[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Commissioners of the Township
of Robinson as indicated in article histories. Amendments noted where
applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Parks and recreation — See Ch. 182.
[Adopted 8-14-1989 by Ord. No. 16-1989 as Ch. 13, Part 2B,
of the 1989 Code]
As used in this article, the following terms shall have the
meanings indicated:
Any person, firm, group, partnership, corporation or association
whose avowed purpose and object is to benefit, assist, aid and further
the following causes:
Philanthropy;
Assistance to persons who are poor, impoverished, destitute,
underprivileged, needy, diseased, injured, crippled, disabled, handicapped
or in need of physical or mental rehabilitation;
Churches, religious societies or other religious sects, groups
or orders espousing spiritual and altruistic motives or conduct;
The teaching of patriotism or promoting relief and assistance
to this nation's war veterans;
Beneficial education of the mind or assistance to educational
institutions; or
The protection, shelter and sustenance of animals.
Seeking money donations, pledges thereof, or anything of
value to benefit, assist, aid and further the cause of a charitable
organization, either orally or by literature distribution.
Books, pamphlets, handbills, tracts, cards, circulars, pictures,
films, magazines or any other written or printed material.
It shall be unlawful for any charitable organization to solicit funds, as defined in § 190-1 of this article, within the limits of the Township of Robinson without first applying for and obtaining a permit therefor and wearing at all times an identification card as provided herein.
A.
A sworn application in writing for a permit under this article must
be filed in duplicate with the Township Manager at least three days
in advance of the first day sought for solicitation on a form to be
furnished by the Township and shall state:
(1)
The full name and address (legal and local) of the person or organization
sponsoring, conducting or promoting the fund drive;
(2)
Whether or not the applicant is a branch or division of a national
organization, and if so, the name thereof and the mailing and street
address of same;
(3)
The purpose or object of the charitable solicitation;
(4)
The dates of the solicitation;
(5)
The number of persons to participate in the solicitation and the
true legal name and address of each and the sex, height, color of
hair and eyes of each; and
(6)
A statement as to whether any person who will participate in the
solicitation has ever been convicted of engaging in a fraudulent transaction
or enterprise, a felony or other criminal offense involving moral
turpitude.
B.
No fee shall be required for the filing of the application.
The application shall be registered in a book called the Registry
Book. The application shall be granted and the permit issued within
48 hours after the application has been filed, unless, upon investigation
by the Township Manager, one or more of the following facts are found
to exist:
A.
That one or more of the statements in the application is not true;
B.
That the applicant or any agent or representative of the applicant
who will participate under the permit has been convicted of engaging
in a fraudulent transaction or enterprise, a felony or other criminal
offense involving moral turpitude, in which case the permit shall
be denied to the applicant or to the agent or representative so convicted;
or
C.
When the applicant or any agent or representative of the applicant
who will participate under the permit has previously violated any
of the terms and provisions of this article or any prior permit issued
thereunder.
Any permit granted hereunder may be cancelled after issuance
if any of the reasons for prior refusal should be discovered or become
apparent during the solicitation period.
It shall be unlawful for a charitable organization to distribute literature or any other article within the limits of the Township of Robinson, whether or not solicitation for money or anything of monetary value is involved, without first applying for and obtaining a permit in accordance with §§ 190-3 through 190-5 set forth above for charitable solicitation.
Within 10 days after notice of the action has been mailed or
hand delivered, the applicant shall notify the Township Manager in
writing of his intent to contest said action. Within 30 days after
receipt of said notice to contest, the Board of Commissioners shall
hold a hearing on the appeal petition and render a decision or may
institute a proceeding for temporary, preliminary and permanent injunction
to restrain the denied solicitation or distribution in a court of
competent jurisdiction, which action shall be governed by the applicable
rules of procedure and the time limits thereunder.
Upon issuance of a permit, the Township Manager shall note his/her
approval in the Registry Book and shall, at that point, issue to the
applicant or any agent or representative of the applicant who will
participate under the permit an identification card, which card shall
state the applicant's name, address, sex, height, color of hair
and eyes and the full name of the charitable organization which he
or she represents.
