Review Clothing Donation Box Requirements

A resident of Ramsey contacted the City to suggest the City consider prohibiting clothing donation drop boxes that are placed in parking lots of area businesses.  These boxes are often placed in parking lots of local businesses to serve as a mechanism to donate clothing.  Some vendors may choose to use this as a mechanism to donate clothing to those in need while others may use this as a mechanism to recycle or re-sell donated clothing.

Notification not required at this stage.

Staff is looking for policy direction from the City Council as to the level of regulation it is comfortable in placing on these units.  A review of adjacent communities shows there is a broad range of approaches ranging from no regulation to prohibiting this type of use.

There are certain positive effects for allowing these types of units, regardless if the vendor chooses to donate the clothing or sell.  By utilizing these collection boxes, clothing remains out of area landfills rather than being disposed of through traditional waste hauling services.  However, the attached letter notes concerns of USAgain units, a vendor that places these units in the area, including Ramsey.  The letter states that the information provided by USAgain is misleading, in that clothes dropped in these boxes are not being donated, rather re-sold as recycled clothing.  Staff notes that in either case, these units do provide an opportunity for re-use of clothing that may not otherwise be accepted by more traditional recycled clothing stores.  Many of these traditional type stores will only accept donations of clothes that are only a couple years old.

However, there are also certain negative effects by allowing these types of collection boxes.  On occassion, these units can create an issue with the City's existing public nuisance ordinance when the unit is not frequently or adequately emptied in a timely manner.  This results in some donations simply being placed outside the unit.  Furthermore, some individuals will use this as an opportunity to donate items other than clothes, such as furniture.  Staff has responded to a handful of complaints that did require follow up with property owners.

Many cities are considering these units as outside storage, which thereby prohibits their use in many zoning districts.  Also, certain communities have made the policy decision that these units shall be allowed, provided they do not become a public nuisance as noted above.  Some of these communities utilize their public nuisance ordinance to address issues with outside storage when the units are full or furniture is placed next to them.  In many of the communities that allow these units, the Conditional Use Permit process appears to be an effective tool.  In this case, the City can have the opportunity to review the site conditions to ensure adequate space, impose reasonable conditions to mitigate identified adverse secondary effects, and provides a tool for enforcement in the event the user does not comply with applicable ordinances and/or agreements.

In reviewing the request, Staff noted the need to ensure that these units were defined separately from other transient type units.  For example, DVD/Blu Ray rental kiosks such as 'Red Box' could be inadvertently interpreted to be included in any ordinance developed.

Based on discussion.

Review of the request is being handled as part of regular staff duties.