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No person shall, in or upon any way, street, alley or other public place within the city, nor in or upon any estate within the city, whether such person is in or upon a vehicle or on foot, deposit, drop or throw, and suffer to remain there, any filth, rubbish, litter so-called or any other substance, without the permission of the owner or person in charge thereof, nor in any way or manner otherwise prohibited.
(CBC 1975 Ord. T14 § 292; CBC 1985 16-12.8; Ord. 1986 c. 1 § 1) Penalty, see Subsection 16-32.1, 16-32.6
These Sections require business establishments utilizing shopping carts or similar devices and having more than 20 shopping carts on-site to install and maintain a system to retain the shopping carts within the property boundaries of the business establishment. The Commissioner of the Inspectional Services Department, in accordance with the powers and duties delineated in Subsection 9-9.1, is authorized to implement and enforce these Sections, and the Commissioner of the Public Works Department, in accordance with the powers and duties delineated in Subsection 11-6.1, is authorized to implement and enforce these Sections.
(CBC 1985 16-12.8A.1; Ord. 2003 c. 24)
For the purpose of this Section, the following definitions shall apply unless the context clearly indicates or requires a different meaning.
BUSINESS ESTABLISHMENT. Includes, but is not limited to, a grocery store, supermarket, drugstore, pharmacy, dry goods store, department store, discount store, variety store or other retail establishment which supplies 20 or more shopping carts for the use of its customers.
COMMISSIONER OF INSPECTIONAL SERVICES. The Commissioner of the Inspectional Services Department, or his or her designee or Agent.
COMMISSIONER OF PUBLIC WORKS. The Commissioner of the Public Works Department or his or her designee or Agent.
ISD. The Inspectional Services Department or its successor.
OWNER. The owner of a business establishment if it is owner-operated or the manager of a business establishment if it is not owner-operated.
PARKING LOT. Any parcel of land owned, leased or otherwise under the direction and control of the owner and used for parking motor vehicles related to the daily operations of the business establishment and shall include the areas of ingress and egress.
PERMANENT IDENTITY TAG. A tag, label, plate or other form of identification that is affixed to a shopping cart and is designed to be removed/removable only by the business establishment. The PERMANENT IDENTITY TAG shall state the name of the business establishment, the address of the business establishment and the telephone number of the business establishment. The name, address and telephone number on the PERMANENT IDENTITY TAG shall be of the neighborhood business establishment rather than a state, regional or national headquarters, except that business establishments using a total of more than 350 shopping carts at more than two locations within the city may place a central telephone number on the permanent identity tag as long as that telephone number is within the 617 area code.
PWD. The Public Works Department or its successor.
SHOPPING CART or CART. Includes, but is not limited to, that type of mobile vehicle used for transportation and portage by human propulsion of goods or merchandise in and about markets, stores, shops, shopping centers, malls and other business establishments.
(CBC 1985 16-12.8A.2; Ord. 2003 c. 24)
(A) Each and every shopping cart utilized by a business establishment shall have affixed thereto a permanent identity tag. A first violation of this Section shall be subject to a warning, and each subsequent violation of this Section shall be subject to a fine of $20. Each cart not in compliance with this Subsection shall be considered a separate violation.
(B) Each and every business establishments shall implement and maintain a system to retain all shopping carts within the property boundaries of the business establishment including its parking lot. The business establishment shall provide signage in a conspicuous location on the premises which clearly notifies shopping cart users of the specific retention system in place and how the retention system operates.
(C) Each method included in this Subsection shall be considered to be an example of an on-site retention method complying with these Sections. If the business establishment has a method for retention that is not delineated as an example herein, then an owner may submit a plan to the Commissioner of Inspectional Services that satisfies the intent of these Sections to retain shopping carts on the premises of the business establishment and/or its parking lot or to ensure the immediate retrieval of shopping carts outside of the business establishment and/or its parking lot; no plan submitted by an owner to the Commissioner of Inspectional Services shall be valid until approved in writing by the Commissioner of Inspectional Services. Examples of methods and/or plans are as follows:
(1) A physical barrier, such as bollards, restricting shopping carts to a portion of the exterior of the business establishment, but physical barriers shall not interfere with fire lanes, handicap access or similar building features;
(2) A protruding vertical arm, or other similar or similarly-functioning device, attached to the cart which prevents the cart from being removed from the interior of the business establishment;
(3) A system, which may be mechanical in nature, requiring the cart user to remit collateral, including, but not limited to, a returnable monetary deposit to use a shopping cart; the collateral shall be reasonable in scope and shall not unreasonably deter the use of the cart but instead encourages the user’s return of the cart; the collateral shall be returned to the user upon the user’s return of the cart;
(4) A wheel-locking mechanism installed on the cart that is commonly used in conjunction with an electronic barrier along the perimeter of a business establishment and which mechanism is activated upon the cart’s approach or passing through the electronic barrier;
(5) An attendant or attendants whose sole responsibility is to manage and/or return the business establishment’s shopping carts from the exterior premises of the business establishment and areas immediately adjacent thereto to the interior premises of the business establishment or another exterior area of the business establishment dedicated to the containment of shopping carts; and
(6) Other similar methods or plans submitted by an owner for the approval of the Commissioner of Inspectional Services which would satisfy the intent of these Sections to retain shopping carts on the premises of the business establishment and/or its parking lot or to ensure the immediate retrieval of shopping carts outside of the business establishment and/or its parking lot.
