[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Supervisors of Fairview
Township 3-21-2019 by Ord. No.
2019-3.[1] Amendments noted where applicable.]
[1]
Editor’s Note: This ordinance also superseded former
Ch. 280, Peddling and Soliciting, adopted 1-21-1998 by Ord. No. 98-9,
as amended.
From and after the enactment hereof it shall be unlawful for any person not exempted by § 280-5 hereof who is not the holder of a valid and unexpired license issued pursuant to this chapter to engage in selling, purchasing, or soliciting the sale or purchase of food, printed matter, services, goods, ware or merchandise of any description, or in soliciting contributions, gifts or pledges of money or any other thing of value, by visitation to private homes or residences or on the public streets or highways of Fairview Township.
A.
Any person not exempted by § 280-5 hereof desiring to engage in the activities described in § 280-1 hereof shall make application for a license, in person, to the Township Secretary or the agent so designated by the Secretary. No expired form of identification will be accepted. The applicant shall supply, over his signature, the following information:
(1)
His name;
(2)
His local/temporary address, if any;
(3)
His phone number and email address;
(4)
His permanent address;
(5)
A description of himself to include age, gender, height, weight,
hair color and eye color;
(6)
The nature of the business or activity in which the applicant wishes
to engage within the Township; and
(7)
The name, address, telephone number and email address of his employer
or principal, if any.
(8)
All applicants shall submit with their application a valid form of
identification.
(a)
U.S. citizens shall furnish a state-issued driver's license;
(b)
Non-U.S. citizens shall furnish U.S. government-issued identification
in the form of a Permanent Resident Card (I-551) or an Employment
Authorization Card (I-766).
(c)
Any other forms of identification are subject to review and
approval by the Township Secretary or the agent so designated by the
Secretary. For non-U.S. citizens, foreign-issued identifications are
not acceptable. (The U.S. Customs and Border Protection may be contacted
to validate the authenticity of U.S. government-issued identifications
for non-U.S. citizens.)
(9)
All applicants shall submit with their application a background check.
(a)
Pennsylvania residents shall furnish a Pennsylvania Criminal
History Record Check or an FBI Fingerprint Criminal Background Check.
(b)
Non-Pennsylvania residents and non-U.S. citizens shall furnish
an FBI Fingerprint Criminal Background Check.
(c)
No background check more than 30 days old at the time the application
is filed will be accepted.
(10)
The applicant shall disclose convictions in any jurisdiction
of any crime, to include the nature of the crime and the penalty,
other than minor traffic violations. The applicant shall, together
with the application, submit to the Township Secretary or the agent
so designated by the Secretary two passport-sized (two inch by two
inch) photographs and shall pay a fee in the amount of $50 to defray
the cost of administering this chapter.
B.
Within 48 business hours after submission of said application and all supporting evidence of identification and the payment of the fee as aforesaid and it appearing that the information is acceptable and for an authorized activity, there shall be issued to the applicant a license in the form of a laminated identification card with photograph which shall, unless revoked, entitle the licensee to engage in the activities described in § 280-1 hereof and in the application for a period of 12 months from the date of issuance.
Every person to whom a license has been issued hereunder shall,
in conducting his business activities in the Township, comply with
the following rules of conduct:
A.
He shall carry his license at all times while soliciting and exhibit
it upon request to any law enforcement official, Township representative
or any person upon whom he shall call or with whom he encounters in
carrying on his licensed activities.
B.
He shall not permit any other person to have possession of his license
and shall immediately report its loss to the Township Secretary or
the agent so designated by the Secretary. He shall not cause or permit
his license card to be altered or defaced.
C.
He shall not enter, or attempt to enter, any dwelling house without
invitation or permission of the occupant and shall immediately leave
any premises upon request.
D.
He shall not attempt to enter in any manner the property that is
marked with any notice indicating that no soliciting shall occur on
the property of that person occupying that property.
E.
He shall not solicit in a neighborhood that has identified itself
as not allowing peddlers.
F.
He shall not represent his license to be an endorsement by the Township
of Fairview of himself or of his goods or services or of the goods
or services of his principal or employer.
G.
He shall conduct activities only during the hours of 10:00 a.m. and
6:00 p.m. prevailing time.
H.
He shall immediately surrender his license upon revocation of his
license as hereinafter provided.
A.
The Code Enforcement Officer or Assistant Code Enforcement Officer shall have the power to suspend any license issued under this chapter for violation of this chapter or any condition or regulation under which the license was granted, for undesirable business practices, upon the failure of the licensee to comply with the standards of conduct established by § 280-3 hereof or upon ascertainment that the licensee has made any false statement in his application for license hereunder. The Code Enforcement Officer shall report all suspensions to the Board of Supervisors which may, for cause shown, revoke or reinstate the license after giving the licensee reasonable notice and an opportunity to be heard. Prior to revoking any license issued under this chapter, the Township shall provide a license holder with notice of the alleged violations and inform the licensee of his right to a hearing on the alleged violation. Notice shall be delivered in person, by mail or electronically to all addresses supplied on the application, including the address of the applicant's employer or principal, if any.
B.
Upon receiving the notice of violation, the licensee shall have the
right to request a public hearing before the Board of Supervisors.
If no request for a hearing is received by the Township within 10
days following the service of the notice, the Township may proceed
with the suspension or revocation. For the purpose of a mailed notice,
service shall be considered complete as of the date the notice is
placed in the mail. If a public hearing is requested within the stated
time frame, a hearing shall be scheduled within 30 days from the date
of the request for the public hearing. Within three regular business
days of the hearing, the Township shall notify the licensee of its
decision. Any person whose license has been revoked shall be entitled
to appear, with counsel if he so desires, before the Board of Supervisors
at a regular or special meeting and be heard on behalf of a request
for reinstatement of his license.
The following persons are exempted from the licensing requirements
of this chapter:
A.
Persons engaged in door-to-door canvassing on religious or political
subjects or distributing religious or political handbills shall be
exempt from the license requirements of this chapter. All such persons,
however, shall carry official identification, such as a driver's
license, upon his or her person at all times and shall exhibit it
upon request of any person who is the subject of the canvassing or
distribution.
B.
Farmers engaged in selling only the produce of their own farms from
a truck or other vehicle.
A.
Any person who violates or permits the violation of this chapter
shall be required to pay a criminal fine of not less than $100 nor
more than $1,000, together with costs of prosecution for each such
violation and may, upon default of payment of said fine, be sentenced
to imprisonment to the extent allowed by law for the punishment of
summary offenses. A separate offense shall arise for each day or portion
thereof in which a violation of this chapter is found to exist. The
enforcement of this chapter shall be by action brought before a District
Justice in the same manner provided for the enforcement of summary
offenses under the Pennsylvania Rules of Criminal Procedure.
