CODE AMENDMENT NO. 22-04
GENERAL EXEMPTION
LOCATION: City Wide
REQUEST:  The proposed code amendment consists of certain amendments to the Zoning section of the West Covina Municipal Code related to development standards and requirements for cart containment.

The City has been experiencing an increase of abandoned and/or misused shopping carts littering city streets and sidewalks with an average of 180 abandoned shopping carts retrieved per month. 

On July 12, 2022, the Planning Commission adopted Resolution No. 22-6110, initiating Code Amendment No. 22-04. The objective of the code amendment is to establish standards and requirements for cart containment measures in order to make businesses responsible for securing their own carts. At the July 12, 2022 Planning Commission meeting, the Planning Commission directed staff to survey how surrounding cities are addressing shopping carts. The Planning Commission brought up concerns that small businesses may experience financial hardships due to the cost associated with adopting cart containment measures. 

City Survey
Staff surveyed eight (8) nearby cities (Baldwin Park, Covina, La Puente, El Monte, San Dimas, Arcadia, Pasadena, and Monrovia) regarding how each of the cities' are addressing shopping carts. Seven (7) out of the eight (8) surveyed cities have requirements that businesses utilizing carts provide the city and obtain approval of a cart containment plan that includes physical cart containment measures. Three (3) out of the eight (8) surveyed cities contract with a third party to collect abandoned shopping carts (Arcadia, Monrovia, and San Dimas). Seven (7) cities have ordinances that consider abandoned shopping carts as a public nuisance and specify that the city will collect abandoned shopping carts if it is not collected by the business within three days. The Survey is included in the staff report as Attachment No. 2. 


Draft Ordinance
Similar to the surrounding surveyed cities, the draft ordinance includes a cart containment plan requirement. The following are the acceptable physical containment measures: 

• Wheel locking/stopping mechanism in conjunction with a magnetic barrier along the perimeter of the premises
• Equipping carts with devices that would prevent carts from being removed from the interior of the building
• Installing physical barriers on the site that would prevent carts from being removed from the interior of the building
• Other options proposed by the business establishment and approved by the Director

Staff believes that the acceptable physical containment measures listed in the draft ordinance is reasonable and would not be too costly. For example, one of the retailers in the City utilizes long sticks/rods permanently affixed to the carts to prevent the carts from vertically fitting through the doorway. In addition, the containment options are flexible and are open to new technology and ideas. 

The draft ordinance requires all businesses to comply within 12 months of the effective date of the code with an opportunity to apply for a 6-month extension no more than 30 days after the expiration date. The extension of time is subject to the Director's approval with the Director's decision appealable to the Planning Commission. 

In addition, the draft ordinance contains requirements for securing carts at the end of each business day and retrieving carts removed from the premises within 24 hours of removal or notice of removal. 

Nuisance Determination
If the Planning Commission chooses to recommend City Council approval of Code Amendment No. 22-04, the draft ordinance that the City Council will review will contain the nuisance determination (not located in the zoning chapter of the West Covina Municipal Code) and would specify when the City would collect abandoned shopping carts with fees/penalties outlined. 

The proposed Code Amendment will not impact or change the General Plan land-use designation for any area in the City. 

The project has been reviewed for compliance with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), the CEQA guidelines, and the City’s environmental procedures, and is found to be exempt pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Section 15061(b)(3), in that the proposed action consists of a code amendment, which does not have the potential for causing a significant effect on the environment.

Staff recommends that the Planning Commission adopt Resolution No. 22-6116, recommending that the City Council approve Code Amendment No. 22-04.