.010 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 submit a proposed plan complying with the requirements of either Section 7.52.030 or Section 7.52.040 of this chapter to the Community Preservation Manager, and obtain approval thereof by the City, prior to providing any shopping carts to customers of the retail establishment. 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 Community Preservation Manager unless accompanied by the processing fee established by the City Council.
.020 Existing Retail Establishments. Unless otherwise expressly exempt hereunder, each existing retail establishment shall submit a proposed plan complying with the requirements of Section 7.52.030 or Section 7.52.040 of this chapter to the Community Preservation Manager 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 150th calendar day following the date of adoption of this chapter without a plan approved by the City as conforming to the requirements of either Section 7.52.030 or Section 7.52.040 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 Community Preservation Manager unless accompanied by the processing fee as established by the City Council.
.030 Plan Review and Approval. Upon the filing of any proposed plan pursuant to either Section 7.52.030 or Section 7.52.040 of this chapter (collectively referred to herein as the “plan”), and receipt of the required processing fee, the Community Preservation Manager shall review said proposed plan and either approve or deny approval of said proposed plan within 30 calendar days following the receipt thereof by the Community Preservation Manager. If the proposed plan complies with each of the applicable requirements of this chapter, the Community Preservation Manager shall approve the plan, otherwise the proposed plan shall be denied. The decision of the Community Preservation Manager 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 Community Preservation Manager 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 proposed plan is denied, the notice of decision given to the owner shall state the grounds upon which the proposed plan was denied. A decision of the Community Preservation Manager may be appealed by the owner in the time and manner provided in Section 7.52.060.
.040 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 .030 above. Each proposed amendment shall be accompanied by a processing fee in an amount as set by resolution of the City Council. No proposed amendment shall be accepted for filing and processing by the Community Preservation Manager unless accompanied by the processing fee as established by the City Council.
.050 Revocation or Amendment by City.
.0501 Grounds. An approved Plan may be revoked by the City upon any of the following grounds:
.01 The owner of any retail establishment is operating, or is permitting operation of, the retail establishment in violation of one or more of the provisions of said approved Plan and has failed to correct said violation(s) for a period of at least fifteen (15) calendar days following the date of receipt of written notice of such violation(s) from the City; or
.02 The owner of any retail establishment with an approved Plan is operating, or is permitting the operation of, the retail establishment in violation of one or more of the requirements of this chapter and has failed to correct said violation(s) for a period of at least fifteen (15) calendar days following the date of receipt of written notice of such violation(s) from the City; or
.03 The Cart Containment Plan, as approved, is inadequate to reasonably prevent the removal of shopping carts from the premises of the retail establishment; or
.04 The Cart Retrieval Plan, as approved, is inadequate to ensure the prompt retrieval of lost, stolen or abandoned shopping carts removed from the retail establishment. For purposes of this subparagraph .04, the word “inadequate” is defined to include the retrieval of twenty (20) or more lost, stolen or abandoned shopping carts within the City, by any enforcement personnel of the City pursuant to the provisions of Chapter 7.50 of this Code, within two consecutive thirty (30) day periods.
.0502 Order to Show Cause. If at any time following the approval of a Plan, the Community Preservation Manager of the City obtains information or evidence that any of the grounds set forth in paragraph .0501 above may exist, the Community Preservation Manager shall issue a written Order to Show Cause as to why the approved Plan should not be revoked and schedule a hearing thereon which hearing shall not be less than fifteen (15) calendar days nor more than thirty (30) calendar days following the date such Order to Show Cause is given to the owner of the retail establishment. The Order shall state the grounds upon which it is proposed to revoke the approved Plan and shall include the information and evidence, or a summary thereof, upon which such Order was issued.
.0503 Notice of Hearing. Notice of the hearing on any Order to Show Cause issued pursuant to this section shall be given in the time and manner provided in subsection .030 above.
.0504 Conduct of Hearing. The hearing shall be conducted informally and the legal rules of evidence shall not be applicable. The owner and the City shall each have the opportunity to present evidence and witnesses. The parties may each be represented by legal counsel or other representatives of their choice. The City shall bear the burden of proof to establish, by a preponderance of the evidence, that grounds exist to revoke the Plan. The Community Preservation Manager, at his or her discretion, and as an alternative to revocation, may consider amendment of the Plan if the grounds for the Order to Show Cause are solely the inadequacy of the approved Plan. Additionally, if the grounds for the Order to Show Cause are solely the inadequacy of the approved Cart Retrieval Plan, the Community Preservation Manager, at his or her discretion, and as an alternative to revocation, may require compliance with Section 7.52.030 of this chapter.
.0505 Decision of Community Preservation Manager. Within fifteen (15) calendar days following conclusion of the hearing, the Community Preservation Manager shall render his or her decision in writing either dismissing the proceedings or revoking or amending the Plan. If the Plan is revoked or amended, the decision shall specify the findings of fact and the reasons for such action. If the Plan is amended, the decision shall also specify the amendment(s) to the Plan.
.0506 Notice of Decision. Notice of the decision of the Community Preservation Manager shall be given in the time and manner specified in subsection .030 above.
.0507 Appeal of Decision. The decision of the Community Preservation Manager shall be subject to appeal by the owner within the time and manner specified in Section 7.52.060. In the absence of a timely appeal, the decision of the Community Preservation Manager shall be final and conclusive.
.0508 Use of Shopping Carts Following Revocation Prohibited. No owner of any retail establishment which is subject to the requirements of this Chapter shall provide or make available shopping carts for the use of customers following the date any decision revoking a Plan required and approved pursuant to this chapter becomes final unless and until a new proposed Plan is approved by the City for such retail establishment. Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, an owner of a retail establishment shall not be eligible to submit a new proposed Plan to the City for processing for a minimum of 180 days following the date any decision revoking the prior Plan for such retail establishment becomes final. Any proposed Plan submitted to the City for such retail establishment during said 180-day period shall be returned to the owner of the retail establishment as untimely. (Ord. 6013 § 1 (part); February 7, 2006: Ord. 6189; November 9, 2010.)