[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Supervisors
of the Township of West Deer 7-21-1977 by Ord. No. 118; last amended in its entirety 1-17-2001 by Ord. No.
302. Subsequent amendments noted where applicable.]
The following words shall be construed to have
the meanings set forth below; and, throughout this chapter, the singular
shall include the plural, and the masculine gender shall include the
feminine and neuter:
The practice of going from dwelling unit to dwelling unit
to:
Conduct surveys for research purposes (other
than those conducted by an agency of the state or federal government);
To make analyses, to take opinion polls, to
compile rating data;
To obtain or seek contributions or donations
for any person or organization or cause;
To advance religious or political causes and
proselytizing with regard thereto; and
To conduct any similar work which, by its nature,
involves door-to-door to place-to-place activity, including distribution
of circulars.
Any goods or services, including, but not limited to, magazines,
periodicals, books, orders or contracts for services, home improvements
or alterations.
Any canvasser or solicitor required to apply for a registration
certificate under this chapter and shall include all agents and employees
of the canvasser or solicitor.
The practice of going from dwelling unit to dwelling unit
selling, causing to be sold, offering for sale or taking orders for
present or future delivery of merchandise or services. "Canvass or
solicit" does not include a series of licensed entries on private
property (e.g., milkman making normal deliveries).
The municipal government or the land within the geographical
boundaries of West Deer Township, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania,
depending upon the context.
No person shall canvass or solicit in the Township
without first having obtained a permit from the Chief of Police, Township
Manager, or his or her delegate.
Each person desiring to engage in canvassing
or soliciting shall first make application to the Township Police
Department. Such application shall be upon a blank provided by the
Department and shall contain the following information verified by
oath or affirmation for each applicant: what he/she desires to canvass
or solicit for; the days, dates of the registrants' canvassing or
soliciting; his/her name, home address, a statement as to whether
he/she has been convicted of a criminal offense, and if so, the date
of conviction and disposition; the make, model, year, color, and registration
of the vehicle, if any, he/she will use; a copy of a current drivers
license. Signature denotes authorization to conduct criminal history
inquiry. The Township will conduct a background check based on information
received and following that, if all information is in order, will
issue to the applicant a permit within one business day from the date
of filing the application. Such permit may not be transferred from
one person to another.
[Amended 4-20-2016 by Ord. No. 408]
Fees as set forth from time to time by resolution
of the Board of Supervisors will be charged for the issuance of a
permit and will accompany the registrant's solicitor's identification
badge and a copy of this chapter.
The principal registrant shall carry the permit
at all times when in the Township and shall exhibit it to any Township
citizen or resident or Township official upon request. All approved
solicitors must prominently display on his/her outermost garment an
identification badge, which signifies authorization to solicit within
the Township for a specified period.
In the event an application for a permit is
disapproved by the Chief of Police, Township Manager, or delegate,
the applicant may, within five days of the denial, appeal the decision
to the Township Board of Supervisors which shall set a time and place
for a hearing. This hearing shall be held within 30 days after appeal
is taken by applicant, at which hearing the applicant will be given
the opportunity to present reasons why the permit should be issued.
The decision of the Township Board of Supervisors shall be made within
10 days of the appeal hearing, and shall be final.
A.Â
Hours. No person shall canvass or solicit in the Township
on Sundays. No person shall canvass or solicit before 9:00 a.m. or
after 7:00 p.m., Monday through Saturday. This restriction shall apply
to all persons to whom a permit has been issued.
B.Â
List. No person shall canvass or solicit in the Township
without first obtaining from the Chief of Police, Township Manager
or his or her delegate a list of all residences and dwelling units
in the Township where the owner/occupant of the residence or dwelling
unit has notified the Township in writing that they do not wish to
be visited on their premises at any time by any person performing
any canvassing and/or soliciting activity. No person, including a
registrant, may canvass or solicit at any dwelling unit designated
on such list. Any such written notice from an owner/occupant to the
Township may be revoked in writing at any time by such owner/occupant.
The Chief of Police or Township Manager may
revoke the permit for any of the following causes:
A.Â
Fraud, misrepresentation or false statement contained
in the application for license;
B.Â
Fraud, misrepresentation or false statement made in
the course of carrying on his/her business as solicitor, peddler,
canvasser or transient merchant or itinerant vendor;
C.Â
Any violation of this chapter;
D.Â
Conviction of any crime involving moral turpitude;
or
E.Â
Conducting his/her business in an unlawful manner
or in such a manner as to constitute a menace to the health, safety
or general welfare of the general public.
The terms of this chapter shall not apply to:
A.Â
Persons selling personal property at wholesale to
dealers in such articles, and the provisions of this chapter shall
not apply to the acts of merchants or their employees in delivering
goods in the regular course of business, nor shall the terms of this
chapter be held to include or apply to any farmer or truck gardener
who shall vend, sell or dispose of or offer to sell, vend or dispose
of the products of the farms or garden occupied and cultivated by
him; nor shall it apply to any manufacturer or producer in the sale
of bread, bakery or dairy products, meat and meat products or milk
or milk products; nor shall it apply to any person seeking election
to any federal, state, county, or local office if such person has
filed appropriate petitions and registered as a candidate for such
office. Nothing contained in this chapter shall be held to prohibit
any sale required by statute or by order of any court, or to prevent
any person conducting a bona fide auction sale pursuant to law.
B.Â
In addition, this chapter shall not apply to boys
or girls under the age of 16 years who take orders for and deliver
newspapers, greeting cards, candy and the like, or who represent the
Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts or similar organizations and take orders
for and deliver cookies and the like.
C.Â
Any person who works for an organization which has
been registered with the Pennsylvania Department of State, as required
by Act No. 337, approved August 9, 1963, known as the "Solicitation
of Charitable Funds Act", 10 P.S. § 160-1 et seq.,[1] shall not have to register with the Township of West Deer,
but such organization shall cause notice to be given to the Police
Department that such person will be canvassing and soliciting in the
Township of West Deer; any such person shall carry an appropriate
identification card issued by the organization for which he or she
works.
[1]
Editor's Note: See now the Solicitation of
Funds for Charitable Purposes Act, 10 P.S. § 162.1 et seq.
Solicitation of funds for charitable, religious
or nonprofit causes shall be permitted at any business establishment
and upon any business properties, such as shopping center parking
lots, during normal business hours (with the consent of business owner),
but those solicitors shall also register at the Township Building
and carry identification cards.
[Amended 4-20-2016 by Ord. No. 408]
A.Â
Any person,
partnership or corporation who or which has violated or permitted
the violation of any provision of this chapter, upon being found liable
therefor in a civil enforcement proceeding commenced by the Township,
shall pay a judgment of not more than $600, plus all court costs.
No judgment shall commence or be imposed, levied or payable until
the date of the determination of a violation by a Magisterial District
Judge. If the defendant neither pays nor timely appeals the judgment,
the Township may enforce the judgment pursuant to the applicable rules
of civil procedure, at which time, in addition to any penalties, the
violator shall be liable for any attorneys’ fees and costs incurred
by the Township. Each day that a violation continues or each section
of this chapter which shall be found to have been violated shall constitute
a separate violation.
B.Â
Each entry
upon private property which does not comply with the provisions of
this chapter shall constitute a separate offense.
