This is a Council Study Issue suggested by staff for Council consideration due to complaints from Sunnyvale residents.  Public Works receives several calls a day from residents reporting and/or complaining about shopping carts abandoned throughout the City.  Public Works staff has limited capabilities to respond to calls about abandoned shopping carts due to budget-related service level reductions, as well as restrictions under State law.  The City of Sunnyvale does not have an ordinance, which most neighboring cities have created for themselves, about the control and enforcement of shopping cart abandonment.  There are some models available that other cities have put in place, with varying levels of approval and success.

Possible ways and procedures to deal with abandoned shopping carts are included in this report and presented for Council consideration.  Also included are some options for next steps in preparing an ordinance to deal with the issue.

Staff recommends that City Council issue an ordinance declaring that abandoned shopping carts constitute a nuisance/danger/blight, and that removing carts from business premises is unlawful.  The recommended ordinance would require that: businesses take steps to prevent carts from being taken from their premises; submit a plan to the City for approval; stipulate a time frame for stores to comply with the filing of a plan, and consequences for not complying with such a plan.  The ordinance would also include alternative solutions by businesses, recourses for property owners, and consequences for failing to comply with the approved plan.

BACKGROUND

Prompted by the many calls and complaints from residents that Public Works had been receiving, staff proposed that a study issue be presented to Council concerning shopping carts abandoned on city streets and private property.  Based upon a review of proposed study issues at a special meeting on December 15, 2005, Council approved this topic to be a study issue in 2006. 

In the past, Public Works’ field staff, during the course of their regular duties, would monitor the streets, medians and downtown regularly, or respond to specific calls to pick up abandoned shopping carts.  The carts would then be returned to the owners’ parking lots.  Most often the store operators were not aware of this service, and the City was never reimbursed for the expenses it incurred.  The result was that store owners had no incentive to keep control of their shopping carts.  Other City staff would take abandoned carts to the Corporation Yard, or to a storage area under the Wolfe overpass, and leave the carts there. 

In FY 2003/04, due to budget constraints, Council reduced service levels and Public Works staff stopped picking up carts except where they represented a hazard. 

In 2004 the Department of Public Works began receiving numerous calls complaining about the increased presence of abandoned shopping carts in residential neighborhoods.  Staff was not prepared to deal with this number of calls.  There was no one assigned to pick up the carts, nowhere approved for the storage of carts, and no plan in place for coordinating with the businesses about their carts. In the past this might be a problem for Neighborhood Preservation, or Economic Development to respond to, depending upon the perspective of the residents or the businesses.  Public Works had previously dealt with abandoned carts as debris, and was therefore looked upon as the department to deal with the issue.  Staff created an “Abandoned Shopping Cart Hot Line” by merging it with the Graffiti Hot Line, and taking over response duties from Neighborhood Preservation.  Public Works then dealt with the problem essentially along the lines of the state law.   A few businesses installed locks on the wheels of their carts.  Most of the bigger stores have contracted with specialized cart retrieval companies (there are at least 3 that operate in the vicinity of Sunnyvale) to return carts to the store for a fee.  When calls came in reporting cart sightings, staff would call the appropriate retrieval company or business to pick up the cart, and provide three days for the stores to respond.  If they did not, then staff picked up the cart and took it to the Corporation Yard.

Council had also requested in FY 2003/04 that staff investigate whether the City could generate income through the collecting and returning of abandoned shopping carts.  However, Public Works found State law generally preempted the field of shopping carts regulations.  Cities can only enact their own laws as long as there is no express conflict with State law.  Section 22435 of the California Business and Professions Code establishes the provisions regarding removal of shopping carts from the owner’s premises.  Subsection 22435.2 specifically states that removal, possession or abandonment of a shopping cart by non-owners is unlawful, and any person who violates these provisions is guilty of a misdemeanor.

Subsection 22435.7 sets up the guidelines for local governments dealing with abandoned carts.  The law gives the owner of an abandoned shopping cart three business days from the date it receives notice of the shopping cart’s discovery and location to retrieve it.

The law also establishes that the City has the right to immediately impound an abandoned shopping cart and recover actual costs only when the cart impedes emergency services.  In any other cases, a cart removed from the street by Sunnyvale staff must be held at a location that is both reasonably convenient to the owner of the shopping cart, and open for business at least six hours of each business day.  If the owner picks up the cart within three working days from the date of notice, the law prohibits local agencies from recovering any costs. 

