HomeMy WebLinkAboutORD 5145 Repealed by ORD 5509
CITY OF RENTON, WASHINGTON
ORDINANCE NO. �� a�
AN URDINANCE OF THE CITY OF RENTON,WASHINGTON,ADDING
A NEW SUBSECTION TO SECTION 5-1-2.F OF CHAPTER 1, FEE
SCHEDULE, OF 1TTLE V (FIlVANCE AND BUSINESS REGULATIONS)
AND A NEW CHAPTER, 6-27, SHOPPING CART REGULATION, TO
1TTLE VI (POLICE REGULATIONS) OF ORDINANCE NO. 4260
ENTITLED "CODE OF GENERAL ORDINANCES OF THE CITY OF
RENTON, WASHII�TGTON" RELATING TO ABANDONED SHOPPING
CARTS.
THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF RENTON, WASHINGTON, DOES ORDAIN
AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION I. Section 5-1-2.F of Chapter 1,Fee Schedule, of Title V(Finance
and Business Regulations)of Ordinance No. 4260 entitled"Code of Creneral Ordinances of the
City of Renton, Washington"is hereby amended by adding the following fee:
Review of Shopping Cart Containment and Retrieval Plans: $100
SECTION II. A new Chapter, 6-27, Shopping Cart Regulatioq of Title VI
{Police Regulations) of Ordinance No. 4260 entitled"Code of General Ordinances of the City of
Rentoq Washington" is hereby added, to read as follows:
6-27 SHOPPING CART REGULATION
SECTION:
6-27-1: PURPOSE
6-27-2: DECLARATION OF NUISANCE
6-27-3: SHOPPING CART CONTAINMENT AND RETRIEVAL PLANS;
APPLICABILITY
6-27-4: EXEMPTIONS
6-27-5: DEFII�TITIONS
�-27-6: SHOPPING CART CONTA►INMENT AND RETRIEVAL PLANS
, 6-27-7: RETRIE�7AL AND IlViPOUND PROCEDURES
6-27-8: FEES AND DISPOSITION OF CARTS
6-27-9: ILLEGAL POSSESSION OR ACCUMULATION OF CARTS
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o�nv�vcE No. 514 5
6-27-1. PURPOSE.
It is the primary purpose of this ordinance to provide for the prompt retrieval of lost,
stolen or abandoned shopping carts in order to promote public safety and improve the image and
appearance of the City. It is a purpose of this ordinance to have the owners and operators of
businesses providing shopping carts use the means available to them to deter, prevent or mitigate
the removal of shopping carts from their business premises. It is a further purpose of this
ordinance to prevent the illegal removal of shopping carts from the business premises, to prevent
the continued possession of illegally removed carts, and to prevent the accumulation of illegally
removed carts on public or private properties.
6-27-2. DECLARATION OF NUISANCE.
Retail establishments provide shopping carts for tne convenience of customers shopping
on the premises of the businesses. Shopping carts that have been removed from the premises of
the business and left abandoned on public or private property throughout the City constitute a
public nuisance and a potential hazard to the health and safety of the public. Shopping carts
' abandoned on public and private property can create conditions of blight in the commumty,
obstruct free access to sidewalks, streets and other right of ways, interfere with pedestrian and
vehicutar traffic on pathways, driveways, public and private streets, and impede emergency
services. It is for these reasons such lost, stolen, or abandoned shopping carts are hereby
declared to be a public nuisance which shall be subject to abatement in the manner set forth in
this chapter, or in any other manner provided by law.
For purposes of this chapter, any shopping cart located on any public or private property
other than the premises of the retail establishment from which such shopping cart was removed
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shall be presumed lost, stolen, or abandoned, even if in the possession of any person, unless such
person in possession thereaf is:
A. An Authorized Agent; or
B. Retrieval Personnel; or
C. Enforcement Personnel; or
D. An Authorized Customer. I
6-27-3. SHOPPING CART CONTATNMENT AND RETRIEVAL PLANS; I
APPLICABILITY.
Except as otherwise provided in this chapter, every owner who provides shopping carts to
customers for use on the premises of any retail establishment shall develap, implement and
comply with the provisions of a written Shopping Cart Containment and Retrieval Plan approved
by the City to provide for the containment of shopping carts on the premises of the retail
establishment (Shopping Cart Containment Plan), and for the retrieval of lost, stoleq or
abandoned shopping carts which have been removed from the premises of the retail
establishment (Shopping Cart Retrieval Plan).
6-27-4. EXEMPTIONS.
The requirements of this Chapter shall not apply to any retail establishment which
provides a total of 10 or fewer shopping carts for use by customers of such business, or which
retail establishment complies with the requirements of RMC 6-27-3. This Chapter shall not
apply to carts that aze removed for repair or maintenance.
6-27-5. DEFINITIONS.
