3ii - Shopping Cart Program ReportABANDONED SHOPPING CARTS
FEDERAL WAY CITY COUNCIL
JUNE 7, 2022
BRIAN DAVIS, COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR
CITY GATHERS
CARTS
The City of Federal Way will pick up
abandoned shopping carts along
ri hts-of-way, City -owned properties, and,
w en given permission, private properties.
1
CARTS TAKEN TO
■■% RECOVERY
LOCATION
Once gathered, the City takes the carts to a
recovery location.
9
CITY CONTACTS
RETAILERS
The City contacts the retailers of the
abandoned carts and informs each retailer
that the City will hold the carts for 14 days.
RETAILERS
CLAIM CARTS
Retailers ma pick up their abandoned
carts, but wil be charged a 25 per cart
fee.
UNCLAIMED
CARTS ARE
SALVAGED
If carts are not retrieved by the retailer, the
City takes them to a salvage yard where for
dis osal, and an additional $25 per cart fee
►aril be imposed.
C
To report an abandoned shopping cart, contact the
City of Federal Way Community Development Department
Phone: (253) 835-2617, or through the City's vwrebsite:
cityoffederalway.com/page/code-compliance-request-form
Questions from the May 2, 2022 LUTC Meeting
• 1. Why do stores not use security measures to keep carts
from leaving their property?
• Cost
• Lease restrictions
Questions from the May 2, 2022 LUTC Meeting
2. Can we require security measures rather than just suggest
them?
• We are seeing a gradual transition by stores to install
them since passage of the 2018 ordinance
• A mandate would hurt the smaller stores
Questions from the May 2, 2022 LUTC Meeting
3. What have other cities done?
• Auburn: $30
• Lakewood: $100
• Longview: $25
• Renton: $100 ($200 if more than 12/mo)
• Yakima: $115
• Federal Way: $50 ($25 impound, $25 disposal)
• Some cities in other states require annual licenses that
includes contact info for their retrieval company
Questions from the May 2, 2022 LUTC Meeting
4. Why do some stores in other cities use security measures but
ours don't?
• Fred Meyer: locking wheels
• Home Depot: locking wheels
• Target: planning to install security system after ST complete
• Winco said they will have locking wheels later this year
Questions from the May 2, 2022 LUTC Meeting
5. Wouldn't
it be
more cost effective
and operationally
efficient to
pay a third
party
to take carts to the
recycler than staff?
• For the City to break even on a 90-minute round trip, the
third party would have to charge less than staff time and
overhead, which is currently not the case. Additionally, from
an operations standpoint, the time required for deliveries
that pulls staff away from patrols (3-4 times a year) is
negligible.
Questions from the May 2, 2022 LUTC Meeting
6. Can we offer the stores to give back all their carts at Brooklake for free if
they come get them?
• Based on the 2018 ordinance, no. The ordinance passed by the Council -
- after lengthy collaborative input from the stores -- was intended to
incentivize stores in preventing carts from leaving the property and
employing retrieval services to return them. If the City returned them for
free, there would be no motivation for the stores to take either of these
actions. Prior to the 2018 ordinance, the City collected -- and returned for
free -- about 3,000 carts annually. Since passage of the 2018 ordinance,
the City collects -- and impounds for a fee -- about 2,000 annually.
Questions from the May 2, 2022 LUTC Meeting
7. Can we make it illegal for carts to leave store property? Can
the Police cite people with carts off site for possession of stolen
property?
• Based on attempts by Police to do this in the past, the stores
would rather suffer the loss of the cart than press charges for
theft, which makes it difficult for the City to prosecute.