Shopping cart owners can be fined up to $1,000 each day for carts found outside store boundaries. Presently, the City of Santa Maria Recreation and Parks Department returns abandoned shopping carts to the respective stores. This practice is unsustainable and not good use of taxpayer dollars. The City Community Development Code Enforcement Division will be conducting educational “Walk and Talks” with local grocery store businesses regarding abandoned shopping carts and the City’s Shopping Cart Containment Regulations.  Businesses can take a proactive approach and develop a containment plan to prevent shopping carts from being removed from store premises.  

For more information on Shopping Cart Containment Regulations, visit: https://library.qcode.us/lib/santa_maria_ca/pub/municipal_code/item/title_12-chapter_12_55.   

To report abandoned shopping carts, call the City of Santa Maria Cart Hotline at:  
(805) 925-0951 ext. 2667.