Earlier this year, we reported on a Ninth Circuit decision upholding the City of Oakland’s permitting scheme for donation and collection boxes as a content-neutral, and permissible, exercise of government authority.  Now, however, the plaintiff in that case has asked the Supreme Court to review a narrow question from the Ninth Circuit’s decision: “Is a regulation content based for purposes of the First Amendment where it applies only to unattended receptacles that solicit donations or collections?”

Though we’ve covered this case twice before, as a refresher, Petitioner nonprofit Recycle for Change places donation and collection boxes around Oakland to solicit donated materials for the dual purpose of conserving environmental resources and raising funds for charity.   In 2016, the city enacted an ordinance regulating unattended donation and collection boxes and requiring that property owners or donation box operators obtain a permit, produce a site plan, and carry at least $1 million in liability insurance.  The license fee established under the permitting scheme is $246 per year, and the initial application fee for the permit is $535.  The city’s regulations require maintenance of the boxes, place restrictions on the size and location of the boxes, and prohibit the placement of boxes within 1,000 feet of one another.

Recycle for Change sued Oakland on
Continue Reading Bay Area Nonprofit Asks Supreme Court to Weigh in on Oakland Bin Ordinance