Carts not claimed by owner within 30 days after the date of notice can be sold or disposed of by the City.  The law does authorize some fines for businesses that fail to retrieve their abandoned carts, but only if the three-day grace period is exceeded more than three times within six months. 

As the number of resident calls and complaints involving abandoned shopping carts increased, Public Works staff found themselves hampered in their efforts to respond to residents’ requests for removal of shopping carts by the lack of any related City ordinance and procedures, and by current State law.  The problem continued to grow, and residents became more and more vocal in their resentment of the presence of abandoned carts in their neighborhoods.  This prompted staff to suggest a Council Study Issue to review the conditions as they have developed and been dealt with, to date, by staff, and consider if Council direction regarding development of an ordinance and related procedures would be appropriate.

EXISTING POLICY

Goal B of the Housing and Community Revitalization Sub-element: Ensure a high quality living and working environment. 

Policy B.1: Continue to encourage property owners to maintain existing developments in a manner which enhances the City.

Action Statement B.2.a.: The City should review existing codes, ordinances and use permit conditions with the possibility of increasing enforcement or developing new codes where neighborhood and community preservation issues are involved.

DISCUSSION

Some commercial businesses provide shopping carts, intended for use on the premises, for the convenience of their customers.  In some cases, however, customers use the carts to transport their purchased goods to their home, a bus stop, or some other location closer to their destination.  The abandoned carts become a nuisance for residents in the vicinity of the abandonment point, and may be obstacles to pedestrian and vehicular traffic on the sidewalks and streets of the City.  They are unsightly and create the image of a community that is cluttered with debris and abandoned equipment or vehicles.

Most cities have ordinances declaring abandoned shopping carts nuisances, potential hazards and blight promoters; Sunnyvale does not.  These ordinances address the issue of shopping carts in different ways.  Some give the cities the ability to require a plan from businesses to prevent the removal of carts from their premises and to quickly retrieve them from streets when abandoned.

Existing Ordinances and Laws

Field Services staff, together with the Office of the City Attorney, has researched California state laws, and some of the ordinances and procedures of other jurisdictions in the Bay Area, and other California cities with similar issues. 

Local governments no longer have the ability to collect abandoned shopping carts and dispose of them as debris without providing recovery time by the store.  Absent any other restriction, businesses that provide shopping carts for the convenience of shoppers are provided a minimum of three working days to collect their carts with no financial consequences.  If the owner has not responded for 30 days after date of contact regarding an abandoned shopping cart, then the cart can be disposed of by the entity in possession. 

Some cities have taken more direct action, in conformance with state law.

—   Most cities contacted have ordinances that define an “abandoned cart” and declare abandoned shopping carts to be nuisances, potential hazards to vehicles and pedestrians, and blight promoters.

—   Cities with ordinances require businesses providing carts to their customers to have some plan or program to prevent removal of carts from their premises.  Some also require a plan for the speedy retrieval of carts if they are removed.

—   Stores are required by California Business and Professions Code section 22435 et. seq. to have a permanent sign attached to shopping carts with the name of the owner, a phone number to call if the cart is found abandoned and/or a return address, and a notification to the public stating that removal of the cart from the store’s premises is unlawful.  Some cities also state in their ordinance that if a cart is found without the information required it will be disposed of as debris, which is permitted by the referenced code.

—   Several cities also require businesses to have signs posted prominently near doors and parking lot exits stating that removal of carts is prohibited and constitutes a violation of the law.  

Public Outreach

Locally, staff sent letters to businesses that provide carts to their customers, to homeowner associations, and to cart recovery companies doing business in Sunnyvale, requesting input on the issue.  Businesses were surveyed about their experiences with their carts, and how important the issue was to them.  All were invited to special meetings to provide input to the City’s investigation into the situation, and how it was viewed from different sides.  Of the 22 business locations that we are aware of with carts, 19 responded to our letters and calls.  Four have locks on their wheels, five stated that they had a definite problem with carts being taken, five said it was not a problem for them and they were not interested.  Only two businesses attended a special meeting we scheduled for feedback (Target and Trader Joe’s).

Staff has also attended several neighborhood association meetings regarding this issue, and scheduled one special meeting for anyone interested in the issue.  Turnout was low for the special meeting, but at neighborhood meetings concerns were expressed about the increase in the number of carts seen abandoned, mainly on City sidewalks.

