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Home My WebLink About2018-030 Shopping Carts; YMC Amendment 6.27.060 and 6.27.070 ORDINANCE NO. 2018-030 AN ORDINANCE amending the Yakima Municipal Code, Sections 6.27.060 Retrieval and impoundment procedures and 6.27.070 Fees and disposition of carts, to allow the City to more adequately address the issue of nuisance shopping carts BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY OF YAKIMA: Section 1. Sections 6.27.060 of the City of Yakima Municipal Code is hereby amended to read as follows: Section 6.27.060 Retrieval and impoundment procedures. A. Impoundment with Notice. Enforcement personnel may impound an abandoned shopping cart which has affixed to it identification information as required by YMC 6.27.050, if the following conditions have been satisfied: 1. Location Outside of Premises. The shopping cart is located outside the premises or parking area of a retail establishment and is located on public property owned by or under the control of the city, or left on any right-of-way within the city, or on private property where the owner has consented to removal; and 2. Notice of the cart's discovery and location is given to the shopping cart's owner, retailer, or agent unless such notice has been voluntarily waived by the shopping cart's owner, retailer, or agent; and 3. Failure to Retrieve Cart. The shopping cart is not retrieved within ninety-six hours from the date notice is given. B. 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, city enforcement personnel are authorized to immediately retrieve the shopping cart from public or private property and impound it. If the cart has identification information affixed, the owner will be notified and given ninety-six hours to retrieve the cart before a collection fee is assessed using the time calculation listed in subsection (A)(3) of this section; or 2. Lack of Identification. If a shopping cart is abandoned and located outside the premises or parking area of a retail establishment and does not have the required identification information affixed thereto as required by YMC 6.27.050, city enforcement personnel are authorized to immediately retrieve the shopping cart from public property owned by or under control of the city, any right-of-way within the city, or private property with the consent of the owner; or 3. Evidence of a Crime. Any lost or stolen shopping cart as defined by YMC 6.27.040 may be impounded as evidence in a criminal investigation under YMC 6.68.020 or any other criminal investigation. (Ord. 2009-31 § 1 (part), 2009). Section 2. Sections 6.27.070 of the City of Yakima Municipal Code are hereby amended to read as follows: Section 6.27.070 Fees and disposition of carts. A. Impounded Carts. When a shopping cart is impounded in accordance with this chapter, the city may charge a cart collection fee to the owner of a shopping cart. The fine shall be in the amount of fifty dollars per cart and each cart collected shall constitute a separate violation. Any owner having installed a locking device on its carts which has been disabled by one other than the owner or his agent shall be exempt from the fine. 1. Fine Deferrals. Within any calendar month enforcement personnel shall defer fines for the first three impounded carts owned by any business that, prior to the impoundment, has waived the impound notice requirement. If four (4) or more shopping carts under common ownership are impounded within a calendar month no fines shall be deferred by enforcement personnel. B. Disposition of Carts. The city may sell or otherwise dispose of any cart not reclaimed within fourteen days from the date of notification to the owner or the owner's agent of the cart's discovery and location. (Ord. 2009-31 § 1 (part), 2009). Section 3. This ordinance shall be in full force and effect 30 days after its passage, approval, and publication as provided by law and by the City Charter. PASSED BY THE CITY COUNCIL, signed and approved this 11th day of September, 2018. ATTEST: ,r•=r ". athy Co ey, M 4 A eb,„ .. • , Sonya Cla r Tee, City Clerk Publication Date: September 14, 2018 Effective Date: October 14, 2018 1 BUSINESS OF THE CITY COUNCIL YAKIMA, WASHINGTON AGENDA STATEMENT Item No. 13. For Meeting of: September 11, 2018 ITEM TITLE: Ordinance relating to Public Safety; amending the City of Yakima Municipal Code, Sections 6.27.060 and 6.27.070 regarding shopping carts SUBMITTED BY: Billy Doyle, Rule 9 Legal Intern Cynthia Martinez, Senior Assistant City Attorney SUMMARY EXPLANATION: The attached amendment makes several changes to the existing ordinance that will help the City to reduce the number of shopping carts left abandoned away from the owner's store property without being overly punitive to retailers and will be effective October 14, 2018. The Public Safety Committee reviewed the amendment and recommended that it be presented to the full council. With this amendment a retailer can qualify for deferment of the fine otherwise applied under the ordinance when the retailer has submitted a letter to the City waiving the required 96 hour pre -impoundment notice period. This