Proposed shopping cart ordinance on council agenda

The Department of Development is bringing before the City Council tonight a proposed local ordinance that looks to crack down on abandoned shopping carts and other related non-motorized conveyances that are continuously being taken from the stores and places they belong.

According to tonight's agenda, shopping carts and similar conveyances have increasingly been found abandoned in various locations throughout the city after being removed from the businesses or properties for which they were intended. The proposed ordinance is intended to establish a framework for addressing the removal, abandonment, recovery, storage, and enforcement of these items.

"Shopping carts and similar conveyances have increasingly been found abandoned in various locations throughout the city after being removed from the businesses or properties for which they were intended. The proposed ordinance is intended to establish a framework for addressing the removal, abandonment, recovery, storage, and enforcement of these items," the staff recommendation from Kasie Foulk, city deputy housing policy and development director to Mayor Kim Ecklund states.

Potential costs associated with the implementation of this ordinance are still being evaluated, and the ordinance is being brought before council tonight for discussion and review only. It is expected that the ordinance will be up for council approval at the October 26 voting session.

"If adopted, storage of recovered carts is anticipated to be coordinated with the Department of Public Works, with enforcement involving the Jamestown Police Department and Department of Development," the staff recommendation states. "Procedures for the collection and transportation of carts are still being evaluated, and council input regarding implementation and logistics is welcomed as part of the review process."

Also included in tonight's agenda is a Cart Ordinance Justification and Background section. In this section, issues with abandoned shopping carts across the city are highlighted, giving more reasons that the Development Department is looking to implement this ordinance. This includes public safety issues such as the potential to damage vehicles and other private property, block right of way access for pedestrians, and littering parks and vacant lots, along with carts often being pulled from the Chadakoin River. The section also identifies ill-intentioned usage of shopping carts prior to their abandonment as being a direct contributor to the degradation of city neighborhoods, as stolen shopping carts are often being used to steal private property and deliver it to Weistman's in exchange for fast cash. The section also identifies other cities where this has been an issue and similar ordinances have been successfully enacted, including Issaquah, Washington, Phoenix, Arizona, Ogden, Utah, Chico, California, and Pittsburgh, Pa.

The ordinance is set to include protections against and punishments for those committing unlawful acts with stolen shopping carts, along with the implementation of anti-theft mechanisms for stores seeing carts stolen, such as identity tags or markings. The ordinance will require that all businesses with 15 or more carts must install an anti-theft mechanism.

The council will also discuss a Local Law proposal to change the city charter to abolish the Strategic Planning and Partnerships Commission and remove all references to the commission from the city charter and code.

The council's work session begins at 7:30 p.m. in the police training room on the fourth floor of city hall. Council committees meet before the work session. The Housing Committee meets at 6:30 p.m. in the police training room with the Finance Committee at 7 p.m. in the mayor's fourth floor conference room, the Public Safety Committee in the police training room at 7 p.m. and the Public Works Committee in the Development Department conference room at 7 p.m.