NLV passes own shopping cart rule

Dan Kulin

Thursday, Oct. 3, 2002 | 9:52 a.m.

North Las Vegas joined Clark County and Las Vegas in the fight against abandoned shopping carts Wednesday night.

The City Council voted 4-1 to require businesses to either keep their shopping carts on their property or have a plan to retrieve carts found off their property.

Councilman Robert Eliason was the sole no vote, saying was worried that the law could prevent people who needed to use shopping carts to bring groceries home from doing so. He also said businesses would have to pay to remove carts, and those costs would be passed on to consumers.

The law allows businesses to give people special permission to take shopping carts off of a store's property. But Eliason asked how many people would know about that exception.

Council members Stephanie Smith and Shari Buck spoke in favor of the law, which they said has the backing of businesses.

Some abandoned carts end up on sidewalks, where they are a safety hazard, Buck said.

"It's a nuisance issue and it needs to be addressed," Smith said.

Earlier this year the Clark County Commission and Las Vegas City Council passed similar laws holding stores responsible for abandoned carts.

Under the North Las Vegas ordinance stores without a plan to either keep shopping carts off public property or retrieve wayward carts will be fined $25 a day.

The city also has the authority to pick up abandoned shopping carts and pass on the cost of retrieving the carts to businesses.

City Code Enforcement Manager Sheldon Klain has said that cost to businesses could be $3 per cart.