Ordinance No. 1624(16) An Ordinance of the City Council of the City of Lompoc, County of Santa Barbara, State of California, Regulating Shopping Carts WHEREAS, shopping carts are routinely abandoned on the City of Lompoc s (City) rights-of way; and WHEREAS, the presence of abandoned shopping carts is found to be a public nuisance and contributes to a decline in the quality of life; and WHEREAS, the abundance of abandoned shopping carts on the City s rights-ofway encourages crime, tends to reduce property values, and is a blight on the community; and WHEREAS, abandoned shopping carts also obstruct pedestrian access, interfere with pedestrian and vehicular traffic, and emergency services; and WHEREAS, the City Council finds the standards set forth in this ordinance are necessary to protect the public safety and welfare of the residents of the City. NOW, THEREFORE, THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF LOMPOC DOES HEREBY ORDAIN AS FOLLOWS: SECTION 1. Title 8 of the Lompoc Municipal Code is hereby amended by adding Chapter 8.32 to read as follows: Chapter 8.32 SHOPPING CARTS 8.32.010 Definitions. As used in this chapter, the following definitions shall apply, and for purposes of this chapter, shall supersede any other definitions of the same terms in this Code. "Abandoned Shopping Cart Prevention Plan," ASCPP and plan shall mean a document required to be submitted by the responsible business owner, pursuant to this chapter. "Agent" shall mean the person or persons designated in the owner's ASCPP, authorized to perform or provide retrieval services on behalf of the owner of the business. The agent may be the owner, if so designated in the approved ASCPP. Business premises and premises shall mean the entirety of a commercial site upon which a shopping cart provider conducts a commercial establishment,
Page 2 including, but not limited to, the interior of the shopping cart provider s commercial establishment, adjacent walkways, any associated loading and parking areas provided on that site or provided on private property in conjunction with the commercial establishment, and not including any public right-of-way. "Director" shall mean the City Manager for the City of Lompoc, or such other City staff member designated by the City Manager to administer this chapter. Enforcement personnel shall mean City staff or agents authorized by the City Manager to enforce this chapter. "Physical containment system" shall mean a disabling device on shopping carts, which prevents them from being removed from the business premises by locking the wheels or other means of preventing the movement of the carts, or any other system of equipment approved by the Director, which physically contains shopping carts on premises. Private property shall mean any privately owned property. Public right-of-way shall mean any sidewalk, street, alley, lane, court, park, or parkway on public property or other public place within the City. Shopping cart and cart shall mean 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, or used in a Laundromat facility for transporting of laundry, but not including lightweight and/or folding shopping carts designed and sold for private use. Shopping cart identification sign shall mean a sign or engraved surface, permanently affixed to a clearly legible information on each shopping cart, which includes all of the following information: that readily identifies the shopping cart owner s name, business address, and telephone number; and the following language: UNAUTHORIZED REMOVAL OF SHOPPING CARTS FROM THE PREMISES IS PROHIBITED BY LAW. Business and Professions Code Section 22435.2. Shopping cart owner," shopping cart provider, and owner shall mean any person or entity, who in connection with the conduct of a business, possesses, leases or provides shopping carts to customers or the public, for the purpose of transporting goods of any kind on the business premises. For purposes of this chapter, "owner" shall also include the owner's designated agent. Shopping cart retrieval service shall mean a third-party commercial service, possessing a current business tax certificate issued by the City, and authorized by a shopping cart owner to retrieve and return shopping carts.
Page 3 Vacant lot shall mean any lot of land, privately or publicly owned, that is not developed with a use consistent with this code and the property s zoning designation. 8.32.020 Applicability. This chapter shall apply to all shopping cart owners within the City s jurisdictional boundaries. 8.32.030 Shopping Cart Identification Sign Required. A. It shall be the responsibility of each shopping cart provider to affix the shopping cart identification sign to owner for each of their shopping carts and to continuously maintain, or cause to be maintained, the to have shopping cart identification sign so all the required information is accurate and clearly legible. B. It is unlawful for any person to possess a shopping cart without an accurate and legible shopping cart identification sign. C. Any shopping cart found abandoned on public or private property that does not have a shopping cart identification sign shall be removed from the property and disposed of in accordance with state law. D. Failure to comply may subject the violator to civil, criminal and administrative remedies, as provided by law. 8.32.040 Mandatory Abandoned Shopping Cart Prevention Plan. Each person who owned or controlled a business in existence with the City s jurisdiction on September 1, 2016, who provided shopping carts for use by customers or the public, shall submit an ASCPP to the City Clerk s Office for review, on or before December 31, 2016. Each business owner who plans to begin to provide shopping carts for use by customers or the public after September 1, 2016 shall submit an ASCPP to the City Clerk, for review at the time they apply for a new or renewed business tax certificate. The ASCPP shall include the following elements: A. Name of Business/Owner. The name of the owner and the business name; the physical address where the business is conducted; name, address and phone number(s) of the on-site and off-site owner if different. B. Inventory of Carts. A complete list of all carts maintained on or in the premises.
