By Molly Ann Howell
Managing Editor
Abandoned shopping carts clogging sidewalks, choking arroyos, and creating hazards for drivers will soon come at a steep price for Gallup retailers.
In a major push to clean up city streets and curb urban blight, the Gallup City Council passed a sweeping new ordinance that imposes strict anti-theft rules on store owners and hits non-compliant businesses with $100 impound fees for every stray cart collected by municipal crews.
City Manager Frank Chiapetti, Jr. introduced the “Shopping Cart Abandonment Prevention Ordinance” during the Sept. 22 city council meeting. Explaining that the measure borrows from similar laws across New Mexico and the nation, Chiapetti noted that Gallup crews collected over 1,000 stray carts in the past year alone. The Solid Waste Department ultimately required 10 flatbed trucks to transport those unwanted carts to an Albuquerque recycling facility.
To prevent future clutter, the new law requires retail establishments to keep their shopping carts on store grounds through several mandatory measures.
Retailers must now equip every cart with a durable sign displaying store contact details and a legal warning against cart removal. Additionally, stores must post warning notices at all entrances and exits, collect and lock up all carts at the end of each business day, and—for 24-hour establishments—retrieve carts from their lots at least twice daily.
Within 30 days of the ordinance taking effect, retailers must also submit a written containment plan to the Gallup Planning and Zoning Department outlining cart inventory, loss-prevention strategies, after-hours storage, and employee training.
However, the ordinance offers flexibility for businesses that already protect their property. Stores using physical containment technology—such as wheel-locking systems—or coin-deposit systems can apply for a two-year exemption from the containment plan requirement.
Retailers that employ dedicated parking lot attendants to return carts to corrals may also qualify, provided they keep all carts secured after operating hours.
Beyond regulating business owners, the ordinance targets individuals who remove carts without authorization, classifying unauthorized cart possession off store property as a petty misdemeanor.
Chiapetti noted that police officers previously had no legal leverage when encountering someone pushing a cart down the street. Under the new misdemeanor classification, officers can stop individuals, request identification, and investigate potential illegal activity. Chiapetti suggested that officers might even uncover illicit substances such as fentanyl during these stops, framing the rule as another valuable tool for law enforcement.
While the ordinance allows exceptions—such as informal agreements between stores and nearby elderly residents—Chiapetti highlighted environmental safety as a driving force behind the law.
Abandoned carts frequently lodge in arroyos and ditches, trapping trash and blocking drainage systems during heavy rain. During July and September storms, city staff and the Gallup Fire Department pulled over 100 carts out of ditches to prevent severe street and building flooding. The city is currently compiling emergency management paperwork to quantify the financial and labor costs of flood recovery.
To handle carts already scattered across public property, municipal crews will begin impounding stray carts and assessing a $100 fee per cart against the owning retailer, plus potential third-party contractor collection fees. Retailers will have 30 days to pay the fees and retrieve their property by appointment before the city forfeits, resells, recycles, or discards the unclaimed carts. Code enforcement officers will assist law enforcement in implementing these provisions.
Despite these objectives, the ordinance sparked sharp pushback from council members and community members during the meeting.
Councilors Sarah Piano, Dist. 3, and Sierra Yazzie Asamoa-Tutu, Dist. 2, voiced their concerns over the reality of the ordinance.
Piano questioned putting this new duty upon code enforcement and law enforcement officers who already have many responsibilities on their plate. She also pointed out that it would put a burden on store owners.
She also worries that the new ordinance specifically targets the transient population.
“Most people who have carts seem to be unhoused transients,” she said. “If that’s the case, they probably didn’t abandon [their carts], they’re probably living out of it.”
She also questioned the fact that if offenders are to be put in jail, the county jail already has limited space.
Chiapetti clarified that offenders would typically face fines or community service—often cleaning up public spaces—rather than jail time, though Gallup Magistrate Judge Janell Griego holds final sentencing authority. He argued that compliance costs would ultimately prove cheaper for businesses than continually replacing stolen carts.
“In the long run, it’s going to be a lot cheaper than losing the amount of carts and having to buy new carts,” Chiapetti said.
Yazzie remained unpersuaded, arguing against criminalizing vulnerable populations.
“I really disagree with criminalizing the poor,” she said. “The last thing I want to see is the unhoused population criminalized and chased down. I think if we’re going to take the shopping cart option off the table, we should offer something like storage lockers people can store their stuff in.”
Public comments echoed these concerns.
gallupARTS Director Rose Eason said that as it stands, the ordinance has many loopholes in it that store owners will be able to work around. She said these loopholes will ultimately leave the unhoused responsible for abandoned carts, when it should actually be the store owners’ responsibility.
“[This ordinance] doesn’t accomplish your purpose,” Eason said. “It’s also totally unsound and irresponsible. It makes me really frustrated that you guys are even contemplating this action.”
Eason also addressed the fact that the city currently doesn’t have a City Attorney, and per Gallup City Code, only city attorneys can draft up ordinances. Chiapetti said former City Attorney Erika Pirotee drafted up the ordinance before she resigned.
Another concerned citizen, David Butterworth, spoke up about how the ordinance works against the unhoused.
“If we’re going to criminalize poverty, we need to think about the impact that’s going to have on those peoples’ lives,” he said.
Ultimately, the objections were not enough to halt the measure.
Following the public comment period, Councilors Ron Molina , Dist. 4, and Linda Garcia, Dist. 1, joined Mayor Marc DePauli in voting “yes,” overriding “no” votes from Piano and Yazzie to pass the ordinance.
The law goes into effect 30 days after passage.
