Decrying a rash of metal thefts, the Dallas City Council unanimously voted Wednesday to approve new measures that will stiffen rules governing the sale of scrap metal to recycling businesses.

Effective Monday, metal recyclers must take still photographs of metal sellers, their vehicles and the metal they’re selling. Additionally, buyers must record images of sellers’ government-issued identification cards and take their thumbprint impression. They must also retain purchased metal for five days – not three – before processing or reselling it.

Sellers, in turn, must provide metal recyclers the make, model and license plate number of the motor vehicle used to deliver their metal. Under the ordinance, a person who does not deliver their metal in a motor vehicle or in a trailer attached to a motor vehicle cannot sell it to a metal recycler.

“This will make it one of the most aggressive ordinances anywhere in the region,” Mayor Tom Leppert said.

Dallas and many other North Texas municipalities for several years have grappled with thieves stealing metal from almost every location conceivable: air conditioners from private homes and churches, pipes from public buildings, and copper wiring from street lights. A spike in prices for some metals has only exacerbated the problem.

Dallas also is banning sellers from peddling catalytic converters and any part of a utility structure. For metal sold legally, sellers must now present recyclers with “written documentation evidencing that the seller is the legal owner, or is lawfully entitled to sell, the regulated metal property,” according to the ordinance.

Council members Wednesday delayed voting on a provision that would require metal recyclers to pay scrap sellers by mailing them a check, or through a cash transaction card – but not cash itself. They said they expect to take up that matter before the council takes its annual July recess.

Several scrap metal recyclers who attended Wednesday’s council meeting said they support an expansion of the city’s ordinance in principle, while telling council members that they indeed need more time to work with them on the payment provision.

"The scrap recycling industry is committed to doing its part," said Arnold Gachman of Gachman Metals. "We agree in principle with the concept.”

Pam Edaric of Best Metals was an exception.

“We’re rushing to pass an ordinance that’s not ready to be passed,” Ms. Edaric said, adding that she’s concerned the ordinance, as written, will affect the homeless and those people too poor to drive a car or provide a permanent mailing address.

“It shouldn’t be a crime to be poor,” she said.

The ordinance punishes violators with a fine of up to $500. Aluminum food or beverage containers are generally exempt from the ordinance.