Except as otherwise expressly set forth herein, the following words and terms as used in
this chapter shall have the following meaning:
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A. Authorized Agent: The owner, or an employee or authorized agent of the owner, entitled
to possession of the shopping cart.
B. Authorized Customer: A customer of the owner of the shopping cart, having the written
permission of the owner or owner's agent to remove the shopping cart from the owner's
premises. Such permission, however, shall contain a requirement that the cart be returned
immediately after its use.
C. Enforcement Personnel: Any police officer, code enforcement inspector, or designated
staff employed by the City of Renton.
D. Lost, Stolen, or Abandoned Shopping Cart: A shopping cart that is either:
1. Removed from the premises of a retail estabtishment by any person without the
written permission or consent of the owner of the shopping cart or the retailer otherwise entitled
to possession of such cart, or
2. Left unattended, discarded or abandoned upon any public or private property
other than the premises of the retail establishment from which the shopping cart was removed,
regardless of whether such shopping cart was removed from the premises with permission of the
owner.
3. For purposes of this chapter, any shopping cart located on any public or private
property other than the premises of the retail establishment from which such shopping cart was
removed shall be presumed lost, stolen, or abandoned, even if in the possession of any person,
unless such person in possession thereof is either:
a. The owner, or an employee or authorized agent of the owner,
entitled to possession of said shopping cart; or,
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ORDINANCE NO. 514 5
b. An officer, employee or agent of a cart retrieval service hired by
the owner to retrieve such carts; or,
c. City enforcement personnel retrieving, storing or disposing of said
ca.rt pursuant to the provisions of this code.
d. A customer with written permission from the owner or agent of the
owner to take the cart off premises.
E. Owner: Any person or entity, in connection with the conduct of a business who owns,
leases, possesses, or makes a shopping cart available to customers or the public.
F. Parking Area: A parking lot or other property provided by a retail establishment for the
use of customers of said retail establishment for the parking of customer vehicles. The parking
area of a retail establishment located in a multi-store complex or a shopping center shall include
the entire parking area used by the multi-store complex or shopping center.
G. Premises: Any building, property, or other area upon which any retail establishment
business is conducted or operat� in the City of Renton, including the parking area provided for
customers in such retail establishment.
H. Retail Establishment: Any business located in the City of Renton which offers or
provides shopping carts for the use of the customers of such business regardless of whether such
I business is advertised or operated as a retail or wholesale business, and regardless of whether I
such business is open to the general public, is a private club or business, or is a membership
store.
I. Retrieval Personnel: Those persons identified in the Shopping Cart Retrieval Plan as
providing cart retrieval services, whether employees of the business or independent contract
services.
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ORDINANCE NO. 514 5
J. `Shopping Cart' or `Cart': A basket which is mounted on wheels or a similar device
generally used in a retail establishment by a customer for the purpose of transporting goods of
any kind.
6-27-6 SHOPPING CART CONTAINMENT AND RETRIEVAL PLANS
A. Plans Required. Shopping Cart Containment and Retrieval Plans shall be required to be
filed with the Development Services Director either: within six(6) months of the opening of the
business; or, within six (6) months of the effective date of this ordinance. The plan sha11 include
sections detailing the store's strategy for preventing shopping carts from leaving the business site
and parking lot (Shopping Cart Containment), and defining the methods that will be
implemented to retrieve shopping carts abandoned off-site(Shopping Cart Retrieval).
B. Shopping Cart Containment Plans. Shopping Cart Containment Plans shall detail the
business' approach to retain carts on the property occupied by the business. At a minimum, each
Shopping Cart Containment Plan must demonstrate how the following requirements B.1 through
B.4 will be met.
' 1. Signs on carts required: Every shopping cart made available for use by customers
shall have a sign permanently affixed to it that includes the following information in accordance
with RCW 9A.56.270, as now enacted or hereafter amended:
a. Identification of the owner of the shopping cart or the name of the
business establishment, or both.
b. Notification to the public of the procedure to be utilized for authorized
removal of the cart from the business premises.
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c. Notification to the public that unauthorized removal of the cart from the
premises of the business, or the unauthorized possession of the cart, is a violation of City and
state law.
d. A current telephone to repo�t the location of the abandoned cart.
2. Notice to customers: Written notice shall be provided to customers, that the
removal of shopping carts from the premises is prohibited. Such notice may be provided in the
i rint on sho in ba s direct mail notices
form of flyers distnbuted on the premises, not ce p ed pp g g , ,
on business websites, or any other means demonstrated to be effective. Conspicuous signs shall
be placed and maintained on the premises near all customer entrances and exits and throughout
the premises, including the parking area, warning customers that removal of shopping carts from
the premises is prohibited by state and City law.
