Stonecrest staff presents draft abandoned-shopping-cart ordinance requiring retrieval plans, fines for large retailers

A draft ordinance to address abandoned shopping carts drew council discussion at the May 12 Stonecrest work session, with a council staff member presenting a proposal that would require retail businesses with four or more carts to keep carts on-site, install cart-stopping devices and submit a retrieval plan to the city.

Support staff for Councilmember Terry Fye said the draft requires businesses that use shopping carts to provide a retrieval plan and a staff contact and that the city could request that plan within 60 days. The presenter described a fine schedule included in the draft: “1 cart is $150 plus 125 for each additional cart found,” and said the measure mirrors ordinances in other nearby cities.

The draft aims to give code enforcement a clear enforcement path and a means to notify businesses when carts are found off site. The presenter said the ordinance would let code enforcement notify the business of a cart’s location and that the business would have a set period to retrieve the carts. “We give them 72 hours to after code enforcement notifies the person on-site of where the card is and where the location is to make sure that they pick it up,” the presenter said.

Council members asked how the ordinance would treat personal items placed in carts and carts taken by people who are unhoused. Staff said the draft defines shopping carts as items that must be maintained on-site and that operational questions about personal items would be addressed during rollout and through conversations with affected retailers. Councilwoman Alicia Washington asked specifically how the city would treat carts that had been taken off-site with personal belongings; staff said that retrieval plans and on-site contact information would be the primary enforcement tool while staff develops guidance for those cases.

Staff referenced model ordinances from other jurisdictions — includ­ing Savannah, Brookhaven, South Fulton and Forest Park — and said those cities had informed the proposed text. The presenter said Stonecrest’s initial fine schedule is comparatively modest to allow grocers time to comply and that fines could be increased if the city observed no change in behavior.

Exemptions and process details discussed include a threshold exemption for establishments with fewer than four carts and an outreach plan: staff plans to share the draft with local retailers and request feedback before enforcement. The presenter said some peer ordinances apply a grace period for notification before formal enforcement; Stonecrest staff said they intend to inform retailers before citations would be issued.

Why this matters: abandoned shopping carts can create public-safety and cleanliness problems, and the draft ordinance would create a formal city process to require retailer accountability and to empower code enforcement to seek timely retrieval from businesses.

Sources and attributions: quotes and details in this article come from the May 12 council work-session presentation on the draft abandoned-shopping-cart ordinance and from council questions during the same item.

Clarifying details from the meeting: draft requires retailers with four or more carts to submit a retrieval plan within 60 days if requested; draft fine schedule described in the presentation is $150 for one cart plus $125 for each additional cart; staff said code enforcement will notify retailers and the draft contemplates a 72-hour retrieval window after notification; the draft includes an exemption for stores with fewer than four carts.

Ending: Staff said it will distribute the draft to retail partners and stakeholders for feedback and return to council for further action.