Over the last several months, I have been working with Administration & Regulatory Affairs Department, the City of Houston Legal Department and stakeholders to draft a donation box ordinance for the City of Houston.
Several residents have expressed their frustration with the number of donation boxes in our community. The city of Houston currently does not have a donation box ordinance and many of these boxes have been placed on private property without permission from the property owners and have also become locations for illegal dumping.
While there are some responsible charitable and for-profit organizations that operate these donation bins, I saw a need for policy regulation to prevent unlawful placement and maintenance and to protect our neighborhoods and businesses where these bins are located.
The proposed donation box ordinance will be presented during the Quality of Life Committee meeting Wednesday, March 24, 2021 at 2:00pm. Please see the agenda and joining details via this link:
I look forward to this ordinance coming out of committee and then to our city council agenda for adoption by the city council. If you would like to speak during the committee meeting please sign up or feel free to email your comments to me for inclusion in the discussion.
Special thanks to all of the residents who have expressed their concerns and helped to get several of the nuisance or abandoned donation bins removed. This ordinance will not only be a great help for us in District K, it will benefit the entire city. I’m proud of the amazing policy work we are doing in our community. We are stronger together!