3. Employee training: The owner of the retail establishment shall implement and
maintain a periodic training program for new and existing employees designed to educate such
employees of the requirements of the Abandoned Cart Prevention Plan and the provisions of
state and City law prohibiting the unauthorized removal of shopping carts from the premises of
the retail establishment. !�
4. Measures to contain shopping carts on site: The owner of the retail establishment
may install specific physical measures on the carts or implemeirt other measures to prevent cart
removal from business premises. These measures may include, but are not limited to:
a. Installing disabling devises on all carts,
b. Posting store personnel to deter and stop customers who attempt to
remove carts from business premises,
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ORDINANCE NO. 514 5 �I
c. Installing bollards and chains around business entrances/e�uts to
prevent cart removal,
d. Requiring security deposits for use of all carts, or
e. Providing carts for rental or sale that can be temporarily or
permanently used for the purpose of transporting purchases.
5. Collaboration with other businesses: Two or more retail establishments located
within the same shopping or retail center or sharing a common parking area may collaborate and
submit a single Shopping�art Containment Plan.
C. Shopping Cart Retrieval Plan. Shopping Cart Retrieval Plans shall detail the business'
approach for retrieving shopping carts removed from the property occupied by the business. At a
minimum, each Shopping Cart Retrieval Plan must demonstrate how the following requirements
of subsection C will be met.
1. Retrieval personnel. The owner shall provide personnel for the purposes of the
retrieval of lost, stolen or abandoned shopping carts. Such personnel may be either employees of
the business or one or more independent contractors hired by the owner to provide shopping cart
retrieval services, or a combination of both. The Shopping Cart Retrieval Plan shall either:
(a) Identify the number of employees who will be assigned such cart retrieval
duties, the number of total hours per week that each assigned employee will perform such
services, and the training each of such personnel has received or will receive concerning the
retrieval of lost, stolen or abandoned shopping carts, or
(b) Include a copy of each contract with a cart retrieval service(other than
confidential financial information that may be retracted from the contract).
2. Prompt retrieval of carts. The owner shall:
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(a) Provide retrieval personnel in sufficient number to assure that all public
streets within a minimum one-half mile radius of the premises of the retail establishment are
patrolled not less often than every 72 hours.
(b) Immediately retrieve and remove each lost, stolen or abandoned shopping
cart owned or provided by the retail establishment which is found as a result of such patrols from
any public or private property upon which the cart is found.
3. Patrol area and resources. The Shopping Cart Retrieval Plan shall:
(a) Identify the streets and bus stops which will be patrolled as required by
this subsection as well as the manner, frequency, and times of such patrols. 'I
(b) Include information such as the number of trucks, hours of operation and i�
retrieval personnel, as reasonably required by the City to assure that the owner is devoting
sufficient resources to cart retrieval operation to comply with the approved Shopping Cart
Containment Plan.
D. Plan Submittal and City Review
l. Plan review and decision. Upon the filing of any proposed plan pursuant to this
chapter, and receipt of the required $100 processing fee, the Development Services Director shall
review said proposed plan and either: 1) approve, 2) approve with conditions, or 3) deny the
Abandoned Shopping Cart Prevention Plan. 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. The owner
may appeal a decision of the Development Services Director to the Hearing Examiner in the time
and manner provided in RMC 4-8-110.
2. Amendments by owner. The owner of any retail establishment which has an
approved Abandoned Shopping Cart Prevention Plan conforming to the requirements of this
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ORDINANCE NO. 514 5
chapter may, at any time, submit a proposed amendment to the approved plan, which shall be
processed and a decision issued within fourteen (14) calendar days following the receipt thereof
by the Development Services Director.
3. Implementation of plan. The proposed measures shall be implemented no later
than ninety (90) days after City approval is given, unless otherwise stated in the decision
approving the plan. Unless otherwise agreed, any modifications to the plan imposed by the City
shall be implemented within ninety (90) days after the City notifies the owner of the needed
modifications.
E. Appeals.
1. Filing of appeal. Any owner aggrieved by any adverse decision of the
Development Services Director pursuant to this chapter may appeal such decision within
fourteen (14) calendar days foltowing the date of such decision by filing with the Hearing
Examiner or City Clerk a written notice of appeal briefly stating the grounds for such appeal.
The notice of decision sha11 be deemed filetl on the date the $75.00 appeal processing fee has
been paid. No appeal shall be accepted for filing and processing by the Development Services
Director unless accompanied by the appeal processing fee.
2. Notice of hearing. If the appeal is timely filed, the Examiner shall cause the
matter to be set for hearing. The appellant shall be provided not less than 10 calendar days I
written notice of the date, time and place of the hearing. The Hearing Examiner shall conduct
the hearing pursuant to the provisions of RMC 4-8-110.
F. Failure to File Shopping Cart Containment and Retrieval Plan:
Failure to timely file a Shopping Cart Containment Plan or a Shopping Cart Retrieval
Plan shall be illegal and an infraction punishable under RMC 1-3-2. ',
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6-27-7. RETRIEVAL AND IMPOIJND PROCEDURES.
