The city of Campbell has its eye on regulating public donation bins where people can leave used textiles and clothing.

On April 18 the city council is expected to review a proposed ordinance amendment that will regulate location and operation of the bins. The move is an attempt to bring order to bins that city officials say often become targets for graffiti, litter and illegal dumping of larger objects and clothing.

According to city code enforcement officer Charlotte Andreen, the city was made aware of donation or collection bins being placed in the city without property owners’ permission. She said clothing was being left outside the bins on private or public property.

“I did a city-wide sweep in May of 2015, and I noticed nearly 40 collection containers within our six square miles,” Andreen told the planning commission at a March 28 public meeting. “Some were in the public right-of-way, on the sidewalk. Most of them were located on private property in landscaped areas, private sidewalks, near driveways.”

Andreen added that some bins are placed without the property owner’s knowledge.

“Some of the property owners, after coming into contact with them, were not even aware that there was a container left on their site,” Andreen said. “They had problems because either they didn’t provide permission and they didn’t have the proper tools or equipment to get rid of it, or they had to pay a large amount of fees.”

Some of the bins placed in the city belong to nonprofit organizations, while others belong to businesses. According to a city staff report, at least 11 organizations have multiple bins in the city.

Staff said contacting the bins’ owners has been a difficult task since there is no contact information on many of them.

Staff said the city cannot legally ban the placement of the collection bins, but can regulate their location and operation.

Under the proposed ordinance, the city would restrict containers and bins to commercial, controlled manufacturing and light industrial zones. No bins could be left in a residential zone or planned development zone. All bins must be at least 300 feet away from a residential neighborhood and 500 feet away from another bin or container. Containers cannot block parking spaces, driveways, pedestrian routes, accessibility routes and trash enclosures.

Bins would have to be placed on a concrete surface and have a tamper-resistant lock, with signage showing what can and cannot be deposited and hours of collection. Containers would need to be monitored and kept clean once a week, and there must be contact information on the bin, according to the staff report.

The planning commission is recommending the city require a permit to have a bin placed on property. Permits would need to be renewed annually with a signature from the property owner.

Alexandra Bradley of Recycle For Change, an organization with bins in the city, brought up two concerns about the proposed amendment.

“We have been engaged throughout the comment process and crafting of the ordinance and allowed to give feedback,” Bradley told the commission. “We are in support of a fair ordinance, and on its face for the most part we agree a lot with the ordinance, but there are some things that are a cause for concern for us.”

Bradley said the areas in the city that bins can be placed are limiting, and getting a signature from a property owner could be difficult if the owner is out of state or out of the area.

“We recycle over 10 million pounds every year,” Bradley said. “The reason why (the bins) work so well is because they’re convenient and easy to get to.”