[Amended 6-28-1994 by Ord. No. 1566-94]
A. As used in this article, the following terms shall
have the meanings indicated:
NON-PROFIT-MAKING VENDOR
A person who sells goods, the proceeds of which are devoted exclusively to the purposes of a philanthropic, charitable or religious society on whose behalf he/she acts as agent with or without pay but excluding those individuals or organizations soliciting for funds or other thing of value for which no merchandise, wares or services are given in return and for which licenses are required and control thereof administered by Article
II, Charitable and Religious Solicitations, of this chapter.
PEDDLER
A person, commonly referred to either as a "transient merchant,"
"itinerant vendor," "route salesman," "peddler," "hawker" or other
such person who goes from place to place by traveling on the streets
or from house to house or who does not have a permanent premises for
the sale of goods, wares or merchandise and carries with him/her foodstuffs,
goods, wares and merchandise for the purpose of selling and delivering
them to consumers or who without carrying merchandise sells or proposes
to sell services of any kind, including but not limited to painting,
landscaping, subscriptions and photography.
SOLICITOR
A person selling the above-described articles or services
by sample or taking orders for future delivery, with or without accepting
an advance payment for the goods and regardless of whether the solicitation
is made by mail, telephone or personal contact. The provisions of
this article shall apply to the person who comes in personal contact
with the buyer through the delivery of the goods or the acceptance
of moneys in payment therefor.
B. This article shall not affect any person duly licensed
by the Commissioner of Banking and Insurance of the State of New Jersey.
The purpose of this article is to prevent unfair competition and dishonest business practices by regulation of the vendors specified in §
163-1.
Any person desiring a license shall file with
the Chief of Police an application blank, which shall contain the
following information:
B. Permanent home residence.
C. Name and address of firm represented; the names and
address of the persons from which goods making up the stock were or
are to be purchased.
D. Three business references.
E. The place or places of residence of the applicant
for the preceding three years.
F. The length of time for which the license is desired.
G. A description of the wares to be offered for sale.
H. The number of arrests or convictions against the applicant.
I. To the application shall be appended a letter from
the firm for which he/she purports to work, authorizing the applicant
to act as its representative.
Following the filing of the application, the
Chief of Police shall verify the information respecting the moral
character of the applicant by causing his/her fingerprints to be taken
and compared with those on file with the F.B.I. and the State Bureau
of Identification and, based on his/her findings, shall either signify
his/her approval or rejection of the application. Upon approval of
the application and payment of the fees, the license shall be issued
by the Police Records and License Bureau which shall keep all necessary
records pertaining thereto. For all license classes, the license shall
not authorize any person, except the person named in the license,
to engage in business thereunder. The license shall not be transferable
from the person to whom issued to any other person. A separate license
must be obtained by a licensed peddler or solicitor for every agent
or employee working for him/her.
Every person holding a license shall be required
to carry the license with him/her while engaged in the business licensed.
He/she shall produce the license at the request of any person solicited,
a police officer or other official of the borough. To every person
granted a license, the Police Department shall issue a license certificate
bearing the words "Police Dept. Peddler's and Solicitor's Permit,"
together with the number of the license and the year for which it
is issued. All automobiles, wagons, carts or other vehicles used for
peddling shall have affixed thereon a metal plate bearing the words
"Police Dept. Peddler's and Solicitor's Permit," together with the
number of license and the year for which it is issued.
License and processing fees shall be as follows:
A. A fee, as set from time to time by resolution of the
Borough Council, shall be paid for the processing of each license
application and shall apply to each individual who makes application
for the license. The processing fee shall include the cost of fingerprinting,
the issuance of the license and the license issued therefor.
B. The annual license fee under this article shall be
as set from time to time by resolution of the Borough Council with
the license being issued on January 1 of each year. No license fee
shall be prorated for any portion of the year.
C. Non-profit-making peddlers shall not be required to
pay a license fee.
D. Non-profit-making vendors shall not be required to
pay any license fee.
All persons to whom a license shall be issued
hereunder shall observe the following regulations, and for any violation
thereof the license shall be immediately revoked by the Chief of Police.
A. No person or vehicle shall stand or be parked, for
the purpose of displaying or selling wares or merchandise, on public
or private property within a business district.
B. No person covered by this article shall sell or attempt
to sell in accordance with the terms of this article before 9:00 a.m.
or after 5:00 p.m. prevailing time. The aforesaid time limitation
shall not apply to persons who are expressly invited into homes by
the occupant thereof.
[Amended 5-26-2015 by Ord. No. 2353-2015]
C. No person shall hawk or sell wares within a distance
of 500 feet of the nearest public building or commercial establishment.
