HomeMy WebLinkAbout5/4/2021 Item 16, Rowley
Wilbanks, Megan
From:Sandra Rowley <
To:Harmon, Heidi; Christianson, Carlyn; Pease, Andy; Stewart, Erica A; Marx, Jan
Cc:Johnson, Derek; CityClerk
Subject:Item #16, Shopping Carts
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Dear Mayor Harmon and Members of the Council,
Please pull Item #16, Second Reading: Shopping Carts, for discussion.
Please reconsider your decision that the onus of the removal of shopping carts is to be on the business
from which the shopping cart was removed, not on the individual who removed it. Per para 8.10.060, It is
unlawful for any business to allow or permit the removal of a shopping cart from the premises of the cart’s
owner (emphasis added). And this includes if the removal is not authorized.
What about shopping carts that are not abandoned? When are those carts to be returned to the
owner? Why is there no policy, no strategy for reclaiming those carts? Is keeping them ok?
Discussion.
Someone enters your yard or mine and takes the table and chairs located there without
permission. Someone goes into your garage or mine and takes the bicycle stored there, also
without permission. Is that your/my fault? Are we responsible that these items have been
"removed" when they obviously do not belong to the person who took them? Are we responsible
for looking for and retrieving them - but retrieving them only if they've been abandoned? What if
the person who took these items doesn't have a table and chairs or a bicycle, does that make it ok?
How is this any different for businesses that have shopping carts taken from the parking lot or the
store? It is not the businesses' fault that carts are taken without permission - and the City
certainly should not make the shopping cart owners responsible for ensuring that no one takes the
carts from the premises, or for finding and retrieving them. Posting signs at entrances and exits,
should be sufficient to warn individuals that removal of shopping carts from the premises is
prohibited. The signs should also include the applicable penal codes.
What kind of message are we sending? What are we teaching, what are we encouraging in the
name of compassion?
Are we telling a group of people that it’s ok for them to steal whatever they want? What message
does this convey to other groups and individuals?
First the word "theft" is replaced with the words "unauthorized removal." Then the word "stolen" is
replaced with the word "taken." So what are we saying - we’ll just change the terminology to
make theft of shopping carts ok?
Are we saying the aggrieved party is responsible and accountable for the thefts? Are we saying
that the aggrieved party is responsible for the blight to the aesthetics of the city caused by
abandoned shopping carts left here-and-there that were stolen from them?
What’s next after shopping carts?
What has happened to the rule of law?
Role of non–profits.
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Providing carts to homeless individuals is a role that non-profits could take on. I imagine such
carts are rarely abandoned since the cart becomes one of an individual’s possessions.
I have been told that currently carts other than store shopping carts are available and
some homeless individuals have them. I don’t know if the carts are provided by the county or by
one or more non-profits.
Recommendations.
Return this item to staff for revision. It is unconscionable to punish an aggrieved party by
requiring them to make additional financial expenditures and at the same time hold those who take
the property of others harmless.
Require businesses to do only the following: 1) Include the name of the business/store on all
shopping carts; 2) Install signage at or near entrances/exits of parking lots stating that the
unauthorized removal of shopping carts from the premises and the unauthorized possession of
shopping carts are violations of law (state applicable penal codes).
Thank you for your attention to this matter.
Sincerely,
Sandra Rowley
SLO resident
P.S. Some years ago a gentleman applied for a business license so he could pick up abandoned shopping
carts and return them to the various stores. The City Council back then refused his request. Funny how
times change.
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