[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Commissioners
of the Township of Haverford 9-12-2011 by Ord. No. 2641[1]. Amendments noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Streets and sidewalks - See Ch. 157.
[1]
Editor's Note: This ordinance also repealed former Ch. 153,
Shopping Carts, adopted 2-14-66 by Ord. No. 1281, as amended.
The definitions set forth herein shall govern the application
and interpretation of this chapter.
Any shopping cart that has been removed, without written
consent of the owner, from the owner's business premises and
is left unattended or discarded on either public or private property
other than the premises of the business establishment from which the
shopping cart was removed For purposes of this chapter, any shopping
cart which is properly identified as required by this chapter, located
on any public or private property other than the premises of the retail
business establishment from which the shopping cart was removed, shall
be presumed to be abandoned, even if in the possession of any person
unless such person in possession is either the owner, employee or
agent of the owner, the owner, employee or agent of a shopping cart
retrieval service hired to retrieve shopping carts from the Township,
or has written permission or consent to be in possession of the shopping
cart from the shopping cart's owner.
Any person or entity who, in connection with the conduct
of a business, owns, leases, possesses or makes a shopping cart available
to customers or the public.
The entire area owned, occupied, and/or utilized by an owner
which provides shopping carts for use by customers or other persons,
including any parking lot or other property provided by or on behalf
of the owner for customer parking or use.
A basket which is mounted on wheels or a similar device generally
used in a retail or commercial establishment by a customer for the
purpose of transporting goods of any kind. The word "shopping cart"
includes laundry carts, which are shopping carts used in a laundromat
or retail dry-cleaning establishment by a customer or attendant for
the purpose of transporting textile goods.
The Township of Haverford, Delaware County, Pennsylvania.
A.
Many retail establishments provide shopping carts for the convenience
of customers while shopping on the establishment's premises.
However, shopping carts removed from the premises of these establishments
and left abandoned on public or private property throughout the Township
constitute a public nuisance and a potential hazard to the health
and safety of the public. The proliferation of lost, stolen, wrecked
or abandoned shopping carts on public and private property:
(1)
Creates conditions that reduce property values, and promote blight
and deterioration of the city neighborhoods, tending to lead to declining
property values and increases in crime;
(2)
Obstructs the free passage along public and private streets, sidewalks,
parking lots and other rights of way and/or interfere with pedestrian
and vehicular traffic on streets;
(3)
Impedes emergency services; and
(4)
Clogs storm drain channels reducing their ability to function properly,
by trapping debris and trash and thereby creating flooding hazards,
and constitute violation of the Township's waste discharge requirements.
B.
For these reasons, such lost, stolen, wrecked 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.
C.
The purpose of this chapter is to set forth regulations to ensure
that reasonable measures are taken by owners of businesses that provide
shopping carts on their premises for the convenience of their customers
to prevent the removal of shopping carts from business premises and
parking lots, and, when removed despite the owner's implementation
of its control plan, to provide for the prompt retrieval of such shopping
carts.
D.
The purpose and intent of this chapter is additionally to ensure
that measures are taken by owners to prevent the removal of shopping
carts from a business premises, to make removal of shopping carts
a violation of the law, and to facilitate the retrieval of abandoned
shopping carts in a manner that supplements and complements state
law, but is not preempted with state law.
A.
This chapter shall apply to all owners of business establishments
or other commercial services within the city that provide more than
five shopping carts for customer use.
B.
It shall be unlawful for an owner and/or owner's agent to cause
or permit any shopping cart to be abandoned upon any sidewalk, street
or other public place in the city or upon any private property other
than the premises owner of such shopping cart.
C.
It shall be unlawful for any person:
(1)
To remove a shopping cart from a premises, either temporarily or
permanently, which is properly marked in conformity with this chapter,
without written consent of the owner;
(2)
To be in possession of a shopping cart that has been removed from
a premises, which is properly marked in conformity with this chapter,
without written consent of the owner; or
(3)
To detach the sign or deface the name or address marked on a sign,
which is properly marked in conformity with this chapter.
(4)
This section does not apply to shopping carts removed as authorized
by the owner for the purposes of repair, maintenance or disposal.
A.
Identification.
(1)
Every shopping cart owned or provided by any owner must have a sign,
label or imprinted logo permanently affixed to the shopping cart that
clearly identifies the owner and/or the owner's business establishment,
the address of said establishment for shopping cart return, and a
return phone number that can be contacted to request shopping cart
retrieval by the owner.
(2)
Any shopping cart found without the above required identification
and information may be removed and disposed of by the Township in
accordance with state law.
(3)
No owner shall provide any shopping cart for customer use that does
not contain the information described in this section.
B.
Recovery.
(1)
Any owner or employees of the owner must immediately recover, upon
sight or notice, any shopping cart that is not contained within the
parking area on the premises of the establishment providing the shopping
cart for customer use. Notice of an abandoned shopping cart may be
provided verbally or in written form by a township official or by
any person witnessing the occurrence. Owners must recover carts that
are located anywhere in the Township including, but not limited to:
(2)
Owners must ensure that uncontained shopping carts are located and
recovered by conducting a search and recovery of nearby (within a
one mile radius) property, neighborhoods and areas of frequent shopping
cart accumulation at least once every seven calendar days.
(3)
Owners must establish a written schedule and/or plan for shopping
cart control and be able to produce said schedule/plan at the request
of any Township official authorized to enforce the provisions in this
chapter.
A.
The cart owner shall pay a per-shopping cart recovery fee in accordance
with the following schedule:
B.
Any shopping cart not recovered within 15 calendar days of the Township
giving notice of impoundment will be recycled and/or disposed of by
the Township at the owner of the shopping cart's expense, plus payment
of the shopping cart recovery fee, to be paid within 30 calendar days
upon receipt of the billing from the Township.
C.
In addition, any person, firm or corporation violating
any provision of this chapter shall, upon summary conviction before
any District Justice of the Peace, pay a fine not exceeding $600 and
costs of prosecution; and in default of one payment of the fine and
costs, the violator may be sentenced to the county jail for a term
of not more than 30 days. Each and every day in which any person,
firm or corporation shall be in violation of this chapter shall constitute
a separate offense.
[Amended 3-12-2012 by Ord. No. 2660]