(D) No business establishment shall allow shopping carts to congregate or “stack up” in such a manner as to impede ingress to or egress from the business establishment or any public or private way adjacent to the business establishment.
(E) Prior to the close of each business day, every business establishment shall collect and secure its shopping carts on its premises, including its parking lot. This action shall be commenced no sooner than 15 minutes prior to the close of each business day.
(CBC 1985 16-8A.3; Ord. 2003 c. 24)
(A) Any unattended shopping cart found outside the perimeter of a business establishment or its parking lot may be removed and impounded by the Department of Public Works, the Inspectional Services Department or an Agent thereof. The enforcement personnel removing the cart shall make a written report that identifies himself or herself as well as the date, time and location of the cart at the time of the removal; this report may take the form of a tag attached to the cart; a copy of the report shall be immediately forwarded to the Commissioner of Inspectional Services.
(B) Within a reasonable time but not more than three business days after removal, the Commissioner of Inspectional Services shall notify the owner of the removed cart using the information provided on the permanent identity tag attached pursuant to Subsection16-12.8A.3(A). If the cart does not have a permanent identity tag, then the Commissioner of Inspectional Services may attempt to notify the owner of the removed cart if the identity of the owner is known or reasonably discernible. Any notification of removed and impounded shopping carts shall be made in writing and shall include the date of removal, the location of removal and the process for the owner’s retrieval of the cart.
(C) Any cart that does not have the permanent identity tag attached pursuant to Subsection 16-12.8A.3(A) and which is removed pursuant to these Sections is deemed to be abandoned property and the Commissioner of Inspectional Services may sell any such cart at public auction and the proceeds shall inure to the city, or destroy or otherwise dispose of any such cart.
(D) No person shall remove a shopping cart from a business establishment without the express written authorization of the business establishment. Any person that removes a shopping cart from a business establishment without the express written authorization of the business establishment, although subject to the criminal penalties in M.G.L. Chapter 266, Section 30A, shall also be subject to a civil fine in the amount of $50. The Boston Police Department shall have non-exclusive authority to enforce this Subsection.
(CBC 1985 16-12.8A.4; Ord. 2003 c. 24)
(A) An owner or an owner’s agent may retrieve a shopping cart removed pursuant to Subsection 16-12.8A.4 by appearing during normal business hours at the location in the notice required under Subsection 16-12.8A.4 and by paying:
(1) A fee for the removal of the carts in the amount of $20 for each of the first three carts and $40 for each additional cart thereafter; and
(2) A fee for the storage of the cart(s) in the amount of $5 per cart per day.
(B) The obligation of the Commissioner of Inspectional Services to release a shopping cart continues only as follows:
(1) If no hearing in accordance with Subsection 16-12.8A.7 has been timely and properly requested and the cart has not been retrieved, then the obligation of the Commissioner of Inspectional Services extends only 30 calendar days after notice of removal has been mailed; and
(2) If a hearing in accordance with Subsection 16-12.8A.7 has been timely and properly requested, then the obligation of the Commissioner of Inspectional Services extends only 15 calendar days after a notice of decision of the Commissioner of Inspectional Services has been made in accordance with Subsection 16-12.8A.7.
(C) Any shopping cart that has not been retrieved by an owner within the time periods contained in this Section shall be deemed to be permanently abandoned, and the Commissioner of Inspectional Services may, in said Commissioner’s sole discretion:
(1) Continue to release such carts to the owner in accordance with Subsection 16-12.8A.5(A);
(2) Sell such carts at public auction and the proceeds shall inure to the city; or
(3) Destroy or otherwise dispose of such carts.
(D) An owner that does not retrieve a cart and that has not petitioned for a hearing may be subject to additional fines and/or fees which may include a fee to dispose of the cart of $40.
(CBC 1985 16-12.8A.5; Ord. 2003 c. 24)
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