“Many of these families come to Arms of Hope fleeing domestic violence and abusive situations,” Donnelly told the Dallas City Council at its meeting last week.
The organization helps families across Texas, including in Dallas. “Arms of Hope makes a difference right in this community, and it would not be possible without its charitable donation bin program,” Donnelly said.
However, the city says unattended donation drop boxes are contributing to unsightly neighborhood messes and illegal dumping. Prohibited items are sometimes left at them, operators fail to service them and it can be difficult to track down owners to deal with concerns. These are some of the reasons Dallas may soon regulate drop boxes.
To Donnelly, these bins can be a highly effective and efficient method of charitable fundraising for nonprofits. They solicit goods that otherwise would go to waste and be dumped into the city's landfills. “Charitable donation bins divert donated clothing and household goods from the waste stream to charity, encourage support for charitable causes, and recycle used clothing and household goods back into the community for sale at thrift stores,” she said.
Items that are not used get sold in bulk to support Arms of Hope services. But the regulations the city is considering could add costs to the whole operation.
The purpose of an unattended drop box registration program is to eliminate nuisance and blight in neighborhoods; establish operator accountability; regulate boxes using time, placement and manner restrictions; prevent placement on residential lots and address public safety concerns associated with the drop boxes.
During a presentation to the City Council last week, Chauncy Williams, assistant director of code compliance, showed members pictures of overflowing drop boxes with donated goods scattered around them. Some locations have multiple drop boxes, and there are nearly 400 of them across the city. Williams cited safety concerns with the boxes, saying that Dallas-Fire Rescue has had to respond to two calls for people getting their hands stuck in them. As of October this year, there have been 88 confirmed complaints about these boxes in 2023.“Arms of Hope makes a difference right in this community and it would not be possible without its charitable donation bin program." – Karen Donnelly, Arms of Hope
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Dallas City Council District 3 has the most drop boxes (64) of all the council districts. District 7 has the least (6).
Williams said city staff surveyed other cities, such as Houston, San Antonio, Arlington and Frisco, to compare how they handle unattended drop boxes. All the cities had ordinances to regulate the drop boxes; many charge an annual fee for the drop boxes, ranging from $48 to $220. Frisco was the outlier and doesn’t charge an annual fee.
Dallas is proposing a $248 annual fee for the boxes and a nonrefundable $101 replacement fee for damaged or destroyed decals on the boxes, Katina Robertson, superintendent of the parks and recreation department, explained to the City Council. These decals are issued by the city and show that the unattended drop box is permitted.
Owners would also be required to label the boxes with 24-hour contact information, Robertson said. No more than two boxes would be allowed per lot and per 1,100 feet under the proposed regulations. They would also be prohibited in property setbacks, required parking areas, driveways and sidewalks, as well as easements, fire lanes, flood plains, vacant lots, the city right of way or other city-controlled property.
They would not be allowed to exceed 112 cubic feet or to be placed on residential lots. Additionally, the city wants to require scheduled weekly monitoring and pick-up services for items collected, and the removal of litter within 25 feet of the boxes. Permits for the boxes could be revoked after an owner receives one or more citations in a 12-month period.
After the ordinance is passed, which could happen as early as this week, operators of these boxes will have 60 days to register with the city. If a violation is found, operators will have 10 days to rectify it. If the violation persists, the operator can be charged with a $386 citation. If the violation continues after that, the operator can be cited again for as much as $2,000.
Dallas City Council member Paul Ridley asked for clarification of what are considered unattended boxes. He said some boxes may be attended during certain times of the day but unattended at other times. “It’s a hole in the ordinance, I think, that needs to be addressed,” Ridley said.
Dallas City Council member Chad West said some of his constituents had brought the issue to him. He’s also concerned about how unattended boxes are defined. Robertson said the ordinance would include a definition of unattended drop boxes so this isn’t an issue. The recommended ordinance suggests allowing two boxes per site, but West said he’d like to see that reduced to one box per site.
The City Council is set to vote on the ordinance at its meeting this week. But Donnelly and Arms of Hope have a few notes on the proposed ordinance.
Donnelly said if there is to be a $248 permit fee, it should be per holder, not per bin. If it is a per bin fee, she said the fee should be significantly lowered. She also said the maximum bin size should be 175 cubic feet, not 112 like the city is proposing. Lastly, she said there should be no distance requirements for the bins. Donnelly said the way to regulate the placement of these bins is to limit them to one per lot, except on lots with more than 300 feet of road frontage.
On these larger lots, two donation bins by the same charitable operator should be allowed side-by-side, she said. This can control the volume of bins while ensuring there is enough space at larger locations to prevent overflow.
Donnelly added, “It is through the law’s strong maintenance requirements and permitting that the city is able to achieve its interests in proper maintenance and accountability while not restricting more protected charitable speech than necessary."
