5.25.040 Shopping carts – Finding – Impoundment of shopping carts by local agencies – Conditions – Emergencies – Costs – Fines – Disposal of unclaimed carts – Applicability.
A. A shopping cart that does not have any identification affixed to it in accordance with A.R.S. § 44-1799.32 or MCC 5.25.030 is deemed a public nuisance and may be immediately abated by the city by impoundment of the shopping cart.
B. A shopping cart that has a sign affixed to it in accordance with A.R.S. § 44-1799.32 or MCC 5.25.030 may be impounded by the city provided all of the following conditions are met:
1. The shopping cart is located outside the premises or parking area of a retail establishment. The parking area of a retail establishment located in a multistore complex or shopping center includes the parking area used by the complex or center.
2. The shopping cart is not retrieved within three business days after the date the owner of the shopping cart, or the owner’s agent, receives actual notice from the city of the shopping cart’s discovery and location.
C. If the location of the shopping cart will impede emergency services, obstruct vehicle traffic or create a safety hazard to the public on a public right-of-way, the city may immediately retrieve the shopping cart from public or private property. It shall be presumed that a shopping cart blocking a sidewalk or bicycle path is a safety hazard to the public.
D. The city shall recover its costs for impounding a shopping cart pursuant to subsection (B) of this section in the amount of twenty-five dollars ($25.00) per shopping cart.
E. The city shall post on its website the address and telephone number of the location where a shopping cart may be claimed and the hours that the location is open for business in accordance with A.R.S. § 44-1799.33.
F. The owner of a shopping cart or retailer shall retrieve a shopping cart impounded pursuant to subsection (B) of this section within one business day after receiving notice.
The owner of a shopping cart or retailer who has had more than three occurrences, within a six-month period, of shopping carts being impounded and failing to retrieve the shopping carts within one business day after receiving notice shall be charged a civil penalty of fifty dollars ($50.00) in addition to any applicable impound fees. An occurrence includes all shopping carts impounded in accordance with this section in a one-day period.
G. A shopping cart that is not reclaimed from the city within 30 days after receipt of a notice of the impound by the owner of the shopping cart may be sold or otherwise disposed of by the city in the city’s sole and absolute discretion.
H. Notwithstanding subsection (B)(2) of this section, the city may impound a shopping cart that otherwise meets the criteria prescribed in subsection (B)(1) of this section without complying with the three-day advance notice requirement if all of the following apply:
1. The owner of the shopping cart or the owner’s agent is provided with actual notice within 24 hours after the impound and that notice informs the owner or the owner’s agent of the location where the shopping cart may be claimed.
2. The shopping cart is impounded at a location in compliance with subsection (E) of this section.
3. The shopping cart is reclaimed by the owner or the owner’s agent within three business days after the date of actual notice as provided in subsection (H)(1) of this section and is released and surrendered to the owner or agent at no charge, including the waiver of any impound and storage fees or fines that would otherwise apply pursuant to subsection (D) or (F) of this section. Any shopping cart reclaimed within the three-business-day period is not deemed an occurrence for purposes of subsection (F) of this section.
I. Any shopping cart not reclaimed by the owner or the owner’s agent after three business days after the date of actual notice as provided in subsection (H)(1) of this section is subject to any applicable fee or fine imposed pursuant to subsection (D) or (F) of this section commencing on the fourth business day after the date of the actual notice.
J. Any shopping cart not reclaimed by the owner or the owner’s agent within 30 days after the date of actual notice as provided by subsection (H)(1) of this section may be sold or disposed of in accordance with subsection (G) of this section. [Ord. 21-07 § 2; Res. 21-28.]