart has a sign permanently alTlxed as required by Section 19A.03 of this Code. The City shall deem discarded any shopping cart that lacks the signs required by Section 19A.03 and may retrieve and immediately dispose of any discarded shopping cart. SECTION 19A.06: NOTICE OF RETRIEVAL OR LOCATION. The City shall provide notice of violation to the shopping cart owner of the retrieval of a shopping cart within twenty-four (24) hours following the retrieval and impoundment. The notice shall be mailed first class and postage paid, or hand-delivered to the address identified on the cart and shall inform the owner of the location where the shopping cart may be claimed. If mailed, the notice shall be deemed received three days after the date of mailing. The City may opt not to retrieve a shopping cart left on public or private property and instead notify the shopping cart owner of the shopping cart's location. SECTION 19A.07: AUTHORITY TO STORE. The City may store an impounded shopping cart at any location that is both reasonably convenient to the owner of the shopping cart and open for business at least six (6) hours of each business day. SECTION 19A.08: AUTHORITY TO DISPOSE. ~NVHVI83382.3 01~§261NHSE000 -4- ORDINANCE NO. 2000-15 The City may sell or dispose of any shopping cart not reclaimed from the City within thirty (30) days of receipt of notice by the storeowner of a shopping cart's retrieval or location on public or private property off of the storeowner's premises. SECTION 19A.09: RECLAMATION BY SHOPPING CART OWNERS. Any shopping cart reclaimed by its owner within three (3) business days following the date of receipt of actual notice of impoundment or notice of the shopping cart's location shall be released and surrendered to the owner at no charge whatsoever, including the waiver of any impound or storage fees or fines that otherwise would be applicable pursuant to Sections 19A.10 and 19A. 11. Any shopping cart reclaimed within the three (3) business-day period shall not be deemed an occurrence for the purpose of section 19A. 10. Any shopping cart that is allowed to remain unclaimed on public or private property or at the place of storage for longer than three (3) business days following receipt by the owner of the shopping cart's location shall be deemed an occurrence for the purpose of section 19A.10. SECTION 19A. 10: FINES. The City is authorized to impose a fine upon the storeowner in an amount not to exceed fifiy dollars ($50.00) for each occurrence in excess of three (3) during a specified six (6) month period for failure to reclaim a shopping cart in accordance with Section 19A.09. SECTION 19A. 11: RECOVERY OF COSTS. The City may recover from a shopping cart owner all actual costs incurred in retrieving and impounding a shopping cart if the cart is not reclaimed within three (3) business days following actual notice to the storeowner of the shopping cart's retrieval or location pursuant to Section 19A.06. The City may immediately upon retrieval recover its actual costs incurred in the removal and impoundment of a shopping cart that is retrieved to prevent the impediment of emergency services. SECTION 19A.12: AUTHORITY TO ADMINISTRATION FUNCTIONS. CONTRACT FOR RETRIEVAL SERVICES; OF SHOPPING CART RETRIEVAL The City may contract with one or more public or private entities to perform some or all of the functions authorized pursuant to this Chapter. The public or private entity shall retrieve and impound and/or dispose of shopping carts as provided in this Chapter. The provisions of this Chapter shall be administered and enforced by the city administrator or his or her designated agent. In the enforcement of this Chapter, employees of the City or entity with which the City contracts may enter onto public property, or private property with permission, to examine a shopping cart or parts thereof, or to obtain information regarding the identity of the shopping cart owner and to remove, or cause the removal of, a shopping cart, or parts thereof, declared to be a nuisance pursuant to this Chapter. ~NVH~A83382.3 01419261NHSE000 -5- ORDINANCE NO. 2000-15 Section III That if any section, subsection, subdivision, sentence, clause, or phrase of this Ordinance is for any reason found to be unconstitutional or otherwise void or invalid by any court of competent jurisdiction, the validity of the remaining portions of this Ordinance shall not be affected thereby. Section IV This Ordinance shall be in full force and effect thirty (30) days after the date of its passage and adoption. PASSED AND ADOPTED this 6th day of November, 2000, by the following vote: AYES: NOES: ABSENT: COUNCILMEMBERS: COUNCILMEMBERS: COUNCILMEMBERS: ARELLANO ,q, ARELLANO P., MORALES, PINHEIRO, SUDOL, VELASCO, SPRINGER NONE NONE Rh~>n~la Pellin, City Clerk APPROVED: Thomas W. Springer,~ayor' '- \NVH~,A83382.3 01-09261NHSE000 -6- ORDINANCE NO. 2000-15 I, RifONDA PELLIN, City Clerk of the City of Gilroy, do hereby certify that the attached Ordinance No. 2000-15 is an original ordinance, duly adopted by the Council of the City of Gilroy at a regular meeting of said Council held on the 6th day of November, 2000, at which meeting a quorum was present. IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and affixed the Official Seal of the City of Gilroy this 5th day of January, 2001. City Cl'erk of the City of Gikoy (Seal)