Any person may solicit political, charitable and philanthropic
contributions or engage in noncommercial soliciting or canvassing,
including doing so on behalf of a political, philanthropic or charitable
organization within the Township, without first obtaining any license
or prior approval authorizing such activity, provided the person conducts
such solicitation and/or canvassing in compliance with the provisions
of this article.
It shall be the duty of the Township Clerk to keep a calendar
of solicitations and canvassing for which advance notice has been
given to the Township. Such calendar shall be posted on the official
Township website to allow access to and for the information of Township
residents.
Every person engaging in any noncommercial canvassing or soliciting,
including canvassing or soliciting on behalf of a political, philanthropic
or charitable organization, shall conduct himself according to the
following code of conduct:
A. He shall not enter or remain on any resident's property that is on the "Do Not Solicit" List (See Article
III of this chapter.) or upon property on which it is posted that solicitors are not permitted.
B. He shall display his credentials in the manner as described in §
169-28 and to any occupant or owner of any property upon which he has entered.
C. He shall not enter or attempt to enter any dwelling unit without
express invitation from the occupant therein.
D. He will immediately leave the resident's property upon request
by the resident to do so.
E. He shall not leave on or about the resident's property any circular,
samples or other matter or materials unless same is handed to an occupant
of the property.
F. He shall not indicate that the Township endorses or sponsors any
of the views expressed or the organization for which support or contributions
are sought.
G. He shall not make false claims, misrepresentations or materially
incorrect statements concerning the solicitation, organizations represented
or the use to be made of the amount solicited.
H. He shall not engage in any course of alarming conduct or conduct
himself so as to alarm or seriously annoy the occupant of the dwelling.
I. He shall not engage in any conduct which is prohibited by any statute,
regulation or ordinance in effect in the Township of Manalapan.
J. He shall have in his/her possession at all times a copy of the "Do Not Solicit" List (See Article
III of this chapter.) that is no more than two weeks old. A current copy of the updated "Do Not Solicit" List is accessible on the Township's official website.
No solicitor or canvasser shall have an exclusive right to any
location; enter a roadway for the purpose of approaching occupants
of motor vehicles using the roadway or approach such occupants; or
operate or conduct any of his/her activity from a fixed location in
any congested area where his/her activity might unreasonably impede
or inconvenience the public or impose a threat to public safety. For
purposes of this section, the judgment of a Police Officer, exercised
in good faith, shall be used to determine whether the area is congested,
the public unreasonably impeded or inconvenienced or that the activity
poses a threat to public safety. As used herein, a solicitor or canvasser
shall be deemed to be operating from a fixed location if he/she has
been in the same location, or within 200 feet in any direction of
the location, for more than 15 consecutive minutes.
Soliciting or canvassing by visiting a property where the owner
or resident of such property has directly or implicitly indicated
to the solicitor or canvasser, through prior interaction, that his
visit would be welcomed is exempt from the provisions of this article.
The burden of proof shall be on the person claiming this exemption.
No person shall, directly or indirectly, solicit contributions
for any purpose by misrepresentation of his name, occupation, financial
condition, social condition or residence, and no person shall make
or perpetrate any other misstatement, deception or fraud in connection
with any solicitation of any contribution for any purpose in the Township
of Manalapan or in any application or report filed under this article.
No soliciting or canvassing activities shall be conducted before
9:00 a.m. nor later than 9:00 p.m.
Any person violating any of the provisions of this article shall
be subject to a fine of not more than $1,000 or be imprisoned for
a term not exceeding 90 days, or both, in the discretion of the court.