County wants shopping carts corraled at stores

Adrienne Packer

Wednesday, Jan. 2, 2002 | 9:44 a.m.

Shopping carts abandoned in Las Vegas streets and empty lots have become such a nuisance, Clark County officials are considering an ordinance requiring retail stores to build confinement systems in their parking lots.

County commissioners were expected today to introduce the ordinance that could cost grocery and large department stores thousands of dollars.

"How bad is the problem?" said Jim Spinello, the county's franchise manager. "You drive certain streets in certain areas and find them all over the place. You see them along roads, alleys, freeways and occasionally in the middle of the street."

Spinello said there are a variety of systems retail companies can use -- ranging from physical barriers to detection devices -- to ensure shopping carts stay on their properties. Stores would have 13 months to install the system.

A state law says the government must meet with businesses that would be affected by any new ordinance. Because retail stores would have to pay upward of $100,000 apiece to install detection systems or barriers, Spinello said county staff has been discussing the proposal with retail representatives.

The Retail Association of Nevada office was closed for the holidays and no representatives could be reached for comment.

The county addressed the abandoned shopping cart issue two years ago when it started a hotline for residents to report stray carts. Administrative Services Director Don Burnette said the hotline receives hundreds of calls each year.

Every time the county retrieves a cart, it charges the owner $40. Although the county collects a fee, Burnette said the task is a waste of time.

"Our time can be better spent on other things," Burnette said. "I'm quite certain of that."

Store owners who continually allow carts off their premises will be penalized, and each time a cart is found abandoned the fee will be steeper, Spinello said. Stores in remote locations could be exempt.

"You could petition that you don't need the system because you have a given location that isn't a problem," Spinello said.

Las Vegas Councilman Michael McDonald recently pitched a similar shopping cart ordinance. The proposed city law does not require stores to install confinement systems, but it does penalize owners whose carts are found abandoned.

A public hearing on the county ordinance is scheduled for the commission's Jan. 15 meeting.