As used in this chapter, the following words
and phrases shall have the following meanings:
A person in the business of selling personal property or
services who conducts his business from a fixed location but who does
not intend to continue in business within the Township permanently.
A proprietor of a business which is seasonal in nature who suspends
business during the off-season shall not for that reason alone be
considered an itinerant vendor.
A group of persons, corporation or association organized
for philanthropic, charitable, religious, patriotic or other public-service
purposes and not for private gain. Examples of nonprofit organizations
include veterans groups and organizations which assist the poor, the
aged, the sick, the physically handicapped or mentally retarded or
which aid victims of fire, flood or similar catastrophes. This enumeration
is intended to be typical and shall not be construed as exclusive.
A person, commonly referred to as "hawker," who goes from
home to home or from place to place, whether on foot or in a vehicle,
selling or delivering goods and services. Any peddler selling manufactured
ready-to-eat food products must also apply for and receive a food
handler's license from the Township.
[Amended 6-21-1982 by Ord. No. 1982-18]
An individual or any agent of a firm, partnership, corporation
(either profit or nonprofit), voluntary association, unincorporated
association or other similar entity.
[Amended 6-21-1982 by Ord. No. 1982-18]
A person who goes from house to house or from place to place
selling merchandise by sample or by taking orders for future delivery,
with or without accepting advance payments for the goods and regardless
of whether advance solicitation is made by mail, telephone or personal
contact. The provisions of this definition shall apply to the person
who comes in personal contact with the buyer, whether he obtains the
order, delivers the goods or accepts money in payment for them. "Solicitor"
also means any person who goes from house to house or from place to
place for the purpose of obtaining alms, contributions or subscriptions,
or who does research analyses, makes surveys or opinion polls or obtains
rating data or similar information, or who engages in any similar
work which involves a door-to-door or place-to-place activity.
This chapter shall not apply to any of the following
persons:
A.
Any person licensed by the Commissioner of Banking
and Insurance or the Real Estate Commission of the State of New Jersey.
B.
Persons selling personal property at wholesale to
dealers in such articles.
C.
Any sale required by statute or the order of any court.
D.
Any person engaged in delivering merchandise or other
things in the regular course of business to the premises of the person
ordering or entitled to receive it.
E.
Any person soliciting votes for a bona fide candidate
for political office.
F.
Members of a volunteer fire company or first aid squad
as defined by the New Jersey Revised Statutes.
G.
Persons selling products grown on their own property
and selling them from their own property.
[Amended 6-21-1982 by Ord. No. 1982-18]
[Amended 6-21-1982 by Ord. No. 1982-18]
Veterans who hold a special state license issued
under the laws of the State of New Jersey and persons to whom a valid
mercantile license has been issued under the provisions of laws or
ordinances other than this chapter shall register with the Township
Clerk and comply with all other applicable provisions of this chapter
and shall be required to possess a special permit, which will be issued
by the Township Clerk upon presentation of proper identification and
proof of their status.
No person shall engage in business as a peddler,
solicitor or itinerant vendor without having first obtained a license
and paid the license fee.
[Amended 11-3-1980 by Ord. No. 1980-38; 6-1-2009 by Ord. No. 2009-11]
The fee for a peddler's, solicitor's or itinerant
vendor's license shall be $100 for each year or fraction thereof.
All licenses shall terminate at the close of December 31 of the year
in which they are issued. Charitable, religious and nonprofit organizations
are not subject to the aforementioned fee set forth in this section.
A.
No person licensed under this chapter shall engage
in business before 11:00 a.m. or after 6:00 p.m. This subsection shall
not apply to peddlers or solicitors who are expressly invited by residents
of the Township to come to their homes at a different time.
B.
Peddlers selling manufactured ready-to-eat food products
shall be permitted to operate from 11:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. with no
noisemaking devices operated after 8:00 p.m. any day, including Sunday,
but shall be subject to all other restrictions. This subsection shall
be strictly construed. In industrially zoned areas and in residential
construction sites regardless of the zone, peddlers selling manufactured
ready-to-eat food products, shall be permitted to operate from 7:00
a.m. to 9:00 p.m. with no noisemaking devices operated after 8:00
p.m. any day, including Sunday, but shall be subject to all other
restrictions, except in the residential construction areas, the peddlers
shall not be located within 100 feet of existing inhabited residential
dwellings and shall be located on the construction site.
[Amended 6-21-1982 by Ord. No. 1982-18; 7-16-1984 by Ord. No. 1984-24]
Every person licensed under this chapter shall
conduct himself according to the following rules and regulations:
No licensee shall transact business from his
vehicle unless it is properly parked immediately adjacent to the curb
of a public street in a permitted locality. No licensee shall at any
time double-park his vehicle while transacting business, nor transact
business other than on the curbside of his vehicle.
No licensee shall have an exclusive right to
any location in the public streets, nor shall he be permitted a stationary
location on the streets or permitted to operate in a congested area
where his operations may impede or inconvenience the free flow of
pedestrian and vehicular traffic. For the purposes of this section,
the reasonable judgment of a police officer shall be conclusive as
to whether the area is congested or traffic impeded or inconvenienced.
A.
Nonprofit organizations desiring to engage in any
of the activities for which a license is required by this chapter
shall not be required to apply for or secure a license, to pay a license
fee or to post a bond, provided that there is filed with the Township
Clerk a sworn statement containing the following information:
(1)
The names and purpose of the organization for which
the permit is sought.
(2)
Names and addresses of the officers of the organization.
(3)
Names and addresses of the agents or representatives
who will solicit, sell merchandise or distribute literature in the
Township.
(4)
The federal tax exemption number of the organization.
[Added 6-21-1982 by Ord. No. 1982-18]
B.
In lieu of the usual investigation of applicants for
a license, the Director of Public Safety shall conduct whatever inquiry
he considers necessary to determine that the organization in question
is a bona fide nonprofit organization. Upon being satisfied that it
is, he shall notify the Township Clerk, who shall issue a special
permit to the organization in question.
C.
Each representative or agent of the organization shall
carry proper identification indicating the name of the organization
and his own name and address and shall be prepared to display it upon
request.
D.
Nonprofit organizations shall comply with all other
applicable provisions of this chapter.
E.
The special permit issued to the organization in question
shall bear the name and address of the person by whom the solicitation
is to be made, the date issued, the dates within which the permit
holder may solicit and a statement that the permit does not constitute
an endorsement by the Township of Mount Laurel. All permits must be
signed by the Township Clerk.
F.
No permit may grant the right to solicit longer than
60 days from its date, but the Township Clerk may extend any permit
for additional periods of not more than 60 days upon a showing that
unnecessary hardship would be created by failure to extend the permit
for such additional time.
