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San Jose council directs contractor pilot, retailer outreach and 311 integration work to curb abandoned shopping carts; vote 10‑1
Summary
The City Council voted 10‑1 Feb. 4 to pursue a contractor pickup pilot, retailer outreach and 311 reporting options to reduce abandoned shopping carts citywide; Council Member Campos cast the lone no vote.
The San Jose City Council on Feb. 4 directed staff to pursue outreach to large retailers, pilot a contractor retrieval service for abandoned shopping carts and explore integration with the city’s 311 reporting system. The vote was 10‑1, with Council Member Campos opposed.
Staff told the council the municipal code already requires retailers with 26 or more carts to file an annual abandoned‑cart prevention plan and pay a fee that funds a code‑enforcement inspector. But staff said there is no dedicated city service to respond to 311 reports of lone shopping carts, and that most cart pickups are incidental results of other operations: Beautify SJ collected roughly 1,000 carts annually through cleanup activities, and the Department of Transportation removes carts only when they obstruct traffic.
City staff laid out six options explored in a report: (1) a state‑law‑driven, cost‑recovery model that would require a city impound lot (staff advised against this because state law requires holding periods and creates overhead that can prevent cost recovery); (2) a city‑funded contractor retrieval program (staff recommended piloting this); (3) a contractor retrieval program combined with voluntary retailer reimbursement; (4) rely on retailer pickups only (staff said this would miss carts that lack clear signage); (5) pursue state‑law changes to allow more flexible cost recovery; and (6) strengthen local retailer regulatory requirements.
Council members cited Milpitas as a nearby model: that city contracts with an experienced vendor (RMS) for removals and uses a per‑cart fee in the contract; staff said that vendor will pick up carts for about $11 per cart under Milpitas’ agreement. Tim James of the California Grocers Association told the council grocers are prepared to work with the city and asked that staff and retailers be given time to design a workable program that safeguards customers’ belongings and limits unintended costs to shoppers.
The council motion directs staff to (a) pursue a near‑term procurement path for a contractor retrieval pilot and explore 311 integration; (b) engage retailers on voluntary cost‑sharing and on strengthening retailer cart‑management requirements; and (c) report back with a pilot scope, cost estimate and recommended ordinance or administrative changes. The motion passed 10‑1; Council Member Campos voted no.
