You’ve seen them all over town. Big metal “donation boxes” designed to accumulate goods such as books, clothes and other items that can be re-used or recycled.
Their proliferation got to the point where last week the Peachtree City Council adopted a set of rules to govern their location and exterior in an effort to make them less obtrusive.
Under the new rules, companies or charities must pay a donation box permit fee of $25 a year to cover administrative costs. Also each box must display contact information for the operator, and only one donation box will be permitted per commercial or industrial lot.
The donation boxes are not permitted on property zoned residential, nor on any commercial site in the Ga. Highway 54 West corridor overlay district, according to the ordinance.
The new ordinance requires the boxes’ colors to be “low reflectance and subtle, neutral or earth tone colors.” Colors of high intensity, metallic, black or fluorescent colors are not allowed under the new rules.
Other facets of the new regulations include:
• Donation boxes are not permitted within a required parking space or within a building setback;
• The boxes must be no larger than 128 cubic feet, with a maximum height of eight feet. The boxes currently in the city range form 6 to 8 feet tall;
• The boxes must include contact information for the operator. If the operator does not respond to queries from the city, the property owner is responsible for maintenance and removal if necessary;
• The boxes must not cause a sight obstruction;
• No advertising will be allowed on the box except for its specific use;
• Signs on the box are limited to a maximum of two square feet; and
• Donation boxes must be removed form vacant or foreclosed lots in an effort to avoid maintenance and vandalism issues.
