On Tuesday, the Antioch City Council voted 5-0 to approve a new shopping cart ordinance that they help will reduce blight and hold business owners responsible for their shopping carts.
Under the ordinance, business owners have to place identifying markers on carts and prohibit anyone from taking a car from a business premise without written permission. When city staff discovers a cart, they can either immediately impound the shopping cart or have the business come pick it up within 72-hours.
Antioch resident Lori Cook thanked city staff for their efforts as Antioch has had a shopping cart issue for a long time and encouraged support for the ordinance to give code enforcement a new tool to help the city.
“This is a big problem here in Antioch, no neighborhood is left out and many streets have a constant pile of these carts every day,” said Cook. “Every time a new store goes in, many new carts make Antioch their home which means they will be everywhere but the store property. Have you ever thought about when you pull a cart out from a store where it’s been. Has it been full of garbage? I know we already have many ordinances, but this is one that we really need and it needs to be enforced.”
Terry Ramus, Antioch, noted that this shopping cart ordinance was one they had been waiting on for a very long time.
“This has been going on for over 10-years,” said Ramos. “I am in full support of this.’
Sean Wright stated the Antioch Chamber of Commerce had been working with the city for several years trying to help with the shopping card issues.
“I wanted to come tonight not knowing if there would be an opposition to this but wanted the council to know the Antioch Chamber of Commerce fully supports this even though it will have an impact on some of our businesses. We want to hold our businesses accountable because this is a problem facing our city,” explained Wright. “Please pass it and then enforce it to take care of the problem.”
Councilman Tony Tiscareno liked the fact that the ordinance was written because it put responsibility on the city and business owners.
According to the city, they will have two laborers who will go around in a truck and begin collecting carts and then contacting the owners while tagging and storing them.
Antioch Mayor Wade Harper asked if these labors would approach people who have these shopping carts. Staff replied that they would not because they would be a police issue and this ordinance deals with abandoned carts.
The city is estimating by March they will have staff in place to implement and enforce the ordinance. The ordinance will be implemented through city code enforcement which addresses problems associated with shopping carts throughout the City.
The ordinance includes:
- The ordinance requires that all operators of business that offering shopping carts install an identification plaque on each cart that identifies the cart owner and states that it is unlawful to remove the cart from the premises. This plaque must contain the telephone number and address of the cart owner.
- The ordinance prohibits the removal of a shopping cart with an identification plaque from the store premises or possession of a tagged shopping cart beyond the store premises without the written permission from the cart owner.
- The ordinance requires that business operator’s offering shopping carts complete a Prevention of Shopping Cart Removal Form, which notifies the operator of the City’s requirements and expectations.
- When a City official discovers a shopping cart, they may take two different actions. First, they may contact the owner, notify them of the location of the shopping cart, and provided three business days for the operator to retrieve the cart on their own. Alternatively, the City official could impound the cart, contact the owner, and offer the same three business days for them to retrieve if directly from the City.
- If a cart is retrieved from the City within the three business days, there will be no charge. Carts held beyond the three business days will be subject to impound and storage fees. Staff anticipates that this fee will be established at the end of FY 15/16 to allow an education period while the program begins.
- If the cart is not claimed within thirty days, the City can sell, dispose of, or recycle the cart.
- Repeat offenders who have three violations in a six-month period may also be subject to a $50 fine for each occurrence.
According to the Staff Report, this ordinance is similar to an Ordinance used within the City of Oakley.
Photos provided by Lori Cook
19 comments
I am all for these shopping carts being removed from city streets, I could swear the council was crying about being bullied into something. Now it appears the council is bullying businesses into running around town to recover carts that other people stole from them. Seems hypocritical.
They take the lead from Harper, Antioch bully number 1.
Noooooo. Don’t take my mobil home.
If the ordinance does nothing about homeless pushing cartloads of garbage all around the city, it is useless.
Have them come to Delta Fair Blvd where 99 Cents only and Big Lots are and the old CVS. There is shopping carts on streets being pushed around by numerous homeless at all times. I Dont even use the shopping carts, they are always full of trash and are disgusting. That area is disgusting!
Antioch have has become the dirty filthy armpit of the east bay, that’s why I moved and will never come back for any reason.
Will they get the Wal Mart carts out of the creek that runs along Lonetree Way towards Lowes? Been calling on all those for months!
You are right Mr. Garcia. It is not a safe place to be anymore. Delta Fair and Somersville look like San Francisco and East Oakland. Today, Thursday it was very bad.
Hi Nancy, call the city code enforcement and demand they clean it up. We are sick of Delta fair and Sommersville next to the Sommersville Car Wash. Shopping carts in the middle of street, homelessness by the huge numbers, trash everywhere, camps set up in the bushes and behind the stores. We deserve better cleaner streets and shopping centers. The number is 925-779-7042. 🙂
Love the photo posted with the article. Antioch’s new Welcome to our City sign. We only have ourselves to blame. Oh, and is it not code enforcement that is the first to be cut when the department wants raises or better bait for veteran officers?
They need to check out the house on the corner of F st and 16th st. Shopping cards and homeless are living on the front porch and in the trailer in the backyard of the abandoned house right across street from Fremont School. Good example for the kids city council.
And what about the people who take the carts? What penalties for them? Saw a lady pushing a Safeway cart with a small dog in it, pushing it away from Safeway.
Why punish a business for offering a courtesy to its customers? If a cart is being pushed down the street without permission it’s stolen property. And should be treated as such. Carts cost between $100-$200 each. You can bet grocery stores pass on the loss of carts to the consumer. We all pay in the long run.
Antioch and Pittsburg were never nice (or safe) cities. If you move to an area with cheaper housing, you get what you pay for. Higher crime rate. We don’t live in Antioch, but the only way to keep the homeless from stealing shopping carts is to put those long metal bars on them… but’s it’s an inconvenience to the customers because you can’t take them outside the store.
Unbelieveable! Business owners should not be penalized for thieves stealing their property.
Believe it. This is the city where the criminals are protected and the garbage elected.
No way the city would hold criminals accountable. The majority of them are Obama’s kids, untouchable.
I am shooting myself for not leaving California when I had the chance as well. I’m going to go for it now. You get no bang for your tax buck in Antioch and who wants to shop at Ross where you buy a large carpet and can’t take the cart to your car to unload it. Unbelieveable. Antioch does nothing for the business owner. No wonder there are no jobs in Antioch; definitely not profitable for anyone to do business here. Very sad.
And Tony Tiscareno is an idiot! What a stupid statement.
Nick, I have been here since 1965 and it used to be a lovely safe town. In the last 10 years it has become hell.
Mr Garcia: I am in daily contact with Mr. Graham for several reasons around town. Mainly my own street. I am close to giving up on Antioch but I have said that a lot lately. Twelve years ago I had a chance to move to Idaho. Too bad I didn’t take it.
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