[Amended 7-13-1992 by Ord. No. 9-1992]
When permits for charitable solicitation or charitable literature
distribution or a combination of the two are granted, the following
rules and standards shall apply:
A.
Location. Such permits shall be restricted to public areas of the
Township and shall not be construed as permission by any private property
owner to conduct said activity on private premises.
B.
Time. Permit holders shall be restricted to the hours of 8:00 a.m.
to 9:00 p.m.
C.
Manner of operation.
(1)
Each person included in a permit shall wear the identification card
issued by the Township of Robinson on the upper clothing and in a
manner clearly visible to the public. It shall not be transferred
to another person and must be returned to the Township Manager at
the expiration of the permit.
(2)
Each person included in a permit shall not initiate any physical
contact with prospective donors unless said donor has either consented
to such contact or agreed to make a contribution.
(3)
Permittees are at all times subject to all laws, statutes and ordinances,
federal, state or local, regarding fraud, assault, battery, theft,
littering and any other law relating to the conduct of persons in
public places.
A permit shall expire after 30 days from the date of issuance.
A permit may be renewed for successive day intervals if written request
for the same is received by the Township Manager within the period
of 10 days prior to the expiration date and the request for renewal
contains a statement that the request is predicated on the same information
as contained in the original application.
Any person, firm or corporation who shall violate any provision
of this article shall, upon conviction thereof, be sentenced to pay
a fine of not more than $600 and, in default of payment, to imprisonment
for a term not to exceed 30 days.
[Adopted 5-12-2008 by Ord. No. 2-2008]
As used in this article, the following terms shall have the
meanings indicated:
Any person who shall engage in peddling, as herein defined.
Any natural person, association, partnership, firm, organization
or corporation.
SOLICITINGThe seeking or taking of contracts or orders for any goods, wares, services or merchandise for future delivery or for subscriptions or contributions upon any of the streets or sidewalks or from house to house or by visitation to private residences or by entering in or upon private property within the Township of Robinson, and shall further mean the seeking or taking of contracts or orders for home or other building repairs, improvement and alterations, and also orders or contracts for any mechanical, electrical, plumbing or heating device or equipment for house or other building improvements or repairs upon or from the places aforesaid within the Township of Robinson.
PEDDLINGThe selling or offering for sale of any goods, wares, services or merchandise for immediate delivery, which the person selling or offering for sale carries with him in traveling or has in his possession or control, upon any of the streets or sidewalks or from house to house or by visitation to private residences or by entering in or upon private property within the Township of Robinson.
Any person who shall engage in soliciting, as hereinabove
defined.
It shall be unlawful for any person to engage in soliciting
and/or peddling upon or along any of the public streets, alleys or
public places of the Township of Robinson. It shall be unlawful for
any person to engage in soliciting or peddling by going from house
to house without having first procured a license to do so. Any person
issued a license in accordance with this article shall retain the
original or photocopy of the same upon their person while engaging
in any activity regulated by this article. In addition, any person
issued a license shall visibly display on their person evidence of
the issuance of the license that may be required and issued by the
Township.
No person, as defined herein, may obtain or have in effect more
than 10 licenses for solicitation or peddling in the Township at any
time. It is the intent of this prohibition to prohibit any person
from obtaining more than 10 licenses on any singular occasion and
to also prohibit any person from cumulatively obtaining more than
10 licenses in any ten-day license period. The Township finds that
this restriction is reasonable and necessary to preserve and promote
the health, safety, tranquility and welfare of the residents of the
Township and serves the purpose of protecting the residents from undue
annoyance and protects the traveling public from the existence of
a multitude of pedestrians within public rights-of-way.
A.
It shall be the duty of any person engaging in any activity set out in § 190-13 within the limits of the Township of Robinson to make application to the Chief of Police of Robinson Township for a license to do so. It shall be the duty of the Chief of Police to investigate the application with regard to accuracy of the information on the application and any record of unsafe, criminal or fraudulent conduct of the applicant.
B.
The license referred to in this section shall issue upon filing of
a completed application and investigation unless the Chief of Police
informs the person in writing and within 10 days of the date of application
that the Chief of Police can demonstrate that the person, firm, corporation
or association is seeking to engage in unsafe, illegal, fraudulent
or criminal activity or has made a material misrepresentation on the
license application.
