The ordinance was supposed to go into effect April 1, but now police say they won’t start enforcing fines until May.
This, after police say 10 stores are not in compliance with the new city code.
“A lot of it has to do with because it has to go to corporate so we’ve extended it one more month,” Medford Police Sgt. Don Lane said. “We sent a final notice letters to those businesses stores saying you have until May 1 to comply with this.”
Police say many small businesses are in compliance with the new code.
The ordinance requires stores to put signs on all their carts identifying who owns them, the phone number for the owner, and a statement saying removing the cart from store property is illegal.
“This code was put in place to assist them but also assist the livability of downtown,” Sgt. Lane said.
If a store is notified that one of its carts has been abandoned, it will have seven days to pick it up or face a fine.
Meanwhile, anyone caught with a cart off store property will be cited for theft.
Sgt. Lane says officers will do a shopping cart round-up near the end of April and remind anyone using a stolen cart that police will start enforcing the law by May.
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