[HISTORY: Derived from the Revised General Ordinances of the Borough of Fort Lee, 1978, adopted 3-1-1979, as indicated in article histories. Amendments noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Clothing bins — See Ch. 189.
Coin-operated machines — See Ch. 190.
Fingerprinting — See Ch. 212.
Garage sales — See Ch. 228.
Handbills — See Ch. 237.
Landscapers and snowplowing contractors — See Ch. 258.
Mobile food trucks and restaurants — See Ch. 273.
Newsracks — See Ch. 281.
Noise — See Ch. 284.
Precious metals, rare coins and gems — See Ch. 309.
Sidewalk sales — See Ch. 342.
[Derived from Ch. IV, Sec. 4-3, of the 1978 Code; amended in its entirety 12-18-2008 by Ord. No. 2008-45]
No person shall engage in the business, calling or occupation of crier, hawker, mobile peddler, peddler, door-to-door salesperson, junk dealer or itinerant vendor of merchandise, foodstuffs or medicines; or engage in the practice of commercial canvassing or soliciting, which activity shall include advertising, promoting, or selling any product, goods, or service door-to-door, including the placement upon private property of handbills or other written material advertising goods or services for sale, or conducting market research or a market or opinion survey regarding commercial products or services door-to-door, within the Borough without first having obtained a proper license therefor and unless he fully complies with all the provisions of this article.
The Chief of Police is hereby authorized to issue two classes of licenses hereunder:
A. 
Annual vendor's license; and
B. 
One-day vendor's license.
The Chief of Police shall issue an annual vendor's license to any person upon payment of a fee of $100 therefor to the Tax Collector and upon satisfaction of all conditions hereinafter set forth in this article. The license shall be valid until the December 31 next following its issuance and may be renewed annually by the Chief of Police upon its issuance and may be renewed annually by the Chief of Police upon payment each year of an annual renewal fee of $100 to the Tax Collector.
The Chief of Police may issue a one-day vendor's license to any person upon payment of a fee of $10 therefor to the Tax Collector and satisfaction of all conditions hereinafter set forth in this article. The license may be renewed for additional one-day periods upon payment to the Tax Collector of an additional renewal fee of $10 for each day.
Each license issued hereunder shall be numbered; shall specify the period of time that the license shall be in effect; and shall state the licensee's full name, address, age, height, weight, place of birth, whether married or single, whether or not previously arrested or convicted of a crime, by whom employed, address of employer and description of the business, occupation or calling for which said license is issued. Each license shall also contain a recent photograph of the licensee.
Any person seeking to obtain a license hereunder shall make application therefor to the Chief of Police, which application shall contain at least the information as set forth in § 296-5. The Chief of Police shall have a period of five days in which to investigate any applicant. He shall fingerprint every applicant unless there has been a recent check of the applicant's fingerprints in another municipality within this state, in which case an appropriate authentication of such fingerprint clearance shall be made and accepted by the Chief of Police. A permit shall not be issued in any case where the investigation of the Chief of Police shows that the applicant is not of good character or that the applicant seeks to engage in a business, calling or occupation not entirely free from fraud or misrepresentation. In the event that the Chief of Police denies the issuance of any license, the applicant therefor shall be entitled to a hearing thereon before the Mayor and Council; provided, however, that the applicant shall file with the Borough Clerk a written notice of appeal from the decision of the Chief of Police within 10 days after having received notice of denial from the Chief of Police.
Each licensee hereunder shall carry the license on or about his person at all times while actually engaging in the business, calling or occupation licensed hereunder and shall display the license upon request of any person.
All licensees and all licenses issued hereunder shall at all times be subject to the provisions hereof and to all other applicable ordinances and codes of the Borough.
A. 
No person shall stop, stand or park any vehicle for the purpose of selling any merchandise, foodstuffs or medicine at any one place on any public thoroughfare within the Borough for any period in excess of 10 minutes. At least once every 10 minutes, each such vehicle must be driven a minimum distance of 500 feet.
B. 
The vehicle shall only, with the consent of a property owner, stop, stand or park on private property for the purpose of selling any merchandise, foodstuffs or medicines. However, in limitation of this privilege, no such vehicle licensed under this article shall stop, stand or park on private property in any manner whatsoever wherein it is selling merchandise, foodstuffs or medicine to passing motorists. All vehicles licensed under this article shall be mobile and shall not remain stationary on any premises for a period exceeding 15 minutes, as set forth above. The licensee shall see to it that any and all premises used by the vehicle shall be left in a clean and orderly state and that no waste or garbage be deposited on any property or street located within the Borough.
Any license issued hereunder may be revoked at any time by the Chief of Police for good cause shown and after written notice thereof. Any licensee aggrieved by such revocation shall be entitled to a hearing on appeal to the Mayor and Council; provided, however, that the licensee shall file with the Borough Clerk a written notice of appeal not later than 10 days after notice of revocation of his license by the Chief of Police.
The provisions of this article shall not be held to apply to canvassers or solicitors; nor to merchants or their employees engaged in the act of delivering newspapers, advertising circulars or goods in the regular course of the business or in the collection of payments therefor; nor to any public utility which is subject to regulation by the Board of Public Utility Commissioners of New Jersey and its duly authorized representatives or agents which carry an identification card, badge or insignia issued by such public utility; nor to any religious or charitable organization; nor to any person or persons employed by the licensed insurance company duly authorized to do business in the Borough.
Issuance of permits and identification cards to honorably discharged soldiers, sailors, marines, nurses or army field clerks of the United States and exempt firemen shall be in strict compliance with N.J.S.A. 45:24-9 and provided that the applicant shall first present a New Jersey veteran's license or a New Jersey exempt firemen's license issued by the County Clerk.
