N. Aurora regulates donation bins

North Aurora officials want residents to give to various charities, they just do not want to see those donations piling up in the village's parking lots and storefronts.

The village board unanimously passed an ordinance this week that restricts donation collection bins to areas out of sight. Collections can also remain in front of stores as long as someone is on site to monitor the collections, Trustee Mark Gaffino said.

Businesses and churches with the large bins will be notified they have 30 days to either move or remove them. After that date, village code enforcement could move the bins or write a ticket, Village Administrator Sue McLaughlin said.

Gaffino brought the issue to the board about a month ago when he noticed that although people have their hearts in the right place, the donations were often off target.

Several bins in the village were overflowing with collections and were making the village unsightly, he said. He added the bins are still allowed, just not where any mess they may cause would be seen.

Trustee Dale Berman said people who want to donate old clothes and other items to people less fortunate still have numerous options, including many charities that collect from front doorsteps.

"(The bins) are fine when everything is held inside. But we don't want any donations or junk outside," Berman said.

"There are so many ways to donate things to good charities, local charities. I just don't see a reason for us to have these (bins) since they are so often times problematic," Trustee Linda Mitchell said.

"I think this ordinance will help the neighborhood," Village President John Hansen said.