Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout03-42 - Setting Civil Fine Amount for Violations of Shopping Cart Ordinance/Standard for Retrieval ProgramsRESOLUTION NO. 03-42 A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF COSTA MESA, CALIFORNIA, SETTING CIVIL FINE AMOUNT FOR VIOLATIONS OF SHOPPING CART ORDINANCE AND ESTABLISHING STANDARD FOR EFFECTIVE CART RETRIEVAL PROGRAMS. THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF COSTA MESA DOES HEREBY RESOLVE AS FOLLOWS: WHEREAS, the City Council has adopted an ordinance regulating shopping carts to eliminate the blight of abandoned carts in City neighborhoods; and WHEREAS, pursuant to that ordinance, the City Council wishes to establish a standard by which City staff will be able to determine what cart retrieval programs meet the ordinance requirement that they be "effective"; and WHEREAS, also pursuant to that ordinance, the Council wishes to set the amount of the civil fine imposed on persons violating the ordinance. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Costa Mesa City Council does hereby determine: 1. The standard to be used for determining an effective retrieval program referred *-to in Costa Mesa Municipal Code, Section 15-16(b)(2), is the standard described in Attachment A, incorporated herein by this reference. 2. Pursuant to Costa Mesa Municipal Code, Section 15-24(b), the fine for violations of Section 15-16 is the fine described in Attachment B, incorporated herein by this reference. PASSED AND ADOPTED this 16th day of June, 2003. ATTEST: Depu City Clerk of the City of Costa Mesa STATE OF CALIFORNIA) COUNTY OF ORANGE ) ss CITY OF COSTA MESA ) Mayo e ty of Costa Mesa APPROVED AS TO FORM City torney ' I, JULIE FOLCIK, Deputy City Clerk and ex -officio Clerk of the City Council of the City of Costa Mesa, hereby certify that the above and foregoing Resolution No. 03-42 was duly and regularly passed and adopted by the said City Council at a regular meeting thereof held on the 16th day of June, 2003, by the following roll call vote: AYES: Monahan, Cowan, Scheafer NOES: Steel, Mansoor ABSENT: None IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and affixed the seal of tlb City of Costa Mesa this 17th day of June, 2003. (—�-ze )t� , — Deputy ity Clerk and ex -officio Clerk of the Ci Council of the City of Costa Mesa ATTACHMENT A STANDARD FOR DETERMINING EFFECTIVENESS OF CART RETREIVAL PROGRAM OVERVIEW: The underlying rationale for this standard is that an effective cart retrieval program (i.e. the market's contract with a cart retrieval company) must collect at least 85% of the abandoned carts that are taken from the store. The effectiveness of a retrieval program will be determined by how many of a store's carts the City has to pick up. If ,the City's cart retrieval company picks up more than 15% of the store's abandoned carts, the store's program is not effective under this standard. The standard established in this resolution is based on the abandoned -cart numbers of the market in the City with the largest number of abandoned carts per week. 1 That store has an average of 70 carts a week taken from its premises; 85% of 70 equals 60 carts. Thus, the 85% requirement converts into a 10 carts per week maximum that the City's retrieval company can pick up and the store still keeps its effectiveness certification for its retrieval program. If 11 or more of the store's carts are picked up, the store's retrieval program is not effective because its retrieval company only picked -up 84% or less of the store's abandoned carts and the store does not meet the 85% requirement. This standard of no more than 10 carts per week will be applied to smaller stores too. However, this means that the required percentage of retrieved carts for smaller stores is aclually less than 85%. For example, for a store that has an average of only 47 carts taken per week, the 10 cart standard would amount to 79% of these carts. The 10 cart standard will be applied across-the-board to stores of all sizes during the initial implementation test period in order to determine if such an approach is successful in ending the blight of abandoned carts. The number used in calculating the standard was not the number of carts remov6d from the store premises, but the number of carts retrieved by the stores private contractor. The number of carts actually removed is possibly somewhat higher than the number retrieved. This makes the standard arguably lower than 85% because the calculation is based on the carts returned, not the number actually removed. THE STANDARD: A store's cart retrieval program is not effective if the City's cart retrieval company in any one-week period picks up: (a) 11 or more carts belonging to the store, or (b) A number of carts between 12 and 15 certified by the Director. The alternative number in (b) is allowed in case a store can show that its average loss of carts per week is greater than 70. To use this alternative number the store must obtain its certification from the Director. This number may not exceed 15 carts because any larger number would be too large a negative impact on residential neighborhoods. The waiver would be lost upon the second time this standard is violated by a store. ENFORCEMENT: If a store's retrieval program fails to satisfy the standard, the Director will give notice of this determination along with the records showing how this determination was made. Once this notice has been given to a store, it loses its waiver and the store must comply with the Shopping Cart Ordinance provision requiring it to have an effective cart containment system. The store may seek a new certification by submitting new evidence to the Director showing an improved cart retrieval program, e.g., showing an amended retrieval contract that increases number of days a week when there are pick- ups or increases the number of trucks picking up each day. Until receiving a new certification, the store will have to comply with the effective containment system and other requirements of the ordinance. - ROLE FOR DIRECTOR OF DEVELOPMENT SERVICES: The Director of Development Services, or his or her designee shall: a, Evaluate evidence submitted by any store and grant a waiver for any store that has an effective cart retrieval program. Evidence that the store has a contract with a retrieval company to pick up its carts on least three days per week will be sufficient to qualify for an initial certification of an effective cart retrieval program. . b. Evaluate evidence submitted by any store wishing to establish that its average cart loss in a week period is greater than 70 carts and set the number (between "12 and 15) for abandoned carts that if picked -up by the City's cart retrieval company in a week period will trigger the decertification of the store's retrieval program as not effective. c. Monitor data collected by the City's cart retrieval company showing how many carts a week are picked up for each store. d. Give notice to any store whose retrieval program has been found to violate the City standard and .is therefore decertified. The Director shall evaluate any improved program and certify the new program if the Director concludes it is reasonably expected to meet the City standard. e. Send to the stores participating in the Shopping Cart Nuisance Abatement ,Program the quarterly billing for the cost to them for their carts that were retrieved by the City's contractor. f. Ensure that any store without a waiver for having an effective containment system whose abandoned carts are retrieved by the City is issued a civil citation and fined for allowing its carts to be abandoned in surrounding neighborhoods in violation of the shopping cart ordinance. CONCLUSION: The standard established in this resolution is a starting place. Once this new ordinance and standard have been in operation for a while, the City Council and staff will be able to evaluate their effectiveness. If there continues to be a problem of too many abandoned shopping carts being found in the neighborhoods, then either the standard can be tightened, and/or the ordinance can be modified. ATTACHMENT B 1. The civil fine for violating Sec. 15-16 of the Costa Mesa Municipal Code shall be $150 for every abandoned cart seized by the City in excess of the first 5 carts seized in any 12 -month period. 2. If a person owns more than one store in the city, this fine will be imposed on a store -by -store basis. That is, the owner will need to have an effective containment system for each store pursuant to Sec. 15-16. The fine will be imposed for each cart after the 5th cart that is found abandoned from the same store and is retrieved by the City during any 12 -month period.