Council directs staff to revise temporary solid‑waste rule and approves community garden MOU with food bank

The council addressed two separate new‑business items on April 21: a draft code change implementing a recent state law on temporary solid‑waste containers, and a memorandum of understanding that will allow the Post Falls Food Bank to operate the city’s community garden for food distribution.

Deputy City Attorney Chris Gabbert described a narrow code amendment to implement a state legislative change that allows property owners to contract with a non‑franchise hauler for temporary, project‑specific containers. Staff’s draft defined a temporary service as limited to a single instance per property per year for up to 90 days. Council members raised concerns that the bright‑line approach could be overly restrictive in cases where projects legitimately require more time or multiple dumpsters, and that the proposed language could entrench the city’s franchise hauler as a de facto monopoly for residential waste collection.

The council directed staff to return with a revised draft that includes additional flexibility but does not create a full new permitting regime. Staff said alternatives include allowing brief extensions, a simple administrative variance on a case‑by‑case basis, or measures limiting total days per year rather than a single instance.

On a separate item, Parks and Recreation Director Chris Emeryman presented an MOU with the Post Falls Food Bank to operate the city community garden that historically supplied produce to residents in need. Council approved the MOU, and staff said Parks will retain oversight and the ability to terminate the agreement if the food bank fails to meet maintenance obligations.

What happens next: Staff will return with a revised draft solid‑waste ordinance incorporating modest flexibility per council direction; Parks will execute the community‑garden MOU and coordinate oversight with the food bank.