(a) Definitions.
(1) “Shopping cart” means a basket of metal, wood, wire, or other material mounted on wheels or a device similar thereto, such as are generally provided by merchants for carting or carrying merchandise of any nature within the merchant’s building that may be used to carry merchandise to customers’ automobiles.
(2) “Public place” includes the following: a street, sidewalk, avenue, road, alley, lane, highway, tree lawn, curb lane and any other public property or right of way located within the City.
(b) Every person, who by reason of their business establishment and procedure, makes shopping carts available to any member of the public, any customer or any other person, shall conspicuously identify such shopping carts with an identification clearly indicating the name of the person or establishment and location of the same.
(c) It shall be unlawful for any person to take or remove, without intent to return, any shopping cart from the premises, property, or adjacent parking lot of its owner without having first obtained the written consent of said owner or said owner’s authorized agent.
(d) The Department of Public Works shall remove any shopping cart found in any public place, storing the same within the City in a place of safekeeping until it shall be redeemed, sold, or otherwise disposed of as hereinafter provided.
(e) Whenever the City shall have removed any shopping cart bearing identification of ownership, the Department of Public Works shall mail a notice to the owner at the location shown on such shopping cart. Such notice shall advise that such payment to the Director of Finance in the sum of thirty dollars ($30.00) for each cart so redeemed and shall set forth the place for redemption of such shopping cart or carts and where possession of the same may be procured. Payment for redemption shall be made to the Department of Finance and a receipt shall be given therefor, which receipt shall entitle such owner to redeem at the place of storage thereon one or more carts as provided for in the receipt upon the surrender of same at the place of storage of such shopping cart or carts. No shopping cart shall be delivered to a person seeking to redeem the same.
(Ord. 80-05. Passed 12-4-2006.)
(f) Not less than thirty days after mailing the notice provided in subsection (e) hereof, or after the removal of a cart bearing no identification of ownership, the City may donate, recycle or otherwise dispose of such carts, at the discretion of the Director of Public Works. If the carts are to be donated, donations shall only be made to nonprofit organizations that have attained Section 501(c)(3) status under the Internal Revenue Code. The Director of Public Works shall document the number of carts disposed of and the manner of disposition.
(g) Whoever violates subsection (c) hereof is guilty of a minor misdemeanor for the first occurrence of such offense. Any subsequent violation by such person shall constitute a misdemeanor of the fourth degree.
(Ord. 52-09. Passed 7-6-2009.)