Desert Hot Springs toughens up on shopping cart ordinance

If you've driven down Desert Hot Springs within the last year, you may have noticed more and more shopping carts misplaces out on the streets.

Desert Hot Springs City Council is revising its existing ordinance on shopping carts, to get more stores to do more when it comes to having their shopping carts stolen.

During the city council meeting earlier this month, Mayor Scott Matas said, “In recent memory from the last year or so we’ve kind of seen an increase. Where they’re coming from we don’t know.”

The problem has noticeably increased within the last year, even after the city had put an ordinance in place in 2009 that stated stores had to take preventative measures to ensure their carts aren't taken off the store property.

With the recent uptick of carts being left on the streets, and vacant lots city council has agreed to update the ordinance with stricter rules.

According to Councilmember Russell Betts, all stores are now going to be required to place locks on their carts. Before there was an option to attach poles to the carts so they don't leave the store, but hasn't proven to be effective.

Not only are stores going to have to do what they can to keep the shopping carts on the property, but it's now going to be illegal for people to take the carts.

Councilmember Betts said he believes this will bring better and healthy shopping experiences for the public.

“When you’re pushing a cart all over the city you end up with wobbly wheels because it’s going across the rough pavement," he explained. "They also get dirty. So the whole idea is just basically to keep the carts in good condition where they are.”

The idea to keep shopping carts off the streets is the city's initiative to make Desert Hot Springs a more beautiful city according to Betts.

A second reading for the updated ordinance will be on March 15. From there stores that don't have cart locks on them will be given a more accurate timeline of when the updates will go into effect.