MOORPARK : City to Consider Shopping Cart Law

Hoping to address complaints from downtown residents about shopping carts left in the streets and sidewalks near their homes, the Moorpark City Council tonight will consider an ordinance that would make it illegal to remove such carts from shopping centers.

Councilman Scott Montgomery has drafted the proposed ordinance, which would require businesses to affix their own identification on the carts as well as a warning stating that removal of the wheeled device from the store’s premises violates city law.

The councilman said he doesn’t intend the law to punish senior citizens and other shoppers who legitimately need to use shopping carts, but to curb their misuse.

“The main problem is not little old ladies pushing carts,” Montgomery said Tuesday. “The main problem is just people taking them off property and they’re cluttering up the downtown area in particular, so the neighbors who aren’t stealing them are feeling adversely impacted.”

Montgomery’s draft also includes a provision by which the city would collect all carts left in residential areas and return them to the merchants for a small processing fee.

The draft ordinance does not outline specific penalties for violators, which Montgomery said will be part of the council discussion tonight.

The ordinance will be considered at the meeting beginning at 7 p.m. in City Hall, 799 Moorpark Ave.