A proposed ordinance that aims to reduce shopping cart abandonment in Encinitas won unanimous initial approval from the City Council earlier this month, but debate on a group of proposed bicycle safety projects was postponed until early next year.
Mayor Tony Kranz made the motion to postpone the bicycle-related item, which included plans for new bike lanes and special left-turn areas in multiple areas of the city, citing the lateness of the hour and the detailed questions council were asking about the proposed roadway changes.
Encinitas declared its state of emergency in late June after a 15-year-old e-bike rider was killed following a collision with a van at the Santa Fe Drive and El Camino Real intersection. The proposed roadway improvement projects, which could total up to $1.1 million depending on which options the council decides to pursue, will likely now appear on a council agenda in January, Kranz said. For a list of the proposed projects and design drawings, visit: https://encinitas.granicus.com/MetaViewer.php?view_id=7&event_id=3933&meta_id=16
January also is the month when the proposed shopping cart ordinance is scheduled to go back before the council for a final vote. That ordinance, which would go into effect 30 days after a second council vote to approve it, consists of three primary provisions, city environmental programs manager Erik Steenblock said.
First, it establishes that it’s unlawful under city municipal code to remove a shopping cart from a store’s premises or be in possession of a cart in an off-site area. Second, it makes it unlawful for stores to allow shopping carts to be abandoned, details how stores must identify the carts that they own, and states how quickly stores must collect abandoned carts. And, finally, the proposed ordinance spells out city code enforcement employees’ role in dealing with carts that have been dumped in hard-to-reach spots, such as stream beds, Steenblock said.
Steenblock said Encinitas spends about $3,000 to $6,000 a year in labor costs to remove abandoned grocery carts from places where they shouldn’t be. The city keeps them for 30 days in hopes that their owners will claim them, but typically that doesn’t happen, and the city ends up having to dispose of them, he said.
The proposed ordinance, which is modeled on one in Oceanside, states that cart owners need to either install wheel-locking devices on their carts preventing them from leaving a shopping center lot, or they need to contract with a retrieval company to collect any that are abandoned off site.
Currently, 14 of the city’s 30 stores use retrieval companies, Steenblock said. Those companies typically collect abandoned carts weekly or twice a month. Under the proposed ordinance, they’ll be required to collect any abandoned carts within 48 hours, if someone reports them as abandoned, he said. People will be able to report abandoned carts by calling a number on the cart or using the city’s MyEncinitas ap, he added.
Councilmember Bruce Ehlers said “abandonment appears to be the main problem” that the city faces when it comes to shopping carts. However, he said, what happens when the carts are found full and in use by someone who appears to be homeless?
Sheriff’s Capt. Chris Lawrence, who commands the department’s North Coastal Station, said that situation would be handled by sheriff’s deputies. It’s a misdemeanor to possess a shopping cart that belongs to someone else, he said.
In other action earlier this month, the council voted 4-1, with Ehlers opposed, to select Councilmember Allison Blackwell as deputy mayor for the coming year. The job rotates between council on an annual basis. Ehlers said he opposed Blackwell’s selection because she was appointed to her council spot and has not yet stood for election.
