[Adopted 4-4-1934 by Ord. No. 475]
As used in this article, the following terms
shall have the meanings indicated:
A person who engages in business in this municipality, irrespective
of the permanent or temporary nature of said business, by occupying
premises for the sale of merchandise during and not longer than one
year subsequent to the opening of said premises.
A person who sells goods, the proceeds of which are devoted
exclusively to the purpose of a philanthropic, charitable or religious
society on whose behalf he acts as an agent without pay.
A person, commonly referred to either as a "peddler" or "hawker,"
who goes from place to place by traveling on the streets or from house
to house and carries with him goods, wares and merchandise for the
purpose of selling and delivering them to consumers.
An individual, firm, partnership, corporation, voluntary
association or incorporated association or principal or agent thereof.
A person selling goods by sample or taking orders for future
delivery with or without accepting an advance payment for the goods.
A person, commonly referred to either as a "transient merchant"
or "itinerant vendor," who engages in a merchandising business in
this municipality with intent to close out or discontinue such business
within a period of one year from the date of commencement and occupies
a room, building, tent, lot or other premises for the purpose of selling
goods, wares and merchandise.
A person who engages in business in the manner defined under
"transient merchant" above and, in pursuance thereof, becomes a peddler
or hires a peddler as defined under "peddler" above.
Peddler, transient merchant, transient merchant
peddler, solicitor, non-profit-making vendor and new merchant shall
each constitute a license classification, a separate license being
issued for each class under the terms hereinafter set forth.
[Amended 5-29-1990 by Ord. No. 1538]
The purpose of this article is to prevent unfair competition and dishonest business practices by the regulation of the conduct of the classes of non-profit-making vendor and new merchant specified in § 202-1 and by the imposition of license fees for peddler, transient merchant, transient merchant peddler and solicitor classes. Licenses shall be issued without payment of fees to non-profit-making vendors and new merchants.
[Added 6-22-1971 by Ord. No. 1001; amended 9-22-1981 by Ord. No.
1201; 5-22-1989 by Ord. No. 1509; 4-23-2019 by Ord. No. 2432]
A.
No person, firm or corporation shall solicit, peddle, canvass, itinerant vend or conduct door-to-door sales at any time a) to any premises which shall have upon its front door or in the main entranceway a sign open to plain view of no less than one inch by six inches or no larger than 8 1/2 by 11 inches stating "No Solicitors," or b) to any premises listed on the current Hasbrouck Heights No Knock registry as provided in Article III of this chapter.
B.
No person, firm or corporation shall solicit, peddle, canvass, itinerant
vend or conduct door-to-door sales to any premises except between
12:00 noon and 5:00 p.m. on weekdays and Saturdays only and exclusive
of legal holidays and Sundays.
C.
No person, firm or corporation shall solicit, peddle, canvass, itinerant
vend or conduct door-to-door sales to any premises except by way of
the front door or main entrance of the premises.
It shall be unlawful for any peddler, transient
merchant, transient merchant peddler, solicitor, non-profit-making
vendor or new merchant to sell or dispose of or offer to sell or dispose
of any goods, wares or merchandise within the Borough of Hasbrouck
Heights without first obtaining a license and having paid the license
fee hereinafter prescribed for peddler, transient merchant, transient
merchant peddler and solicitor classes of licenses.
The requirements of this article as regards
the peddler and solicitor classes above shall be held not to include
the following persons, who are expressly exempt from its application:
A.
Any person honorably discharged from the military,
naval or marine forces of the United States.
C.
Any person selling fruits, vegetables and farm products
produced on the farm operated by the vendor or a member of his family,
provided that proof of such fact is submitted to the Borough Clerk
before the sale thereof.
A.
Any person desiring a license shall obtain from the
Chief of Police an application blank. The blank shall contain the
following information:
(1)
For all license classes.
(a)
The following must be supplied:
[1]
The name of the applicant.
[2]
Permanent home address.
[3]
The name and address of the firm represented.
[4]
Three business references.
[5]
The place or places of residence of the applicant
for the preceding three years.
[6]
The length of time for which the license is
desired.
[7]
A description of the wares to be offered for
sale.
[8]
The number either of arrests or convictions
for misdemeanors or crimes and the nature of the offenses for which
arrested or convicted.
(b)
To the application must be appended a letter
from the firm for which he purports to work authorizing the applicant
to act as its representative.
