[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Trustees
of the Village of Hamilton 6-10-1997 by L.L. No. 2-1997; amended in its entirety 11-18-2014 by L.L. No. 6-2014. Subsequent amendments noted where applicable.]
For the purpose of this chapter, the words used
herein are defined as follows:
A building, commercial or residential, in which or where
a person transacts business and deals in goods, wares, merchandise
or services, which shall have been in operation for at least 90 days.
Any person or persons, group, organization or entity engaged in the sale of prepared, ready-to-eat food items upon any public land, but excluding any person or persons licensed to sell food items at the Hamilton Farmers' Market in accordance with Chapter 66 of this Code, or permitted at any community or charitable event approved by the Board of Trustees.
Any natural person, association, partnership, firm or corporation.
Any person who by means of going door to door
or by standing in any street or public place:
Offers to sell merchandise, wares or other goods.
Takes orders for the future delivery of merchandise,
wares or other goods.
Offers to purchase goods, wares or other articles
of value.
Offers to perform services immediately or at
any future date, or offers to make, manufacture or repair any article
or thing whatsoever for future delivery.
For the purpose of this chapter, the following
terms shall be considered synonymous with "solicitor": "hawker," "peddler,"
"itinerant merchant," "transient vendor," "purveyor" and "door-to-door
salesperson."
Cars, trucks, vans, pushcarts and trailers.
It shall be unlawful for any person to solicit, as defined in § 112-1, within the Village of Hamilton without first having registered with the Village Clerk and having received, and having in force and effect, a license for the same, if such be required by said Village Clerk pursuant to the terms hereof.
The term "solicitor" or synonyms shall not include
the following:
A.
Farmers seeking or taking orders for, or selling or
offering for sale, their own produce.
B.
The seeking or taking of orders for, or the selling
or offering for sale of, bread or bakery products, meat or meat products,
milk and milk products by any manufacturer or producer thereof.
C.
Persons soliciting on behalf of religious, charitable
and nonprofit organizations registered under the provisions of Executive
Law § 172 or are exempt from registration under Executive
Law § 172-a and who, while soliciting, are possessed of
a card or other written evidence of appointment or authority to solicit
for said organization or corporation.
D.
Solicitations and sales by merchants having an established
place of business within the Village, or their employees while acting
within the scope of their employment, conducted from and immediately
adjacent to said established business site, provided that approval
for location of the outdoor sales on Village sidewalks or public areas
is approved by the Code Enforcement Officer.
A.
Any person desiring to procure a license or to register
to solicit in the Village of Hamilton shall file with the Village
Clerk a written application, together with an employer's authorization
if required, sworn to before a notary public, upon a form approved
by the Board of Trustees.
B.
If the Village Clerk shall approve the application,
he shall within five days issue a license or registration card signed
by him, authorizing the holder thereof to conduct business under the
terms of this chapter. In the event that the application shall be
denied, the Village Clerk shall state the reasons therefor. Any license
issued hereunder shall not be assignable, and any holder of a license
who permits it to be used by any other person, and any other person
who uses it, shall be guilty of a violation of this chapter.
C.
No license shall be granted to a person under 18 years of age. No license shall be issued to a person who has been refused a license within the past 12 months or who has had a license revoked within the past 12 months unless the applicant can show that the basis for such rejection or revocation no longer exists. Every licensee, while conducting business, shall carry the license and exhibit the same upon demand as required under § 112-8 hereof.
D.
The applicant shall indicate the location where any
selling or soliciting will be done, and a permit will be issued for
such location only. Any changes of location must be requested in writing
to the Village Clerk.
A.
The Village may at any time, for cause shown or for
a violation of this chapter or any other law or any violation of a
condition of the license, immediately revoke any license by delivering
to the licensee, either in person or by mailing to the address given
in the application, notice of such revocation stating therein the
reason(s) for such revocation. A license so revoked shall be returned
to the Village Clerk within four days of revocation.
B.
The refusal of a solicitor to leave a private premises
after request by the owner or lawful occupant, or the solicitation
of persons other than between the hours of 9:00 a.m. and sunset, shall
be sufficient cause for revocation.
C.
