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 8.7...
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