The City of Findlay Planning and Zoning Committee voted to recommend that city council adopt a zoning amendment (ZA-09-2025) to add Section 11.61.16 to the municipal zoning code, establishing permit, placement and upkeep rules for clothing donation bins.

The measure requires bin operators to obtain a city permit and written consent from the property owner, limits placement to the side or rear of buildings and requires compliance with setback and visibility standards. Operators must display identification and contact information and service bins regularly; violations may lead to removal. Churches and local charities may place bins on property they own or lease under a simplified set of criteria. Grant Russell, acting chair, read earlier language that “donation bin shall be emptied regularly and within 48 hours of the primary contract person being notified by a city official,” and the committee agreed that the time frame be changed to two business days to accommodate weekend or holiday servicing complications.

Committee members discussed and removed a previously proposed three-part test that would have required bins to be “used exclusively to serve the purposes of” the religious or charitable organization; the revised exemption focuses on ownership and location only, leaving how organizations use collected material outside the scope of the zoning exemption. Matt, a planning staff member, said the planning commission recommended that change so the code would reflect whether Goodwill or Salvation Army owns the bin and whether it sits on that organization’s property, without probing downstream uses.

After discussion, the committee made a motion to recommend approval of the legislation with the planning commission’s recommended edits. The motion was made by Grant Russell and seconded by DeArmit; committee members voiced their support and the recommendation passed by voice vote.

The committee’s action was a recommendation to city council; council must still consider and vote on the zoning amendment.