Any person whose license has been revoked or wrongfully
refused shall be entitled to schedule an appearance, with counsel
if desired, before the Board of Trustees of the Village at a regular
or special meeting, to be heard on a request for reinstatement or
issuance of the license.
A.
The license fee for solicitors shall be $75 per person
as an annual license fee. Those solicitors who use vehicles, pushcarts
and trailers shall pay an annual fee of $100 for each vehicle, pushcart
or trailer, which shall be in addition to the fee of $75.
B.
Any honorably discharged member of the armed forces
of the United States holding a peddler's license provided for in Article
4 of the General Business Law shall not be required to pay any license
fee whatever, but shall be required to apply for and obtain a license
from the Village Clerk as herein prescribed.
C.
All licenses shall expire December 31 of each year
and must be renewed by payment of another annual fee.
D.
All applicants for food licenses shall exhibit to
the Village Clerk a permit from the Madison County Department of Health
at the time of application hereunder.
E.
All vehicles which will be used or involved in soliciting
shall at the time of application have a valid license and registration.
F.
All places of sale or soliciting shall be handicapped
accessible, as applicable.
Every vehicle used by a licensee hereunder shall
bear, prominently displayed on both sides of the vehicle in letters
and figures at least two inches in height, the name of the licensee
and his business address. Such lettering and figures shall be maintained
so that they can be plainly and distinctly read at all times while
such vehicle is in use during the continuance of the license. A licensee
using a vehicle shall employ only persons possessed of a license issued
under this chapter in making solicitations therefrom.
Every solicitor shall, at all times while engaged
in soliciting or peddling in the Village, carry the license upon his
person and shall immediately exhibit the license upon request to all
police officers, Village officials and citizens.
A licensee or person acting on behalf of the
licensee shall not:
A.
Create or maintain any booth or stand or place any
barrels, boxes, crates or other obstruction upon any street, sidewalk
or public place for the purpose of conducting business without the
express approval of the Code Enforcement Officer.
B.
Stand or sell the same or similar products within
200 feet of any established place of business within the Village of
Hamilton.
C.
Engage in soliciting or peddling at any time on Sunday
or any other day of the week after sunset and before 9:00 a.m. except
upon invitation from or an appointment with the resident.
D.
Hawk or cry his goods, wares, merchandise, articles,
contracts or services in the course of solicitations, nor, except
as stated immediately hereafter, use any loud speaker, horn or any
other sound amplification device for announcing his presence.
(1)
Special condition for use of sound. The Village Clerk is authorized to permit the use of sound amplification or music in connection with solicitation, provided that the applicant demonstrates that use of amplification or music shall cease when the cart or vehicle is halted, is changed frequently to avoid disturbing repetition, is kept within a volume not disruptive to the quiet and repose of neighboring inhabitants at a distance of 100 feet or more from the sound source and adheres to other reasonable requirements imposed by the Clerk to avert public nuisance. Such permission with stated limitations shall be indicated by the Clerk in summary form on the license and shall constitute an enforceable condition of the license. Any objection to the reasonableness of conditions imposed, and any violation of the condition, may be heard before the Board of Trustees in the manner stated at § 112-5C for revocation hearings.
E.
Enter upon premises for the purpose of soliciting
or peddling which are posted with signs indicating that soliciting
or peddling therein is prohibited.
F.
Peddle, vend or sell his goods or wares within 200
feet of any church or place of worship or any place occupied exclusively
as a public or private school or for school purposes.
G.
Engage in selling or offering for sale, or in seeking
or taking of orders or contracts for, any goods, wares, merchandise,
subscription, contribution, service or contract not mentioned upon
such license, or at a place other than designated in the license;
further, no licensee shall use any vehicle for soliciting or selling
other than the vehicle registered upon his solicitor's license.
It shall be the duty of the Village Clerk to
keep a record of all applications received and all licenses granted
under the provisions of this chapter, in which shall be recorded the
names and addresses of persons licensed, the amount of fees paid and
all other pertinent data concerning the issuance of licenses under
this chapter. All licenses issued and all records pertaining thereto
shall contain, in addition to the name and address of the licensee,
the kind of goods, wares and merchandise to be sold or the nature
of the services to be rendered, the permitted place of solicitation
and the date of expiration of said license.
A.