Some feedback we received from the meetings included:

—         Contrary to some popular beliefs, homeless people who appropriate shopping carts for their use are generally not the major cause of abandoned carts.  Some residents who do not have transportation apparently take the carts to their home or to a bus stop, and abandon them in the area.  Some businesses believe they offer their customers a service by providing them with shopping carts for this purpose, and think of it as a way to achieve customer loyalty.  This is why, even though many residents would like to see police enforce the law, businesses would rather see this happen only when involving people other than customers.  Other businesses feel differently because they suffer large expenses due to having to replace carts taken from their property.

—         Some areas of the City are more affected than others, depending on neighborhood characteristics such as proximity to stores, bus stops, and apartment complexes.  Depending on their location, some stores have more problems than others with lost carts. 

—         Most businesses have a contract with a cart retrieval company.  There are at least three such services working in the vicinity of Sunnyvale.

—         Most feedback we received from residents indicated that they would like stores to implement some measures to stop their customers from taking carts from the premises such as wheel locks, area blocks, courtesy clerks, etc.  They would also like businesses to post signs in various languages letting customers know that it is against the law to remove the carts.  (Obviously we were not hearing back from the people who actually take the carts from the store premises.)

—         Though some store managers apparently do not think that wheel locks will work, other stores have embraced this solution.  While there are ways to circumvent the wheel locks, stores that have carts equipped with wheel locking devices generally report a dramatic decrease in the number of carts being removed from their property.

—         Some store managers indicated that they would support a plan for the City to handle or coordinate cart retrieval companies, or maybe even contract with one company for the whole city.  They would agree to pay a (small) fee in order for the City to do it, if necessary.

How Large is This Problem

After Public Works stopped picking up the carts, and the calls from the public started to increase, Public Works contacted businesses to find out which had a contract with a retrieval company, and which employed their own staff to pick up their carts, abandoned in the neighborhood.  Subsequently a hotline was set up (merged into the graffiti hot line) to receive residents’ complaints regarding abandoned shopping carts, and staff monitored the calls and contacted the retrieval company or store responsible for the carts’ collection.  A database was set up to keep track of the calls and check the performance of the retrieval companies and stores.  As a measure of the size of this problem, from the end of September, 2004 to date (May 2006) more than 1,300 abandoned carts have been reported, while many more are still abandoned on city streets in areas where nobody has taken the time to call.

Who is Impacted

In effect, there are several constituencies involved in this issue.  One is the stores, who are not all on the same side of the issue.  Most are concerned about carts that disappear from their premises, never to return.  However, they are also concerned with the cost of any special devices that might be effective in limiting the removal of the carts.  Other store owners are concerned that they might lose customers if the carts are not allowed to leave the property.  Some shoppers might be prone to shift to a different store that does not have restrictive policies or devices.  Which brings us to the people who take the carts from the property.  In most cases, these people are residents, or visitors, who feel they do not have an alternative transportation option.  Whether they do not drive, do not have a car, happen into a store while on a walk, or for whatever reason, they find the carts to be handy to transport their purchased items to their home, or to a bus stop.

Then there are the neighbors in areas where the carts are abandoned, who feel that their neighborhood is being devalued.  They do not feel they should have to see the carts in their neighborhood.  They don’t like the carts abandoned in their front yard, or on the sidewalk in front of their home, by others who have used them and left them.  These are the residents who have been vocal and active on this matter.  Their concern and activity are what prompted staff to initiate this study issue.

Obviously another involved segment of our society are those who use the carts once they have been taken from the stores, for some purpose other than carrying purchased goods to a specific destination.  This includes those who carry all their possessions with them in rolling carts, children of all ages who play in carts, racing or riding them, parents who use them to carry children, to stores or to other locations.  These users may feel they are exempt from responsibility, because they are not the one who removed the cart from the store premises.

Possible Solutions

At least one neighborhood association has recommended the use of collapsible carts for residents who require the use of some kind of cart.  They were looking into subsidizing the cost of such carts, and perhaps sharing the cost with businesses in their neighborhood.  Such a plan has merit.  Part of the challenge would be in convincing those who currently take carts from stores that they can do as well, or better, with the personal, collapsible cart.  We have heard that these personal carts are not very sturdy, and become a nuisance to their owner, which could wind up generating more debris, or solid waste.  A sturdier cart would tend to not be as collapsible, and therefore might become a space wasting item for the resident.  However, such collapsible carts could play a part in an overall solution.

