[Adopted 6-4-2019 ATM by Art. 25, approved 9-6-2019]
A. 
As used in this Article VII of Chapter 315, the terms below shall have the following definitions:
MERCHANDISE
Any goods, articles, products and food, including prepared food, which are sold directly to customers.
MERCHANT
Any person, corporate entity, partnership or other public or private legal entity that sells Merchandise directly to customers. All Merchant Locations that operate under the same corporate brand, and regardless of whether they are franchised or otherwise separately owned, operated or managed, shall be considered the same Merchant.
MERCHANT LOCATION
Any retail, wholesale or restaurant location at which Merchandise is sold directly to customers, inclusive of the entire contiguous owned or leased premises and any associated parking facility, including any shared parking facility.
SHOPPING CART
Any wheel-mounted basket or other similar construct that is designed and intended to hold Merchandise and allow the transport of said Merchandise by customers, and which is under the ownership or control of a Merchant.
B. 
Any terms that have not been defined specifically herein shall have their normal English meanings unless the context indicates otherwise.
Every Shopping Cart that is stored or utilized at a Merchant Location shall have affixed to it a permanent identification tag, label or plate that meets the following requirements:
A. 
Designed to be removed only by the Merchant; and
B. 
Lists the name of the Merchant, and the local address and telephone number of the Merchant.
A. 
Obligation of merchant. No Merchant shall allow or permit any of its Shopping Carts to be taken outside of the Merchant Location at which such Shopping Carts are stored or utilized. It is the responsibility of the Merchant to ensure that no customer or other member of the public, and no employee, agent or contractor of the Merchant, removes any Shopping Cart from said Merchant Location.
B. 
Exception. The provisions of § 315-24.A shall not apply to any Shopping Cart that is removed from a Merchant Location by an employee, agent or contractor of the Merchant for the purpose of repairing or maintaining it, transporting it to another Merchant Location, selling or donating it, or disposing of it at a properly permitted and licensed landfill or recycling facility.
A. 
Enforcing agents. Each violation of this Article VII of Chapter 315 may be enforced by any officer or employee of the Department of Public Works, and by any officer of the Police Department.
B. 
Penalties. A fine of $10 shall be imposed for each violation of the provisions of § 315-23 and § 315-24, and a fine of $100 shall be imposed for each violation of § 315-25.C. All such fines shall be enforced through the noncriminal method of disposition as provided by Massachusetts General Laws, Chapter 40, Section 21D.
Each day of a continuing violation shall be considered a separate violation, and each Shopping Cart that is in violation of the provisions of this Article VII of Chapter 315 shall be considered a separate violation.
C. 
Impoundment. Any Shopping Cart that is found to be in violation of § 315-24 may be impounded by an enforcing agent; provided that no such impoundment shall be made with respect to any Shopping Cart that is found on private property except at the request, or with the permission, of the owner or lessee of said property. Impoundment shall take place at a centralized location as designated from time to time by the Director of Public Works.
(1) 
Within two business days of impoundment, the Director of Public Works or his designee shall notify the Merchant in writing of the same, utilizing the information as provided on the Shopping Cart as required by § 315-23.
(2) 
The Director of Public Works shall ensure that the impoundment location is open during normal business hours for retrieval of impounded Shopping Carts by Merchants, and may designate, from time to time, an impoundment fee that must be paid prior to retrieval; provided, that any such fee may not be greater than $5 per day; further provided, that the payment of said impoundment fee shall be in addition to, and shall not substitute for, or otherwise constitute a waiver by the Town of, any non-criminal fine that is imposed for any violation of this Article VII of Chapter 315.
(3) 
The Merchant, or any employee or agent thereof, must retrieve the impounded Shopping Cart within 10 calendar days of such notice . If such retrieval does not occur within that timeframe, then the Shopping Cart shall be considered abandoned, and may be sold, utilized or otherwise disposed of, in the discretion of the Director of Public Works.
(4) 
Any Shopping Cart that is impounded and that lacks the information as required by § 315-23 shall be considered abandoned, and may be sold, utilized or otherwise disposed of, in the discretion of the Director of Public Works.
D. 
Responsible parties. When the offending Merchant is not a person, this Chapter shall be enforceable against any and all individual owners, partners, operators and managers of the Merchant Location from which the Shopping Cart that caused the violation originated.
The provisions of this Article VII of Chapter 315 are severable, and should any particular provision thereof be invalidated by a court of competent jurisdiction, the remainder of this chapter shall continue in full force and effect.