Any person violating any provision of this chapter
shall, upon conviction thereof, be guilty of a violation as defined
in the Penal Law of the State of New York, punishable by a fine not
to exceed $250 or by imprisonment for a term not to exceed 15 days,
or by both such fine and imprisonment. The continuation of an offense
against the provisions of this chapter shall constitute, for each
day the offense is continued, a separate and distinct offense hereunder.
B.
In addition, or as an alternative to the above-provided
penalties, the Board of Trustees may also maintain an action or proceeding
in the name of the Village in a court of competent jurisdiction to
compel compliance with or to restrain by injunction the violation
of this chapter.
C.
In addition, any person who violates any provision
of the foregoing may be subject to revocation of the license or license
privilege herein provided.
A.
Sidewalks. Locations for sidewalk, Village park and
other public area solicitations and sales must first have the approval
of the Code Enforcement Officer. Fifty percent of the sidewalk must
be clear for pedestrian travel, shopping carts, carriages, etc. The
location cannot impede any fire ingress or egress and cannot block
fire hydrants. The licensee shall be solely responsible for maintaining
an orderly, clean environment at all times at his vending site; failure
to do so will result in revocation of the license.
B.
Any private property to be used for soliciting shall
have written documentation from the owner allowing the licensee to
solicit on the same.
C.
Approval is required of the Code Enforcement Officer
for location of any sales on sidewalks or public areas of goods ordinarily
sold indoors in an adjacent established place of business. Sales shall
not unduly block or congest public passage and use.
All mobile food vendors must obtain a seasonal or one-time mobile
food vendor's license. These licenses will be issued by the Board
of Trustees beginning with applications received on or after January
1 and before January 31 of each calendar year. Licenses shall be valid
for only a single calendar year and only between May 1 and October
31 of that year.
A.
No more than two mobile food vendor's licenses will be issued
for any public space. Locations shall be specifically approved by
the Board of Trustees. No locations on Route 12B or Lebanon Street
shall be eligible for a license. No license shall be issued for any
location within 80 feet of an established restaurant or retail food
business, unless the mobile food vendor is the owner or operator of
the established business. All locations must provide for pedestrian
access to the vendor from the sidewalk side of the street only. Hours
of operation shall be limited to the hours between 9:00 a.m. and 8:00
p.m., unless otherwise approved by the Board of Trustees for any particular
application. The Board of Trustees may impose such other and further
conditions as it deems appropriate with respect to any particular
application.
B.
In the event there is more than one application to operate in a particular
space received by the Village Clerk between January 1 and January
31, the space will be awarded to the applicant that held the license
for that space during the immediately preceding season. If neither
applicant held the license for the space during the immediately preceding
season, the space will be awarded by lottery conducted by the Village
Clerk. If only one application for the space has been received by
the Village Clerk between January 1 and January 31 the space shall
be awarded to that applicant. Thereafter, applications shall be awarded
on a first-come basis.
C.
Each mobile food vendor must submit proof of all required insurance
coverage, including liability and worker's compensation, if applicable,
as well as a permit from the Madison County Health Department. Insurance
coverages shall be in accordance with such terms and conditions as
may be established from time to time by resolution of the Board of
Trustees. All mobile food vendors will be required to have a New York
State sales tax certificate.
D.
With the exception of a restaurant or other food service business with an established place of business within the Village of Hamilton, mobile food vendors shall pay a license fee for each mobile food vendor's license in addition to any permit fee required under Article I of this chapter. License fees will be determined by the duration (seasonal or one time) of the license, and will be set from time to time by resolution of the Board of Trustees.
E.
No mobile food vendor will be permitted on lawn areas of parks or
other public lands without specific permission of the Board of Trustees.
Vendor operations shall not interfere with the free flow of vehicular
or pedestrian traffic.
F.
Mobile food vendors shall be responsible for all cleanup and removal
of debris and trash from their individual sites, and shall provide
suitable disposal receptacles for use by patrons.
G.
Mobile food vendors shall be responsible for repair of any damage
whatsoever caused by, or in association with, their business to any
public lands or facilities. The Village shall have the right at any
time and without prior notice to the license holder to repair any
such damage and invoice the license holder for the costs of such repairs.