D. No vehicle shall be parked upon any public street
at a fixed location for the purpose of displaying or selling wares
or merchandise.
A license may be revoked by the Borough Council
by reason of the violation of the terms of the license, the violation
of any municipal ordinance, state or federal statute or falsification
in applying for a license. The licensed person shall be granted a
hearing by the Council upon his/her request. A license may be suspended
for not more than two weeks by the Chief of Police without a hearing.
No fees shall be returned for any unexpired period of a license whether
revoked or not.
[Added 6-28-1994 by Ord. No. 1566-94]
A. No person shall engage in the sale of goods, wares
or merchandise at special events in the borough without having first
obtained a special events vendor's permit from the Police Department.
B. "Special events" are defined as events sponsored by
the Borough of Fair Lawn, such as, but not limited to, a parade, fireworks,
circus or nonrepetitive athletic events which occur within a twenty-four-hour
period.
[Amended 12-10-1996 by Ord. No. 1656-96]
C. Applications for this permit shall include the following:
(1) Name, address and telephone number of applicant, as
well as reasonable proof of identification.
(2) Date that the special events vendor's permit is being
used.
(3) General description of goods to be sold.
D. The fee for the special events vendor's permit for
each day that it is to be used is as set from time to time by resolution
of the Borough Council.
E. The special events vendor's permit must be obtained
three days before the event.
F. Every person holding a permit shall be required to
carry the permit with him/her while engaged in the business licensed.
He/she shall produce the permit at the request of any person solicited,
a police officer or other official of the borough. To every person
granted a permit, the Police Department shall issue a permit bearing
the words "Special Events Vendor's Permit," together with the number
of the permit and the date the permit is valid. All automobiles, wagons,
carts or other vehicles used for peddling shall have the permit affixed
thereon.
[Added 12-13-2016 by Ord.
No. 2414-2016]
A. Display of "No Solicitation" signs. All residents of the Borough
may display "No Solicitation" signs in a clearly visible location
(e.g., front door or window adjacent to the front door) indicating
that they do not want individuals or organizations that are required
to register and obtain a permit under this chapter (e.g., canvassers,
distributors, solicitors, peddlers, transient merchant or hawkers
of any sort) to approach their homes and/or seek personal contact
with the occupants of the residence displaying a "No Solicitation"
sign. By displaying a "No Solicitation" sign, the resident acknowledges
that the Borough police, fire and other emergency services groups
are exempt from the requirements of this section.
B. Violations. It shall be unlawful for any canvasser, distributor,
solicitor, peddler, transient merchant or hawker to approach and/or
seek personal contact with the occupants of any residence if that
residence is displaying a "No Solicitation" sign. Anyone violating
this subsection shall, upon conviction thereof, be subject to a minimum
fine of $250 for the first offense, $500 for the second offense and
$1,000 for a third or subsequent offense. An individual employed by
a company or organization violating this subsection shall be issued
a violation in the individual's name and a violation issued in the
company's or organization's name.
[Added 11-26-2019 by Ord.
No. 2516-2019]
A. The Borough Clerk's Office shall maintain a do-not-knock registry where, during regular business hours, owners and/or occupants may register their premises to prohibit peddlers or solicitors licensed pursuant to this Chapter
163 from entering upon their premises. The do-not-knock registry shall include the addresses of such premises, and the date of enlistment on the registry. The premises will remain on the registry until written notification is received by the Borough Clerk that the owner and/or occupant wishes to remove the premises from the registry.
B. Owners and/or occupants of premises listed on the do-not-knock registry
may purchase, for a nominal fee, a sticker for display at their premises
indicating enlistment on the do-not-knock registry.
C. The Borough Clerk shall submit a copy of the do-not-knock registry to the Chief of Police in a timely manner as and when premises are added to the do-not-knock registry. The Chief of Police shall distribute a copy of the then-current registry to persons and entities seeking a license pursuant to §
163-5.
D. No person or entity licensed in accordance with §
163-6 shall enter upon any premises appearing on the do-not-knock registry for the purpose of peddling, soliciting or otherwise engaging in any door-to-door commercial activities.
E. It shall be unlawful for any person or entity licensed in accordance with §
163-6 to enter upon any premises appearing on the do-not-knock registry. Any person or entity violating §
163-11.2D shall, upon conviction thereof, be subject to a minimum fine of $250 for the first offense, $500 for the second offense and $1,000 for a third or subsequent offense. Any individual representative of an entity violating §
163-11.2D shall be issued a violation in the individual's name, and a violation shall also be issued in the name of the entity. In addition, the license of any person or entity violating §
163-11.2D shall be subject to revocation and/or ineligible for renewal for a period of one year.