CLEARLAKE, Calif. – The Clearlake City Council entertained a first reading of an ordinance addressing abandoned and stolen shopping carts in the city at a meeting earlier this month, and is set to consider final adoption of the new rules in early December.
The purpose of the ordinance is to ensure that measures are taken by cart owners to prevent the removal of shopping carts from store premises and parking lots.
It is also meant to facilitate the retrieval of abandoned carts as permitted by state law.
The ordinance applies to all businesses that provide five or more shopping carts for customer use at any one business location.
It requires those business owners to place identification on shopping carts and develop a prevention plan for unlawful removal as well as establish retrieval measures.
At the council's Nov. 12 meeting City Manager Greg Folsom said the ordinance is based in part on a section of the California Business and Professions Code, which requires all shopping and laundry carts be signed with the owner identification, makes it unlawful to remove a cart from the business location and unlawful to be in possession of the cart off the business premises.
The ordinance will apply to seven area businesses including Safeway, Dollar Tree, Grocery Outlet, Rite-Aid, Foods Etc., Walmart and Ray's Food Place.
Businesses to which the ordinance applies will be required to place identification on shopping carts including the name of the store or owner and a telephone number for return.
The impacted businesses also will be required to provide notice to the public that the unauthorized removal or possession of a shopping cart is a violation of state laws and city ordinance.
"It's illegal. It's a misdemeanor," which Folsom said is punishable by imprisonment in county jail not exceeding six months and/or a fine not exceeding $1,000.
Affected businesses will be required to provide a loss prevention plan, subject to city approval. The plan must include a description of the measures to prevent the removal of shopping carts from the 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 cart removal, the collection of security deposits for use of all carts, or the rental or sale of utility carts that can be temporarily or permanently used to transport purchases.
The plan also must include retrieval measures to retrieve shopping carts that are removed from the owner's premises on a weekly basis and within 72 hours of notice from the city.
Such measures may include hiring personnel or contractors to retrieve shopping carts. The city may require retrieval on a more frequent time schedule upon 30-day notice to the business owner, according to the ordinance.
In addition to unlawful removal of carts, the ordinance prohibits a person from leaving or abandoning a shopping cart in a location other than the premises or parking area of the business, with the intent to temporarily or permanently deprive the owner of possession of the cart.
It also makes it illegal to alter, convert or tamper with a shopping cart, or to remove any part or portion thereof or to remove, obliterate or alter serial numbers on the cart.
The ordinance provides for penalties for failing submit and/or implement a prevention plan. Those failing to comply could incur a $1,000 civil penalty plus an additional penalty of $50 for each day of noncompliance.
Under the section, the city is authorized to impound abandoned carts and immediately dispose of those that do not have the proper identification affixed.
According to the ordinance, when city staff sees an abandoned cart, staff will first call the designated person listed on the theft prevention plan and notify them that they have 24 hours to retrieve the cart. If the cart is not retrieved after 24 hours, the city will have the right to impound the cart.
The owner will be notified of the impoundment within 24 hours and be given three business days to retrieve the cart from the city.
Pursuant to Business and Professions Code Section 22435.7, any owner who fails to retrieve an abandoned cart within three business days, will have to pay the city's administrative costs for retrieving the cart and for providing notification to the owner.
Any owner who fails to retrieve abandoned carts in excess of three times in a six-month period will be subject to a $50 fine for each occurrence.
“It puts a lot of the burden, definitely, on the retailers,” said District 2 County Supervisor Jeff Smith, who asked what would be done to educate the people on the street who have the carts. He said it's not the retailers' fault that the carts are being taken.
He suggested a civil penalty ordinance be put in place to discourage people taking the carts. “I think we need to put a little burden on the folks that are taking them, because that's really the problem.”
Melissa Wills-Markgraf, the assistant manager of the Clearlake Dollar Tree store, spoke against the ordinance, and said it's not a good deterrent.
She said there already exists in state law a misdemeanor for possession of stolen property. “We cannot stop people from stealing, and this is the same as shoplifting.”
Instead of impounding the carts and storing them, she suggested bringing the carts back to retailers and charging them a delivery fee. That could be done through setting up an agreement with a subcontractor who would be paid by retailers to retrieve them.
Wills-Markgraf said the city needs businesses. “I wasn't here 40 years ago, but I know what you have now, and you don't have much to support. So you don't want to hinder us, you want to help us.”
Police Chief Craig Clausen explained during the discussion that the ordinance gives authorities a better process to get the carts back than is found in the state Business and Professions Code. That code makes it difficult to pursue criminal action for theft of carts because the theft has to be witnessed. In the case of the city ordinance, action can be taken against the person who is found in possession of the cart.
Vice Mayor Gina Fortino Dickson asked if the ordinance included administrative penalties for the cart thefts. Clausen said no, but that the city currently is working on adding administrative penalties for the entire municipal code, and it's his intention to work it into the shopping cart rules.
Councilman Russ Perdock said doing nothing hasn't worked, and leaving it up to retailers to round up the carts hasn't worked. “So here we are.”
Wills-Markgraf, returning to the podium to respond, said there was a three-prong approach: dealing with the theft, educating the public about taking the carts and collection. She said the carts are taken faster than they can pick them up.
“There has to be a way that we can get this done with minimal cost, instead of creating another business,” she said.
Following additional discussion, the council approved the first reading in a 3-0 vote, with council members Joyce Overton and Denise Loustalot absent.
The Clearlake City Council is set to hold a second and final reading of the ordinance and consider its final adoption at its meeting on Thursday, Dec. 10.
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Council set to hold second reading of ordinance to deal with shopping cart issue
- Denise Rockenstein
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