9.32.040 Retrieval, storage and disposal of shopping carts.
A. The city may immediately retrieve any lost, stolen, or abandoned shopping cart within the city where the location of the shopping cart will impede emergency services.
B. If the shopping cart has the name or other identifying marks of any retail establishment or person thereon, the city shall attempt to notify such establishment or person of the retrieval and location of the shopping cart and provide an opportunity for such establishment or person to establish ownership or the right to possession of the retrieved shopping cart to the custodian. In addition, if the shopping cart was retrieved from private property, the city shall attempt to notify the owner or occupant, if any, of such property and provide an opportunity for such owner or occupant to establish ownership or the right to possession of the retrieved shopping cart to the custodian.
C. The city may immediately retrieve any lost, stolen or abandoned shopping cart within the city which shopping cart does not have the required identification affixed.
D. The city may immediately retrieve any lost, stolen, or abandoned shopping cart within the city which shopping cart has the required identification affixed thereto, provided the city provides notice to the owner of the shopping cart, or his or her agent, within twenty-four hours of retrieval, unless such notice has been voluntarily waived by the owner or his or her agent.
E. Any shopping cart retrieved by the city shall be impounded and removed to the cart storage yard.
F. Any shopping cart impounded by the city shall be stored and disposed of as follows:
1. The public works personnel retrieving the shopping cart shall attach a tag thereto, or make a written report, identifying the date, time, and general location where the shopping cart was removed as well as the name of the enforcement personnel who retrieved the shopping cart.
2. The shopping cart shall be delivered and custody thereof given to the custodian at the cart storage yard.
G. The shopping cart shall be released to any establishment or person who submits evidence satisfactory to the custodian to prove ownership or the right to possession of the shopping cart.
H. Notwithstanding subsection D of this section, where notice to the owner cannot be provided within twenty-four hours, any shopping cart not reclaimed by the owner within three business days following the date of actual notice shall be subject to the applicable removal and storage fees commencing on the fourth business day following the date of the notice. Notice of such fees shall be noted in the initial notice.
I. No fee shall be required in any instance where the owner or person entitled to possession of the shopping cart proves to the satisfaction of the custodian that said shopping cart was not a lost, stolen, or abandoned shopping cart within the meaning of this chapter.
J. Any shopping cart not reclaimed by the owner within thirty days of the date the cart was first removed may be sold at public auction. If, in the reasonable determination of the city’s purchasing officer, the shopping cart or part thereof has no resale value, it may be destroyed or sold as salvage. (Ord. 694 §1, 2018).