A. Retrieval of Shopping Carts. The City may immediately retrieve any lost, stolen or
abandoned shopping cart within the City where the location thereof will impede emergency
services. The City may immediately retrieve any lost, stolen or abandoned cart within the City
which does not have the required sign affixed to it. The City may retrieve any lost, stolen or
abandoned shopping cart within the City which has the sign �xed thereto after providing the
requisite notice to the owner, retailer, or agent, unless such notice has been voluntarily waived by
the owner, retailer, or agent.
B. Impoundment with Notice. Enforcement personnel may impound a shopping cart which
has a sign affixed to it as described above, if both of the following conditions have been
satisfied.
I. Location outside of premises. The shopping cart is located outside the premises
or parking area of a retail establishment, and,
2. Failure to retrieve cart. The shopping cart is not retrieved within one(1)day from I
the date the owner of the shopping cart, or its agent, receives actual notice from the City of the '
shopping cart's discovery. ,
C. Impoundment without Notice. A shopping cart may be impounded without notice if one '�,
of the following conditions is satisfied.
1. Hazardous location. If a shopping cart will impede emergency services, or the
normal flow of vehicular or pedestrian traffic, or is on private property, City enforcement
personnel are authorized to immediately retrieve the shopping cart from public or private
property and impound it; or,
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2. Lack of identification. If a shopping cart does not have the required identification
sign affixed thereto, City enforcement personnel are authorized to immediately retrieve the
shopping cart from the public or private property and impound it.
6-27-8. FEES &DISPOSITION OF CARTS
A. Failure to retrieve carts. The City may impound any shopping cart not retrieved by its
owner after the owner has received the City's one-day verbal notice.
B. Impounded carts. The City shall charge a fee to the owner of a shopping cart if the owner
fails to retrieve its impounded shopping cart(s)after receiving notice from the City in the amount
of a $50 fine for each cart. Each cart the City collects shall constitute a separate violation.
However, any owner having installed a locking device on its carts, and that locking device has
been disabled by other than the owner, then that cart shall be exempt from the $50 fine.
C. Disposition of carts. The City may sell or otherwise dispose of any cart not reclaimed
from the City within 30 days from the date of the City's notification to the owner.
E I R ACCUMULATION OF CARTS
6-27-9. ILLEGAL POSS SS ON O
A. Any person removing a shopping cart from the premises of an owner, without the written
permission of the owner or the owner's authorized agent, shall be guilty of theft in the 3`�degree,
which is a misdemeanor.
B. Any owner or lessee of residential property that knowingly allows one or more shopping
carts to remain on the leased property without written permission of the owner of the shopping
cart or the owner's authorized agent, is guilty of possession of stolen property in the 3rd degree,
which is a gross misdemeanor. The owner or lessee shall be exempt from the provisions of this
ordinance if the owner or lessee contacts the owner of the cart(s) weekly until the carts are
removed and asks that the carts be retrieved, keeping a record of such contact.
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C. Any owner of multi-family housing which allows an accumulation of three or more
shopping carts upon the multi-family premises shall be guilty of a nuisance. Such accumulation
shall be illegal, and an infraction under RMC 1-3-2, and punishable thereunder. There shall be
an exemption for the owner of any multi-family housing who has sent a letter to all tena.nts, on a
quarterly basis, advising the tenants to not leave shopping carts on the premises of the multi-
family property and who has kept a record of such letters. The owner of the multi-family
housing, to claim this exemption, must also contact the owner of the carts weekly until the carts
are removed, and ask that the carts be retrieved, keeping a record of the date and time of such
contact.
D. Any owner of commercial or industrial property which allows the accumulation of one or
more shopping carts, not maintained as part of the business, shall be guilty of a nuisance. Such
accumulation shall be illegal, and an infraction under RMC 1-3-2, and punishable thereunder.
The owner of the commercial or industrial property may ctaim an exemption from this infraction.
To claim this exemption, the owner must contact the owner of the carts weekly until the carts are
removed and ask that the carts be retrieved, keeping a record of the date and time of such
contact.
SECTION IIL This ordinance shall be effective upon its passage,
approval, and 30 days after publication.
PASSED BY THE CITY COIJNCIL this 13 th day of June , 2005.
�C�-i��/ l.tla,�t.o-ri-�
Bonnie I. Walton, City Clerk
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ORDINANCE NO. 514 5
APPROVED BY THE MAYOR this 13 th day of ,Tune , 2005.
���,�
Kathy K olker-Wheeler, Mayor
Apgroved as to form:
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Lawrence J. Wanen, City Attorney
Date of Publication: 6/17/2 0 0 5 (s ummary)
ORD.1165:5/24/OS:ma
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