Page 4 C.B. Community Outreach. A description of the community outreach process under which the The owner shall cause notice to be provided to customers the removal of carts from the premises is prohibited, and a violation of state and municipal law. ThisThat notice, at a minimum shall include, but is not limited to, warnings on shopping bags, one or more signs posted in prominent places near door and parking lot exits, direct mail, or other means demonstrated to be effective. Any posting of signs shall comply with applicable provisions of the municipal this code. D. Loss Prevention Measures. A description of the specific effective measures the owner will implement to prevent shopping cart removal from the premises. These measures may include, but are not limited to, electronic or other disabling devices on the shopping carts so they cannot be removed from the premises, use of courtesy clerks to accompany customers and return carts to the store, use of security personnel to prevent cart removal, security deposit for use of cart, or other demonstrably effective measures acceptable to the Director, likely to prevent shopping cart removal from the premises. An effective maintenance plan is required if electronic or other disabling devices are to be used, including, but not limited to, periodic replacement of batteries and disabling wheels, to ensure all carts are properly maintained on the premises. E. Employee Training. A description of an ongoing employee training program designed to educate new and existing employees on the ASCPP and conditions contained therein, shall be implemented by the owner annually. F.C. Mandatory Cart Retrieval. A plan for retrieval of abandoned shopping carts by the owner within 24 hours of removal, or evidence of a contract with a shopping cart retrieval service with terms requiring collection of abandoned shopping carts within 24 hours of removal. G.D. After Hours Cart Containment: A plan for securing shopping carts whenever the store is not open for business. 8.32.050 Director Approval of ASCPP Required. After review of the submitted ASCPP, the Director may approve, conditionally approve, or deny the proposed plan, and notify the owner of such decision in writing, within 30 days after receipt of the plan. A. If approved, then the ASCPP shall be implemented by the owner no later than 30 days from the date of approval.
Page 5 B. If conditionally approved, then the owner may accept in writing the conditions stipulated by the Director, after which the owner shall implement the conditionally approved ASCPP within 30 days of the date of conditional approval. C. If the submitted ASCPP is denied, then the reasons for denial shall be set out in writing and the owner shall have 15 days to revise and resubmit the plan. 8.32.060 Basis for Denial. The Director may deny an ASCPP based upon any of the following grounds: A. Implementation of the ASCPP would violate provisions of the building, zoning, health, safety, fire, police or other municipal codes, or any county, state, or federal law which substantially affects public health, welfare or safety; B. The ASCPP fails to include all the information required by this chapter; C. The ASCPP is insufficient or inadequate to prevent removal of carts from the owner's premises; D. The ASCPP fails to address any special or unique conditions due to the geographical location of the premises as they relate to shopping cart retention and prevention efforts; E. Implementation of the ASCPP would violate a term or condition of another City policy or requirement of the municipal code; F. The owner has knowingly made a false statement of fact, or omits a fact required to be revealed in the application for the ASCPP, or in any addendum or report or other information required to be provided regarding the ASCPP; G. If the ASCPP is rejected as incomplete or inadequate, then the Director shall indicate the areas of incompleteness or inadequacy, and the owner shall have an additional 15 days in which to resubmit a corrected ASCPP; or H. An owner who fails to submit a complete ASCPP, or fails to implement approved plan measures, or fails to comply with the approved plan measures, shall be subject to enforcement of these requirements through any lawful means available to the City, including without limitation, institution of the administrative remedies provided for in this chapter. The Director's denial of the ASCPP shall be the final administrative decision
Page 6 8.32.070 Evaluation Report. An evaluation report shall be submitted on June 30 of each year, by each business owner who has an approved ASCPP in place. The evaluation report shall be submitted to the City Clerk s Office, for review by the Director, and shall evaluate the effectiveness of the approved measures used to retain carts on-site during the prior calendar year. The report shall include, but not be limited to, the inventory of carts owned/used by the business establishment, the number of carts replaced in the previous calendar year due to loss, theft or abandonment, and any proposed modifications to the approved plan. 8.32.080 Fees. Each owner, who is required to submit an ASCPP or an application for a modification of an plan pursuant to this chapter, shall submit, with the plan or plan modification, a fee established by the City Council, in the amount set forth in the City's general fee schedule. 8.32.080 Plan Modification. Any time subsequent to the Director's approval of an ASCPP, the owner may request a modification of a previously approved ASCPP to address a change in circumstances, an unanticipated physical or economic impact of the plan, or a need to modify an ineffective plan. 8.32.090050 Exemption from Mandatory Plan. Any owner may request will be granted, by the Director, an exemption on an annual basis from the requirements of this chapter if the owner provides written documentation and demonstrates to the satisfaction of the City that the owner has: A. A contract with a Lompoc licensed cart retrieval service, or a physical device or mechanism in place that prevents the unauthorized removal of carts from the owner's premises; and, B. None of the owner's shopping carts have been found abandoned on three or more occasions during the six-month period immediately preceding the date the application for an exemption is submitted to the Director. C. A written application for the exemption shall include all of the following: 1. The name of the owner and the name of the business; the physical address where the business is conducted; and the name, address and phone number of the on-site and off-site owner if different; 2. The method, or physical device that will ensure the shopping carts will not leave the premises.
