Council considers amending or repealing city ordinance on donation drop boxes amid enforcement concerns

Mayor opened a wide-ranging discussion about the city’s donation-drop-box ordinance, O-13-17, saying boxes have proliferated in locations that violate spacing and screening rules and that monitoring and enforcement is consuming code and public-works resources. Chief Horn said only one donation box currently has an active permit (at McCowan Middle School) and described a pattern of boxes appearing overnight and returning after removal.

The mayor said her policy preference was moving toward repeal and a citywide removal strategy if compliance could not be achieved, citing economic-development and aesthetic impacts on corridors seeking investment. "My policy preference is, moving toward repealing this ordinance and a city wide removal strategy," she said. Council asked staff and legal counsel to draft language that would let the council consider either amendment or repeal at the Sept. 15 meeting; staff also noted they would provide data on current permitted boxes, locations, and enforcement costs.