A number of options are possible to deal with the issue.  In order to meet the needs of as many of these groups as possible, some combination of options will probably prove to be the best solution.  With the concurrence of Council, Public Works will then work with the Office of the City Attorney to develop an ordinance to deal with the issue.  Possible options are:

A.           Require all businesses with carts to submit to the City a plan for how they will control their carts, and keep them from being abandoned in public rights-of-way, or on other private property. 

B.            Allow some means for a business that is willing to let carts be used by customers to take goods to their homes to provide that service, as long as such carts do not become abandoned.

C.           Provide options for residents who have limited means to convey goods to their home with some alternative to taking carts without permission.

D.           Determine some level of enforcement against persons taking carts from business premises, or persons found playing with or on carts away from the business location.

E.            Hold businesses responsible for any misuse, or the consequences of such misuse, of one of their carts, including injuries and damage.

F.            Determine how to deal with businesses from outside Sunnyvale, whose carts are found on City right-of-way.

FISCAL IMPACT

Currently, staff time for dealing with abandoned shopping carts is charged by Field Services to an activity in Program 116 Pavement Operations.  This budget of $4,600 was exceeded in FY 04-05 by 73%, and is currently projected to finish about 40% over budget.  This does NOT include charges by other Public Works divisions (such as Trees and Landscaping), or dealing with carts in City parks by Parks and Recreation staff.  The Field Services cost overruns are occurring even while staff attempts to hold costs to a minimum.  This includes maximizing the use of telephone contact with stores and retrieval companies, and minimizing field staff pick-up of carts and patrolling of streets for carts.

Alternative solutions are estimated to cost $8,000 to $30,000 annually.  Proposals may include options of paying for this totally by the City, or charging businesses to review plans and respond to calls concerning their carts.  Penalties charged to individuals taking carts, or found playing on carts are not considered a significant source of income.  Any alternative would need to be monitored to verify accuracy of the estimates.

CONCLUSION

This report explores some of the impacts of abandoned shopping carts on City streets and private property.  While it has become evident to City staff that this issue is very important to the residents, it is also clear that a solution that satisfies all the sectors in our community will not be easy to achieve. Staff suggests that an ordinance be created to deal with the problem.  Several alternative plans are presented.

PUBLIC CONTACT

Public contact was made through posting of the Council agenda on the City’s official notice bulletin board, posting of the agenda and report on the City’s web page, and the availability of the report in the City Clerk’s office, Library, Parks and Recreation Administration office, Corporation Yard, Community Center and Senior Center.  Neighborhood associations that have expressed an interest in this issue, and businesses on our list of those with shopping carts were also contacted directly.

ALTERNATIVES

Alternatives offered by staff are:

1.        City Council adopts an ordinance declaring that abandoned shopping carts constitute a nuisance/danger/blight, and that removing carts from business premises is unlawful.  The ordinance would require that businesses take steps to prevent carts from being taken from their premises, and submit a plan to the City for approval.  The ordinance should stipulate a time frame for stores to comply with the filing of a plan, and consequences for not complying with such a plan.  The ordinance would also include alternative solutions by businesses, recourses for property owners, and consequences to businesses for failing to comply with the approved plan.  Estimated cost of this proposal is $22,000 per year, partially offset by charges for plan review and penalties for violating an approved plan.  Costs may decrease if the plan is successful in preventing the removal and abandonment of carts on City rights-of-way.

2.         Do nothing new, and continue to operate a hot line for residents to call to report carts seen away from their stores.  Pick up carts only after they have not been picked up by a business or retrieval company within three days.  Estimated cost, currently impacting the Pavement Operations Program, is about $8,000, and involves 150 hours of various personnel, none reimbursed by businesses.

3.        Continue to operate a hot line for residents to call to report carts seen away from their stores.  Pick up carts only after they have been not been picked up by a business or retrieval company within three days.  Identify a place to store and protect them, label and call the stores as stipulated in the California Business and Professions Code, disposing of carts after holding them for 30 days, without holding businesses accountable, other than charging a penalty if they do not pick up their carts within three days more than three times per six-month period.  To correctly proceed under this option, many telephone contacts and additional bookkeeping would be required to accurately track holding times, stores responsible, billing responsibility and program management.  Total estimate is approximately 400 worker hours, with a total cost of about $20,000, none reimbursed by businesses.

4.        Have City staff go back to picking up carts and returning them to the business property, getting them off the streets as soon as possible without regard to responsibility.  Such a return to the City’s former practice would result in an estimated cost of about $28,000 and include 550 hours, mostly of field personnel, tracking all related time for this type of response.

