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(a) Definitions. In this section:
ABANDONED SHOPPING CART. Any shopping cart which has been removed from a retail establishment's premises and is unattended at the time of investigation. Abandoned shopping carts will be assumed to be the property of the retail business geographically closest to the cart's collection point based on logos, branding and/or retailer's name.
OWNER. A person that operates, manages, or controls the retail establishment.
PREMISES. The entire property owned or leased by the retail establishment, which provides shopping carts for use by its customers. In the case of a retail business located within a shopping center or shopping complex, the premises extend to include all parking areas and other common areas shared by the tenants therein.
SHOPPING CART. A basket that is mounted on wheels, or a similar device, generally used in a retail establishment by a customer to transport goods of any kind.
(b) Shopping cart identification. Owners of retail establishments providing shopping carts for customers may affix to the cart durable, weatherproof, and legible signs or markings identifying the name of the retail establishment. Retail establishments may employ unique color schemes and logos in lieu of the retail establishment's name.
(c) Shopping cart control plan.
(1) Following the impoundment of 16 or more abandoned shopping carts owned by any one retail establishment within a time period of six months, the code compliance director or designee may place the retail establishment on a Shopping Cart Control Plan and require the retail establishment to do any of the following to mitigate the loss of its shopping carts:
a. Install wheel locks on all retail establishment shopping carts; or
b. Affix to the carts a durable all-weather decal stating the following in legible letters:
IT IS AN OFFENSE PUNISHABLE BY A FINE UP TO $500 TO POSSESS THIS SHOPPING CART AT A LOCATION OTHER THAN ON THE PREMISES OF THE RETAIL ESTABLISHMENT THAT OWNS THIS SHOPPING CART.; or
c. Any other reasonable measures that the retail establishment and the director or designee may agree to.
(2) A retail establishment may only be released from a Shopping Cart Control Plan if the retail establishment complies with the requirements provided in the Shopping Cart Control Plan and the retail establishment does not have more than two shopping carts impounded by the city within a six month period after the effective date of the Shopping Cart Control Plan.
(d) Offenses.
(1) The owner commits an offense if the city has impounded 16 or more abandoned shopping carts owned by the retail establishment.
(2) A person commits an offense if they have failed to comply with any requirements stated in a Shopping Cart Control Plan.
(3) It is a defense to prosecution if the retail establishment has installed a functioning wheel-lock system on its shopping carts.
(e) Retrieval and impoundment.
(1) The city may collect and impound any abandoned shopping cart located on public property. In the event an abandoned shopping cart is found on public property and is damaged, no longer functional, has no legible identifying markings, or presents a public health and safety concern, the city may dispose of the cart immediately and in a method the Code Compliance Director or designee deems appropriate.
(2) An abandoned shopping cart collected and impounded by the city may be made available to the retail establishment for reclamation for a period of 30 days from the date provided in the notice to the owner of the impoundment at a designated location determined by the city.
(3) Each abandoned shopping cart collected and impounded by the City of Fort Worth will be released to an owner or employee of the retail establishment upon payment of a recovery fee to the city, which shall be established by city council. Each shopping cart shall be charged a separate recovery fee, A recovery fee shall not be assessed to any abandoned shopping cart that is collected and impounded, if it has a functioning wheel-lock system installed.
(4) In the event an abandoned shopping cart is not reclaimed within 30 days after the owner is notified of the impoundment, the city may dispose of the cart in a method the code compliance director or designee deems appropriate.
(f) Penalty. Any person violating the provisions of this section shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and shall be punished by a fine not to exceed $500.
(Ord. 26022-02-2023, § 1, passed 2-28-2023, eff. 3-7-2023)
§§ 11A-31—11A-51 RESERVED.
(a) The director is hereby authorized to give notice to the owner of any property upon which a nuisance under this division exists to abate the nuisance.
(b) If the owner of the property does not comply with an abatement notice issued by the director within ten days after the date the notice is received, the director may:
(1) Enter the property and do or cause to be done any work or improvements required to abate the nuisance; and
(2) Pay for the work or improvements done and charge the expenses to the owner of the property.
(c) The notice must be given:
(1) Personally to the owner in writing;
(2) By letter addressed to the owner at the owner’s post office address; or
(3) If personal service cannot be obtained or the owner’s post office address is unknown:
a. By publication at least twice within ten consecutive days;
b. By posting the notice on or near the front door of each building on the property to which the violation relates; or
c. By posting the notice on a placard attached to a stake driven into the ground on the property to which the violation relates, if the property contains no buildings.
(d) Notice will be deemed to have been received:
(1) For personal service, as of the date the notice was given personally to the owner;
(2) For mailed notice, three days after it was mailed;
(3) For notice by publication, on the date that the last notice was published in the official newspaper; or
(4) For notice by posting, ten days after notice was posted.
(e) The director in the notice of a violation may inform the owner by certified mail, return receipt requested, that if the owner commits another violation of the same kind or nature that poses a danger to the public health and safety on or before the first anniversary of the date of the notice, the city without further notice may correct the violation at the owner’s expense and assess the expense against the property.
(f) If a violation covered by a notice under subsection (e) above occurs within the one-year period, and the director has not been informed in writing by the owner of an ownership change, then the city without notice may take any action permitted by subsections (b)(1) and (b)(2) above.
(g) If a nuisance presents an immediate danger to the health, life or safety of any person or to the environment, the director may, without complying with the notice provisions of this section or without waiting the ten-day period, enter the subject property and:
(1) Do or cause to be done any work or improvements necessary to abate the nuisance and remediate and restore the environment; and
(2) Pay for the work or improvements done and charge the expenses to the owner of the property.
(Ord. 12931, § 1, passed 3-25-1997)
(a) Not later than the tenth day after the date the director abates a nuisance without prior notice under § 11A-52(g), the director shall give notice to the property owner in the manner required by § 11A-52.
(b) This notice shall contain:
(1) An identification, which is not required to be a legal description, of the property;
(2) A description of the violations that occurred on the property;
(3) A statement that the city abated the nuisance; and
(4) An explanation of the property owner’s right to request an administrative hearing about the city’s abatement of the nuisance.
(c) The director shall conduct an administrative hearing on the abatement of the nuisance under this section if, not later than the thirtieth day after the date of the abatement of the nuisance, the property owner files with the director a written request for a hearing.
(d) An administrative hearing conducted under this section shall be conducted not later than the twentieth day after the date a request for a hearing is filed. The owner may testify or present any witnesses or written information relating to the city’s abatement of the nuisance.
(Ord. 12931, § 1, passed 3-25-1997)
(a) All expenses incurred by the city to abate a nuisance, including the cost of giving notice as required, shall initially be paid by the city and charged to the owner of the property.
(b) To obtain a lien against the property, the director shall file a statement of expenses with the county clerk for the county in which the property is located. The lien statement shall state the name of the owner, if known, and the legal description of the property. The lien attaches upon the filing of the lien statement with the county clerk.
(c) The lien shall be security for the expenditures made and interest accruing at the rate of 10% per annum on the amount due from the date of payment by the city.
(d) The lien is inferior only to:
(1) Tax liens; and
(2) Liens for street improvements.
(e) A lien may not be filed against real estate protected by the homestead provisions of the Texas Constitution.
(Ord. 12931, § 1, passed 3-25-1997)
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