In 2019, Santa Barbara city workers retrieved 20 shopping carts throughout the city, which increased to 538 in 2020, a reflection of the worsening crisis of homelessness in Santa Barbara County.
In response, the City Council recently adopted and approved the passage of a Shopping Cart Ordinance, which went into effect on March 16, 2021. One of the rationales for passage of the ordinance was the finding that “abandoned” shopping carts “contribute to the perception of community blight and a reduction of property values in the neighborhoods where they tend to accumulate.” The new ordinance ascribes primary responsibility for managing and properly securing shopping carts with the business owner of the cart.
The new ordinance will empower city police officers and Parks and Recreation Rangers to seize “unattended” carts if there is no owner identification affixed to a cart. If a cart is not retrieved by its owner within 30 days, after the owner has received notice of the cart seizure and impoundment, or if the cart's owner cannot be determined, the cart may be sold or destroyed by the city within 30 days after the cart’s seizure and impoundment.