No vehicle licensed under this article and engaged in the business of selling merchandise, foodstuffs or medicines shall stop, stand or park for the purpose of selling such merchandise, foodstuffs or medicines on the following described public roadways located in the Borough:
A. 
Main Street: entire length.
B. 
Lemoine Avenue: entire length.
C. 
Route 9W: entire length.
D. 
Fletcher Avenue: entire length.
E. 
Schlosser Street: entire length.
F. 
Palisade Avenue: entire length.
G. 
Sixteenth Street: entire length.
H. 
Route 5: entire length.
I. 
Elsmere Place: between Anderson Avenue and Center Avenue.
J. 
Anderson Avenue: between Brinkerhoff Avenue and Westview Avenue.
K. 
Myrtle Avenue: between First and Third Streets.
L. 
Washington Avenue: between First and Third Streets.
M. 
Linwood Avenue: from Bridge Plaza South to Main Street.
N. 
Lewis Street: from Linwood Avenue to Fletcher Avenue.
[Adopted 12-18-2008 by Ord. No. 2008-45[1]]
[1]
Editor's Note: This ordinance also provided for the repeal of former Art. II, Canvassers and Solicitors, derived from Ch. IV, Sec. 4-4, of the 1978 Code.
For the purposes of this article only, the following words shall have the following meanings:
BUSINESS ESTABLISHMENT
Any place of business, including space dedicated to office or retail use, whether or not on a for-profit basis.
CANVASSING or SOLICITING
Commercial canvassing or soliciting or noncommercial canvassing or soliciting.
COMMERCIAL CANVASSING OR SOLICITING
The practice of entering upon private property uninvited for the purpose of advertising, promoting, or selling any product, goods, or service door-to-door, including the placement upon private property of handbills or other written material advertising goods or services for sale; or conducting market research or a market or opinion survey regarding commercial products or services door-to-door.
DWELLING UNIT
Any residential unit, including single-family house, multifamily house, apartment building or apartment contained therein, condominium, or cooperative.
NONCOMMERCIAL CANVASSING OR SOLICITING
The practice of door-to-door canvassing, solicitation, campaigning, advocacy, education, proselytizing, handbill distribution, or other entry upon private property by individuals representing any entity which (1) qualifies for tax-exempt status under the Internal Revenue Code; (2) qualified for exemption from property tax under N.J.S.A. 54:4-3.6; (3) qualifies for exemption from sales tax under N.J.S.A. 54:32B-9; or (4) was created under or is otherwise subject to the provisions of Title 15A of the New Jersey statutes; or any canvassing or soliciting which does not constitute commercial canvassing or soliciting as defined in this article.
PREMISES
Any dwelling unit or business establishment.
No person shall engage in canvassing or soliciting at any premises within the Borough unless he or she fully complies with the provisions of this article.
No person shall engage in canvassing or soliciting at any premises within the Borough except during the period from 9:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. on weekdays and Saturdays. Commercial canvassing or soliciting is prohibited on Sundays. Any persons engaging in canvassing or soliciting shall be courteous and conduct themselves in a lawful manner.
The Borough Clerk shall make a form available on the Borough’s web site and at the office of the Borough Clerk whereby the owners or occupants of premises within the Borough may request that their premises be included on the Borough’s list of premises on which canvassing or soliciting shall be prohibited. The Borough Clerk or the Borough Clerk’s designee shall prepare and maintain a list of those premises at which canvassing or soliciting is prohibited and shall make that list available at the office of the Borough Clerk.
In addition to or in lieu of requesting inclusion on the Borough’s list of premises at which canvassing or soliciting is not permitted, the owner or occupant of a premises may post no more than one sign, not to exceed 100 square inches in surface area on one side, containing only the text “No Soliciting,” in a conspicuous place near the entrance to the premises, the posting of which sign shall have the same effect as inclusion of the premises on the Borough’s list of premises at which canvassing and soliciting are prohibited. Nothing in this section shall preempt or supersede the internal rules of any cooperative, condominium, apartment building, or homeowners' association governing canvassing or soliciting or the placement or maintenance of signage. The posting of a sign in accordance with this section shall be exempt from the requirements of Article XII of Chapter 410 of the Borough Code.
No person shall engage in canvassing or soliciting at any premises within the Borough if such premises is included on the Borough’s list of premises at which canvassing or soliciting is prohibited or if a “No Soliciting” sign has been posted near the entrance to the premises in accordance with this article.
The provisions of this article shall not be held to apply to or include the acts of:
A. 
Persons selling personal property at wholesale to retailers in such articles;
B. 
Merchants, or their employees, engaged in the act of delivering newspapers, advertising circulars or goods in the regular course of the business or in the collection of payment therefor;
C. 
Any public utility which is subject to regulation by the Board of Public Utility Commissioners of New Jersey and its duly authorized representatives or agents, when carrying an identification card, badge or insignia issued by such public utility;
D. 
Any person or persons employed by a licensed insurance company duly authorized to do business in the Borough;
E. 
Any person expressly invited onto the premises by the owner or occupant with authority to make such invitation.
Any person or organization engaging in the business, calling or occupation of crier, hawker, mobile peddler, peddler, door-to-door salesperson, junk dealer or itinerant vendor of merchandise, foodstuffs or medicines or engaging in the practice of commercial canvassing or soliciting shall be subject to the requirements of Article I of this chapter in addition to the requirements of this article.
Any person who violates any of the provisions of this article shall be subject to the penalties as provided in Article III of Chapter 1 of the Borough Code.