C.
In order to preserve the right of Township residents to enjoy the peace and tranquility of their homes without unreasonable interruption or annoyance during times when door-to-door solicitations are most unwelcome, notwithstanding § 190-13, it shall be unlawful for any person to sell or offer for sale any goods, commodity or services, or to solicit funds or donations of any kind in the Township of Robinson or by going from house to house for such purposes, between the hours of 5:00 p.m. and 10:00 a.m. or all day on Sundays or other business holidays recognized as such holidays by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Peddling activities shall be conducted only between the hours of 9:00 a.m. and dusk, prevailing time, unless a modification of such time period is granted by the Robinson Township Chief of Police, who shall have the discretion, but not the obligation, to grant such modifications if so requested.
[Amended 7-13-2009 by Ord. No. 3-2009]
D.
No activity described in § 190-13 shall be done on any private property posted with no-solicitation signs, and any such violation will be considered a trespass subject to the criminal laws of the commonwealth.
E.
The license application referred to in § 190-13 shall require only information sufficient to allow the person engaging in activity described in § 190-13 to be contacted by a Robinson Township citizen or by Robinson Township. This information shall include the name, address, date of birth, driver's license number, vehicle information and phone number of the person engaging in activity described in § 190-13. The application shall also require a brief description of the goods, commodity or service to be sold or offered for sale. If the applicant is a business enterprise of any kind, the application shall also include the official name of the business, any alternate names under which the enterprise conducts business, its state of incorporation, its tax identification number, and its registered address for accepting service of process.
F.
The applicant shall at the time of application state the duration
of the activities for which the applicant seeks the license. Any license
issued in accordance with this article shall be valid and in effect
for a period of no more than 10 days from the date of issuance.
A resident may submit a written request to the Township to be placed on a restricted residents directory, which shall be given to all applicants upon approval and issuance of a license. Persons to whom licenses are issued shall not solicit or peddle at any residence listed in such directory. Any licensee in violation of this section shall be subject to the penalties set forth in § 190-22.
No license shall be used at any time by any person other than
the person to whom it is issued.
Any license issued hereunder may be revoked by the Chief of
Police or Township Manager, after notice, for any of the following
reasons:
The following persons are exempt from the provisions of § 190-15 hereinabove.
A.
Any person engaged in the delivery of goods, wares or merchandise
or other articles or things in the regular course of business to the
premises of persons who had previously ordered the same or who were
entitled to receive the same by reason of a prior agreement.
B.
Persons conducting a bona fide auction sale pursuant to law or a
sale required by statute or by order of court.
C.
Peddlers or solicitors who are invitees of the person(s) who is(are)
the object of their peddling or soliciting.
D.
Persons who go upon the property or premises of another to engage in any lawful communications other than selling or attempting to sell subscriptions, products or services may do so, provided that such persons shall abide by any signs posted pursuant to § 190-15D hereof and all applicable laws and ordinances.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: Former Subsection E, which immediately
followed this subsection, was repealed 7-13-2009 by Ord. No. 3-2009.
The Board of Commissioners of Robinson Township shall establish
by resolution a schedule of fees for the obtaining of permits required
under the provisions of this article.
If any person is denied a license pursuant to § 190-13, that denial shall, at the written request of the person, be reviewed by the Robinson Township Board of Commissioners at its regularly scheduled meeting occurring in the month following the date of the denial of the application. The license shall be deemed approved unless the Robinson Township Board of Commissioners, by majority vote, finds that the person, firm, corporation or association is seeking to engage in unsafe, illegal, fraudulent or criminal activity, or has made a material misrepresentation on the license application.
Any person who shall violate any provision of this article,
upon conviction thereof in any action brought before a Magisterial
District Judge in the manner provided for the enforcement of summary
offenses under the Pennsylvania Rules of Criminal Procedure, shall
be sentenced to pay a fine of not more than $1,000 plus costs and,
in default of payment of said fine and costs, to a term of imprisonment
not to exceed 90 days. Each day that a violation of this article continues
or each section of this article which shall be found to have been
violated shall constitute a separate offense.