5.        A City-coordinated approach, either through Neighborhood Preservation, Economic Development, or Public Works, whereby the City coordinates a plan, paid for by all businesses that have carts.  This plan would include use of the hot line and a retrieval company employed by the City, which would be required to respond on a City-designated schedule (such as 24 hours).  Stores would be charged based upon the number of carts they have, plus an additional fee for any carts that must be retrieved.  All costs to the City and the retrieval company would be recovered by the referenced fees.  If businesses were not charged for this service and the City were to provide the coordination and service, the cost is estimated at about $22,000, which includes a contract between the City and a retrieval company.

6.         Publish a list of businesses with carts, including a phone number, and request that residents call the stores directly, ask for a manager, and report the cart to the store.  The cost for this is minimal ($500), but staff would still expect calls from irate residents when their complaints did not get resolved in a speedy way.  This could also be included with any other alternative, as an option for residents.

7.         Make personal collapsible carts available to interested residents, obtaining said carts through grants, neighborhood groups, stores, or budgeted City funds, to be determined, for use in shopping and bringing goods home without the use of a business-owned cart.  If a grant were not available the cost of such an option would depend upon the popularity of the carts, and would not eliminate the problem with individuals who still remove carts from the premises.  The problem would just be on a somewhat reduced scale.  Total cost, including purchase of carts and follow-up on carts that still show up abandoned estimated at $30,000.

8.        Stop doing anything, including cease operating a hot line, and leave the abandoned carts to the stores to pick up, including responding to the public.  It is expected that this impact would affect only office staff and no field staff.  Staff would expect numerous calls from angered residents.  In most cases staff would direct their requests to the stores responsible, when known, making it clear that the control of the shopping carts is totally the responsibility of the businesses that own and operate the carts.  Estimated impact is 100 clerical and management hours per year, plus some response for carts in hazardous areas, with an estimated annual cost of about $8,000.

RECOMMENDATION

Staff recommends a combination of Alternatives 1 and 5: City Council adopts an ordinance declaring that abandoned shopping carts constitute a nuisance/danger/blight, and that removing carts from business premises is unlawful.  The ordinance would require that businesses take steps to prevent carts from being taken from their premises, and submit a plan to the City for approval.  The ordinance should stipulate a time frame for stores to comply with the filing of a plan, and consequences for not complying with such a plan.  The ordinance would also include alternative solutions by businesses, recourses for property owners, and consequences to businesses for failing to comply with the approved plan. For carts that are found on public rights-of-way a City-coordinated approach, either through Neighborhood Preservation, Economic Development, or Public Works, whereby the City coordinates a plan, paid for by all businesses that have carts.  This plan would include use of the hot line and a retrieval company employed by the City, which would be required to respond on a City-designated schedule (such as 24 hours).  Stores would be charged based upon the number of carts they have, plus an additional fee for any carts that must be retrieved.  All costs to the City and the retrieval company would be recovered by the referenced fees.  If businesses were not charged for this service and the City were to provide the coordination and service, the cost is estimated at about $22,000, which includes a contract between the City and a retrieval company.

This alternative combination is recommended as a solution that recognizes the importance and value of living in an attractive city, and the negative impact of a streetscape littered with carts that should not be there.  It puts the responsibility on businesses for controlling their carts, and for those businesses to determine the manner in which they will provide that control.  The recommended alternative also provides for a plan to promptly recover carts from City rights-of-way, to minimize the impact of carts that are taken from a business location. 

If this alternative is approved by the City Council, staff intends to work with the affected business owners and interested neighborhood representatives to develop the requirements of an ordinance and bring proposed language to Council within six months, with a target date of January 1, 2007 for the ordinance to take effect.  Staff involved in developing a solution will coordinate internally with Public Works, Community Development, City Attorney, Public Safety, Parks and Recreation and Finance to be as complete as possible in identifying internal impacts, appropriate responsibilities, staffing and enforcement.

Reviewed by:

Marvin A. Rose, Director, Department of Public Works

Prepared by: James G. Craig, Superintendent of Field Services

Approved by:

Amy Chan

City Manager

Attachments

A.     Study Issue Paper: Abandoned Shopping Carts – Create ordinance and procedure for dealing with shopping carts from stores that are left abandoned on public and non-(cart)owner private property, # DPW-02 (.pdf)

B.      California Business and Professions Codes section 22435 et. seq. (.pdf)

C.  List of Sunnyvale (and some neighboring community) businesses that have carts for their customers (.pdf)