SAN CLEMENTE, Calif.—San Clemente officials are preparing to formally adopt a new ordinance on Feb. 1 concerning shopping cart theft and unattended personal property. Previously, city officials said, locals had free reign to take a shopping cart from businesses and leave the basket on wheels anywhere in the city unless business owners pressed charges for the stolen property, which the county sheriff’s department would enforce under state law. However, the City of San Clemente plans to push shopping cart theft laws to allow code enforcement officers to cite violators who have impacted business operating expenses and damages to surrounding areas. “Now this will be on the books,” City Attorney Scott Smith said during a Jan. 18 council meeting. “If you have a shopping cart and you’re not bringing groceries to or from an enterprise consistent with the rules of that enterprise, you can be cited.” After receiving numerous complaints from …