Page 7 D. Any exemption granted to an owner shall be void upon the sale or transfer of ownership of the business. E. The Director s denial of the exemption shall be the final administrative decision. 8.32.100 Renewal of Exemption. Any owner granted an exemption from the ASCPP shall file with the Director a written application for a one year renewal of the exemption annually on June 30 in accordance with the provisions of this chapter. The written application for a renewal of the exemption shall include the information required to be submitted in the initial application for the exemption in accordance with the provisions of this chapter. 8.32.110 Denial or Revocation of a Renewal of an Exemption. An application for a renewal of an exemption may be denied or revoked by the Director upon any of the following grounds: A. Any of the owner's shopping carts have been found to be abandoned on public or private property, or in a right-of-way for longer than three business days on three occasions in any six-month period. B. The owner has failed to comply with any of the provisions of this chapter. C. The owner knowingly makes a false statement of fact, or omits a fact required to be revealed, in an application for the exemption or any amendment, report, or other information required to be made. D. The Director s decision shall be the final administrative decision. 8.32.120060 Penaltiesy for Failing to Submit an ASCPP or Evaluation Report or to Implement Prevention Measures. Any person owner who fails to provide the ASCPP shall be required to pay the City $100 for each calendar month the ASCPP is not provided, as a penalty for not complying with Section 8.32.050. violates any provision of this chapter shall be charged with (i) a misdemeanor punishable pursuant Chapter 1.24 to this Code, (ii) subject to the administrative penalty and citation process set forth in Chapter 1.36 of this Code, and (iii) subject to a civil penalty of $1,000.00 per violation. 8.32.130070 Abandonment Prohibited. A. It shall be unlawful for any person to cause or permit any shopping cart to be abandoned on or upon any sidewalk, street or other public area, or upon
Page 8 private property or a vacant lot, other than the premises of the owner of such shopping cart. B. It shall be unlawful for a business knowingly to have on its premises for the use of its customers, shopping carts identified as belonging to a different business owner, except those carts belonging to neighboring businesses who share a common parking area may be located within the common parking area. 8.32.140 Removal or Possession of Shopping Cart Unlawful. A. It is unlawful for any person to remove or possess any shopping cart outside the business premises of the shopping cart s owner or provider without the express prior written consent of that owner or provider. B. It is unlawful for any person to authorize or permit the removal of a shopping cart from any business premises for any private use, except that removal by the owner in connection with the shopping cart s acquisition, maintenance, transfer of ownership, or disposal is permitted. 8.32.150 Businesses Without Shopping Carts. Any person who does not own, rent, lease, or otherwise possess its own shopping carts, but whose business receives a benefit by the use of shopping carts owned by other businesses, merchants, grocers, or other similar establishments, (i) shall provide a location upon that person s premises for the storage of shopping carts and (ii) shall immediately contact the shopping cart owner or the owner s retrieval service to retrieve any shopping carts that are left on the premises. This section specifically applies to, but is not limited to, recycling centers. SECTION 2. This ordinance shall take effect 30 days after its adoption. The City Clerk, or her duly appointed deputy, shall attest to the adoption of this ordinance and shall cause this ordinance to be posted in the manner required by law. This Ordinance was introduced on July 5, 2016, September 6, 2016, and duly adopted by the City Council of the City of Lompoc at its duly noticed regular meeting on, 2016, by the following electronic vote: PASSED AND ADOPTED this th day of 2016, by the following electronic vote: AYES: NOES: ABSENT: Council Member(s): Council Member(s): Council Member(s):
Page 9 Bob Lingl, Mayor City of Lompoc Attest: Stacey Haddon, City Clerk City of Lompoc