Agenda Item Wording:
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Ordinance adoption - First reading and public hearing for Ordinance 2026-11 amending Visalia Municipal Code Chapter 8.70 Abandoned Shopping Carts, citywide.
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Agenda Date: 09/21/2026
Prepared by:
Jeff Riedmann, Code Enforcement Officer, jeff.riedmann@visalia.gov, (559) 713-4172
Paul Bernal, Planning and Community Preservation Director, paul.bernal@visalia.gov, (559) 713-4025
Department Recommendation: Staff recommends that Visalia City Council hold a public hearing and introduce the first reading of Ordinance No. 2026-11 which will revise Chapter 8.70 of the Visalia Municipal Code (VMC) to increase the amount for the retrieval and return of shopping carts from $50 per shopping cart to $100 per shopping cart per California Business and Professions Code section 22435.7, as amended per Senate Bill (SB) 753 in 2025. Additionally, the ordinance will also establish the requirement for cart containment systems for new construction/businesses that use shopping carts and for existing businesses that obtain a building permit with the improvement valuation exceeding $50,000.
Summary:
Based on the State’s passage of SB 753, City staff reviewed VMC Chapter 8.70 (Abandoned Shopping Carts, see Attachment 2) and presented a Work Session item to City Council at the August 3, 2026 City Council meeting recommending Chapter 8.70 be amended due to changes in state law that allow for an increase in the amount that shopping cart owners can be fined if they do not pick up their carts after being notified. During this presentation, staff also recommended Chapter 8.70 be amended to require businesses/companies that use shopping carts to install a physical containment system when a new location is built or when a significant improvement or expansion occurs to that existing facility/shopping center. Based on the staff report and presentation during the August 3rd City Council Work Session, Council directed staff to begin drafting revisions to Chapter 8.70.
Background Discussion:
In 2025 California Business and Professions Code section 22435.7 was amended per SB 753 (see Attachment 2). The amendment increased the amount a city or county can charge under cost recovery measures for the retrieval and return of shopping carts from $50 per shopping cart to $100 per shopping cart. State law requires cities and counties approve an ordinance to implement these cost recovery fees. The current municipal code lists the prior authorized cost recovery charge of $50 per shopping cart. Staff recommends the amount be increased from $50 to $100, as permitted by state law.
Staff also recommends that Chapter 8.70 be amended to identify the requirement of a physical containment system for shopping carts be required when a new business/location is constructed and that business uses shopping carts or when an existing business/shopping center is modified or expanded to the extent that a building permit from the City is required for the modification or expansion with the improvement valuation exceeding.
The municipal code, section 8.70.020, defines a “physical containment system” for shopping carts as one of the following:
1. Disabling devices on all shopping carts which prevent them from being removed from the business premises by locking the wheels or otherwise preventing the movement of the carts.
2. Any other system of equipment approved by the City Manager or their designee which physically contains shopping carts on the premises.
Staff recognizes that there is a cost associated with the installation of a physical cart containment system. However, staff has found that shopping carts from businesses that have installed anti-theft systems are seldom found abandoned. During the 2025 calendar year, staff from the Neighborhood Preservation Division collected 1,630 shopping carts (see Attachment 3), and data from January 2026 through April 2026 has identified 843 shopping carts collected over this 4-month period. Based on this information, staff spends a significant amount of time collecting and storing shopping carts that have been taken from businesses and abandoned in the right-of-way.
Further costs are expended by city staff in maintaining the collection site and notifying business owners to retrieve carts. Businesses then have to expend funds in retrieving carts or risk being fined by the City. Considering the requirement to install physical cart containment systems, as a condition of new construction and expansion or modification of existing businesses, would work to reduce these costs and provide benefits to the community by reducing the number of abandoned carts found throughout the community.
Staff was able to provide applicable businesses that have shopping carts with informational flyers with the proposed changes and additions to Municipal Code 8.70. A copy of that informational flyer is provided as Attachment 4.
Fiscal Impact including annual maintenance and operating costs: None at this time.
Prior Council Action:
1. In 2013. Municipal Code 8.70 Abandoned Shopping Carts was approved and adopted into the Visalia Municipal Code; however, the portion related to a physical containment system for all new construction was not part of the Municipal Code update.
2. On August 3, 2026, City Council approved a motion to move forward to begin drafting revisions to Chapter 8.70.
Alternatives: The City Council may, in lieu of the recommended motion, direct staff not to process any amendments to Visalia Municipal Code Section 8.70 Abandoned Shopping Carts, and instead makes changes at their direction and return with an updated version.
Recommended Motion (and Alternative Motions if expected):
recommendation
I move to introduce for the first reading of Ordinance No. 2026-11, amending Chapter 8.70, which will increase the amount for the retrieval and return of shopping carts per business and establish a cart containment system requirement for new construction and for existing businesses that obtain a building permit with a valuation exceeding $50,000.
Environmental Assessment Status: Exempt from further review under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Guidelines section 15061(b)(3) (common sense exemption).
CEQA Review: The project is exempt from further environmental review under the CEQA Guidelines section 15061(b)(3), which states that the project is exempted from CEQA if the activity is covered by the common sense exemption that CEQA applies only to projects that have the potential for causing significant effect on the environment. Where it can be seen with certainty that there is no possibility that the activity in question may have a significant effect on the environment, the activity is not subject to CEQA.
Deadline for Action: N/A
Attachments:
1. Attachment 1 - Ordinance No. 2026-11
2. Attachment 2 - Chapter 8.70 Abandon Shopping Carts
3. Attachment 3 - Senate Bill 753
4. Attachment 4 - Shopping Cart Ordinance Update Flyer
5. PowerPoint Presentation
Strategic Goal: Indicates which City Strategic Goal(s) this item supports. Check all that apply.
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