will allow for faster removal of shopping carts as they appear around the City. The fine for having shopping carts impounded by the City will increase from $25 to $50 when the fine cannot be deferred. The time retailers have to retrieve carts before the City can dispose of them will be extended from 7 days to 14 days. This will allow retailers to pick up their carts on a bi-monthly basis while keeping the inventory of impounded carts from growing too large. The normal notice period for retailers not participating in the deferment program will no longer exclude Saturdays and Sundays, shortening the time that carts remain abandoned within the City. ITEM BUDGETED: STRATEGIC PRIORITY: APPROVED FOR SUBMITTAL: NA Public Safety STAFF RECOMMENDATION: Pass Ordinance. BOARD/COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION: Public Safety Committee recommended presentation of amendment to full Council ATTACHMENTS: Description Upload Date Ordinance re YMC 6.27.060 and .070 - track changes 8/31/2018 Ordinance re YMC 6.27.060 and .070 - changes 8/31/2018 accepted Type Odinance adinance 2 AN ORDINANCE 3 ORDINANCE NO. 2018 - amending the Yakima Municipal Code, Sections 6.27.060 Retrieval and impoundment procedures and 6.27.070 Fees and disposition of carts, to allow the City to more adequately address the issue of nuisance shopping carts BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY OF YAKIMA: Section 1. Sections 6.27.060 of the City of Yakima Municipal Code is hereby amended to read as follows: Section 6.27.060 Retrieval and impoundment procedures. A. Impoundment with Notice. Enforcement personnel may impound an abandoned shopping cart which has affixed to it identification information as required by YMC 6.27.050, if the following conditions have been satisfied: 1. Location Outside of Premises. The shopping cart is located outside the premises or parking area of a retail establishment and is located on public property owned by or under the control of the city, or left on any right-of-way within the city, or on private property where the owner has consented to removal; and 2. Notice of the cart's discovery and location is given to the shopping cart's owner, retailer, or agent unless such notice has been voluntarily waived by the shopping cart's owner, retailer, or agent; and 3. Failure to Retrieve Cart. The shopping cart is not retrieved within ninety-six hours from the date notice is given. The ninety six hours shall be calculated using only days Monday B. 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, city enforcement personnel are authorized to immediately retrieve the shopping cart from public or private property and impound it. If the cart has identification information affixed, the owner will be notified and given ninety-six hours to retrieve the cart before a collection fee is assessed using the time calculation listed in subsection (A)(3) of this section; or 2. Lack of Identification. If a shopping cart is abandoned and located outside the premises or parking area of a retail establishment and does not have the required identification information affixed thereto as required by YMC 6.27.050, city enforcement personnel are authorized to immediately retrieve the shopping cart from public property owned by or under control of the city, any right-of-way within the city, or private property with the consent of the owner; or 4 3. Evidence of a Crime. Any lost or stolen shopping cart as defined by YMC 6.27.040 may be impounded as evidence in a criminal investigation under YMC 6.68.020 or any other criminal investigation. (Ord. 2009-31 § 1 (part), 2009). Section 2. Sections 6.27.070 of the City of Yakima Municipal Code are hereby amended to read as follows: Section 6.27.070 Fees and disposition of carts. A. Impounded Carts. When a shopping cart is impounded in accordance with this chapter, the city may charge a cart collection fee to the owner of a shopping cart. The fine shall be in the amount of fiftytwcnty five dollars per cart and each cart collected shall constitute a separate violation. Any owner having installed a locking device on its carts which has been disabled by one other than the owner or his agent shall be exempt from the fine. 1. Fine Deferrals, Within any calendar month enforcement personnel shall defer fines for the first three impounded carts owned by any business that, prior to the impoundment, has waived the impound notice requirement. If four (4) or more shopping carts under common ownership are impounded within a calendar month no fines shall be deferred by enforcement personnel, B. Disposition of Carts. The city may sell or otherwise dispose of any cart not reclaimed within fourteens days from the date of notification to the owner or the owner's agent of the cart's discovery and location. (Ord. 2009-31 § 1 (part), 2009). Section 3. This ordinance shall be in full force and effect 30 days after its passage, approval, and publication as provided by law and by the City Charter. PASSED BY THE CITY COUNCIL, signed and approved this 11th day of September, 2018. ATTEST: Sonya Claar Tee, City Clerk Publication Date: Effective Date: Kathy Coffey, Mayor