Salem, OR Code Violation Reporting: How to Report (2026)
Key Facts
- Reporting method
- Owner-run toll-free phone line
- Report forwarded to City
- Within 1 business day (SRC 98.340)
- Owner retrieval deadline
- 72 hours after notice (SRC 98.360)
- Late-retrieval penalty
- $50.00 civil penalty (SRC 98.370)
- Violation fine cap
- Up to $500.00 infraction (SRC 98.380)
- Unclaimed cart disposition
- City may sell after 30 days
Summary
Salem requires every shopping cart owner to run a toll-free phone line so shoppers and neighbors can report carts left on sidewalks or in yards. Under Salem Revised Code section 98.340, the line's operator must forward each report to the store and to the City's Code Compliance Office within one business day, and the owner must retrieve the cart within 72 hours or face a civil penalty.
(a)A toll-free telephone line shall be established, maintained and made available to the public, at the owner's expense, for the purpose of reporting abandoned carts.(b)The agreement between the owner and the toll-free telephone provider shall provide that operator of the toll-free telephone line forward a report of each call concerning an abandoned cart to the owner and to the Code Compliance Office, within one business day of receipt of the call, and that such report be provided through electronic mail or by fax.(c)More than one owner may use the same toll-free telephone number to share expenses.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 26 Update 1).
Full Breakdown
Salem Revised Code Chapter 98 treats an abandoned shopping cart as a public nuisance and builds the reporting channel directly into the ordinance rather than routing complaints through a general Code Compliance line. 330 requires that same toll-free number to be posted conspicuously on the store's own premises. 340 then obligates the owner, at its own expense, to keep that line staffed: the telephone provider must forward every call about an abandoned cart to both the owner and the Code Compliance Office within one business day, by email or fax, and two or more owners may share a single toll-free number if they document the cost-sharing agreement.
350 lets the Code Compliance Officer or any member of the public use that same number to report a cart's location; if a cart lacks the required sign, the City may take custody of it outright. 360 to retrieve the cart. 00 civil penalty before releasing the cart, with title forfeiting to the City if it sits unclaimed 30 days after notice. 150 lets the Chief of Police notify a property owner directly when repeated disorderly conduct, drinking in public, or similar violations turn a property into public nuisance property, but that process is officer-initiated rather than a resident hotline.
Violations & Fines
Failing to post the required identification sign (SRC 98.320), failing to post notice of the toll-free line (SRC 98.330), or failing to maintain the toll-free line (SRC 98.340) is an infraction punishable by a fine up to $500.00 under SRC 98.380. An owner who does not retrieve a reported cart within 72 hours faces a $50.00 civil penalty under SRC 98.370(a) before the City releases the cart back to them.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I report an abandoned shopping cart in Salem?
What happens after I call in a cart?
Can the City just take the cart if there's no owner sign?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Salem
Compare Salem to another location·View the Oregon code violation reporting overview
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