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REQUEST FOR COUNCIL ACTION Date: 10/21/2024 Item No.: 7.c. Department Approval City Manager Approval Item Description: Discuss Shopping Cart Accumulation at the Metro Transit Stop Located at the Southwest Corner of County Road B and Snelling 1 2 Background 3 During the last several years, there has been an increase in concern regarding the accumulation of 4 shopping carts at or near the Metro Transit stop at County Road B and south bound Snelling Avenue. 5 Community Development staff has worked proactively with several store managers to retrieve their carts 6 on a timely basis when they are observed off store property. The carts generally collect in the grass 7 area just north of the platform, although on occasion one may leave the median area and roll into the 8 right-of-way. 9 10 The current enforcement process for addressing the abandoned carts is to contact the store managers 11 when either staff observes the accumulation of carts or when a complaint is received. The store 12 managers have been cooperative in responding to the City. On a couple of occasions in 2022 and 2023, 13 when the stores did not respond in a timely manner, the City did abate the carts and charge the stores 14 whose carts were removed by the City. On these rare occasions, all fees incurred by the City were paid 15 by the responsible cart owner. Since that time, staff has received full cooperation from the stores in their 16 cart retrieval and the City has not needed to abate the carts. This is likely due to the cost of abatement 17 and that the carts themselves are worth several hundred dollars. This is not to say that carts do not 18 collect, because they do due to the concentration of shopping in the area, the concentration of 19 multifamily housing units nearby, and the presence of the Metro Transit stop. However, staff's 20 observations are such that the accumulated carts are voluntarily retrieved by the stores, repeating day 21 after day (see Attachment 1). There have also been circumstances where individuals are bringing carts 22 into the median to use as benches. The Community Action Team within Roseville PD, and Ramsey 23 County staff have worked with these individuals and have been able to have these carts removed from 24 the medians. 25 26 Staff has examined options that would require the utilization of devices that prevent carts from being 27 removed from the cart owner's property. An ordinance requiring these devices would need to be 28 adopted. After discussions with the City Attorney, it was discovered such ordinances are rare and in 29 order to apply the ordinance to existing businesses one would have to find such regulations are 30 necessary from a public safety and nuisance standpoint. The City of Minneapolis has such an 31 ordinance, but their ordinance only applies to licensed businesses and "cart control plans" are allowed in 32 lieu of cart locks. The City Attorney also found that in cities (not in Minnesota) where ordinances have 33 been adopted, cart locks are only required for new businesses and the control plan is allowed for 34 existing businesses. This research suggests it may not be as easily defensible, legally, to require cart 35 locks for existing businesses, given the current process used by staff essentially equates to a cart 36 control plan. And while the carts accumulated at the station are not pleasant aesthetically, it is rare they 37 present a public safety or nuisance concern. 38 39 As a bit more background, the City recently completed a pedestrian study of this area, with a Community 40 Development request to consider concepts for improvements to intersections that could potentially better Page 1 of 3 Qbhf!227!pg!286