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The County's website contains, in a place not easy to find, instructions and a process for obtaining bin permits online. It seriously needs fixing.
- There is no link to this page on PAI's "Apply for a Permit" page.
- The Donation Bins Use Permit page contains the statement: "An annual Donation Bin Use Permit is required to place a donation bin at an approved location. Use Permits expire on December 31 of each year. Applications must be submitted by September 30 for the following year." This is very confusing. The process requires an initial application for a new bin (which can obviously be applied for at any time) and a once per year renewal, which obviously doesn't need a 3-month lead time (since it is responded to within 48 hours as stated elsewhere).
- A fee of $100 makes sense for an initial permit, since it involves review of extensive submitted information, but not for a renewal, which should be a completely automated process, like renewing a pet license.
- The instruction state that an application will not be processed if there is any open Code Enforcement case on the parcel. This is nonsense since an open case could likely be to "get a permit" or for something completely unrelated. In addition, because of serious errors in CE, many old cases still show as "open". This "catch-22" requirement would literally require that a non-permitted bin be removed before a permit could be issued. (I honestly think this would be a good idea for any required permit, whether a sign or a building, but this is certainly not what was intended.)
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