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Square Peg In A Round Hole “Multifamily” Recycling
The City of Dallas has a new recycling ordinance effective January 1, 2020 governing recycling at “multifamily” sites. The intention is to reduce waste in landfills and make recycling available to all residents of the City of Dallas, even those residing in apartment complexes and condominiums. DART buses traverse the city with advertisements noting that all residents of Dallas, even those in apartments and condominiums, will soon be able to recycle. Unfortunately, in attempting to address a serious issue, the City of Dallas simply added these obligations to the portion of the Dallas City Code addressing waste disposal in apartment complexes. This has created a potential legal quagmire for multifamily properties like condominiums where the living units are owned separately.
The ordinance redefined “owner” to capture not only the record holder of title but also a condominium or homeowner’s association. However, this requirement only applies to multifamily properties/condominiums consisting of 8 or more living units. The new requirements for owners/ condominium associations are generally as follows:
1. Provide recycling collection services through a company permitted to provide such services. 2. Provide recycling containers through such a company that comply with all requirements for such containers pursuant to Dallas City
Code. 3. Place these recycling containers in locations that are within visibility of waste containers, and the service for collecting them should be the same as for collecting waste. For example, if the Association provides valet waste pickup from units, recycling should be picked up in the same manner. If the Association has trash chutes, recycling containers should be placed near the trash chutes where space is available. 4. Provide information through posters/signs in common areas discussing how to recycle, location of recycling containers, the materials that may be recycled, and the onsite contact info to report overflowing recycling containers. 5. If trash is collected through back-of-house/valet recycling by the association’s employees, the association must also offer biannual training to its employees as to recycling procedures.
These items were required to be completed by January 1, 2020. If you have a condominium association that is subject to these requirements, you should ensure that your association has satisfied the above obligations of Dallas City Code.
However, other provisions relate to multi-tenant (not multifamily) properties, and yet are still arguably included in the provisions affecting condominium associations. These include adopting an annual recycling plan which is to be submitted to the director of sanitation along with the community’s annual multi-tenant registration, but “multi-tenant” properties are defined as properties with multiple living units under the same ownership (although this need not be provided if the community contracts through the City of Dallas for recycling services). The ordinance further provides that the “owner” (association) must provide information regarding the community’s recycling programs to “tenants” upon lease commencement and biannually thereafter, and to update all tenants within 30 days of any significant changes to the recycling program.
for apartment complexes and not condominiums? The ordinance provides for a fine of $150-500 for each violation, with each day constituting a separate violation, so the penalties are steep for non-compliance. We reached out to the City of Dallas for comment. At this time, condominium associations generally are not required to file a multi-tenant registration, and also need not file a recycling plan with the city. The City of Dallas will merely confirm compliance with Dallas City Code by driving the condominium property to verify that there are recycling containers present.
We do recommend that condominium associations consider adopting a recycling plan and providing that plan and information regarding recycling to each owner upon acquisition of title to a unit. The association may want to also publish a reminder of this information twice a year. If the governing documents require that owners notify the association upon entering into a lease agreement, the association may also want to consider providing a copy of this information to the tenant at that time. In doing so, the condominium association will have satisfied all requirements of the ordinance other than filing the plan as part of its multi-tenant registration, although condominium associations are not currently required to file a multi-tenant registration.
There are a few final issues to address. For the recycling signage posted in common areas, the ordinance requires that the signage list an onsite contact for overflowing recycling containers. Many smaller condominiums may not have onsite management or staff. In those instances, the condominium may have to list an officer or director who resides on the property in order to comply with this requirement. Additionally, the ordinance requires that persons who are in the business of collecting/ removing recyclable materials from a multifamily site now must obtain a permit from the City of Dallas. The condominium association should ensure that any company it engages to provide its recycling services has the proper permit.
Eventually, but we cannot predict with any accuracy, the City of Dallas may revise the Dallas City Code to obligate condominium associations, which are multifamily properties but are not subject to multi-tenant regulations, to file their recycling programs with the city. However, at this time, so long as the condominium association has a compliant recycling program, it will satisfy the new requirements of the Dallas City Code.
Dean A. Riddle Julie L. Dupont
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