(c)
Proper space must be provided on the blank for
the fingerprints of the applicant for identification purposes.
(2)
For transient merchant licenses, in addition to the
foregoing items, the applicant shall show:
B.
The Chief of Police shall then have reasonable time
in which to verify the information in the application blank respecting
the moral character of the applicant and shall signify his approval
or rejection on the reverse side of the form, which he shall thereupon
transmit to the Borough Clerk.
A.
Upon receiving from the Chief of Police any application
favorably endorsed, the Borough Clerk, who is hereby designated as
the license officer, is directed, in the case of transient merchant
and transient merchant peddler classes, to establish the character
of the business by eliciting a declaration of intention of all new
businessmen as to whether they intend to remain within the municipality
temporarily or longer than a period of one year and requiring the
filing of a good and sufficient bond with good and sufficient surety,
sureties or surety company, which bond shall be approved by the Borough
Clerk and shall be in an amount equal to 25% of the value of the applicant's
stock, and in no event shall the bond be less than $300 in amount;
provided, however, that new merchants shall not be required to file
a bond in excess of $50.
B.
Said bond shall be conditioned to indemnify and pay
to the Borough of Hasbrouck Heights any penalty or costs incurred
in the enforcement of any of the provisions of P.L. 1931, c. 88,[1] or any other statute of the State of New Jersey and shall
also, by its terms, be so conditioned as to indemnify or reimburse
any purchaser of any goods, wares, merchandise or bankrupt stock in
a sum equal at least to the amount of any payment or payments such
purchaser may have been induced to make through misrepresentation
as to the kind, quality or value of such goods, wares, merchandise
or bankrupt stock whether said misrepresentations were made by the
owner or his servants, agents or employees either at the time of making
the sale or through any advertisement of any character whatsoever
printed or circulated with reference to said stock of goods, merchandise
or bankrupt stock or any part thereof.
[1]
Editor's Note: See N.J.S.A. 45:24-1 et seq.
C.
The bond shall also be conditioned and may, in the
discretion of the Borough Clerk, be declared forfeited upon proof
of falsification in the application for a license, willful violation
of an ordinance or state or federal law or removal from the municipality
within a year after opening the business premises without payment
of the license fee or fees required of transient merchants or merchant
peddlers. The bond of every merchant continuously conducting a vending
business for more than a year shall be surrendered, and no further
license shall be required of him under this article.
The Borough Clerk, upon receiving the application
bearing the favorable endorsement of the Chief of Police, shall also
verify the financial information, approving or rejecting the application
on the reverse side. Upon verification of the application and payment
of the prescribed fees, the license therewith shall be issued by the
Borough Clerk for all license classes. The license issued shall not
authorize any person, except the designated person named in said license,
to engage in business thereunder. Said license shall not be transferable
from the person to whom issued to any other person without the consent
of the Borough Clerk. A separate license must be obtained by a licensed
transient merchant for each branch or separate place of business in
which his business is conducted, and each license shall authorize
the person to conduct business only at the location which is indicated
therein.
A.
All licenses shall be issued on forms drawn in accordance
with this article. They shall be printed in book form, with corresponding
stubs, and shall be consecutively numbered. The license shall contain
suitable blank spaces for writing in the name, the class of license
granted, the location of the business and the amount of the fee paid.
B.
There shall be kept in the office of the Borough Clerk
the necessary books for recording the time the application for license
is received, showing the class, whether new or a renewal, when the
application was approved by the Chief of Police and the Borough Clerk,
the amount of the fee received therefor and the date when the license
was issued.
C.
The Borough Clerk shall file a report monthly with
the Borough Council showing the number of licenses granted by class
and the amounts of fees received therefor. Each report shall state
the number and class of licenses suspended or revoked and the reasons
for such suspension or any revocation. The monthly report shall be
cumulative during the course of the year so that each report summarizes
the action of all preceding months of the current year.
A.
Every person holding a license under this article
shall be required to carry the license with him or at his business
premises while engaged in the business licensed. He must produce the
license at the request of any official of the Borough of Hasbrouck
Heights.
B.
To every peddler granted a license, the Borough Clerk
shall issue a metal plate bearing the words "Licensed Peddler, Borough
of Hasbrouck Heights," together with a number and the year for which
it is issued. All automobiles, wagons, carts or other vehicles used
for peddling shall have affixed thereon said metal plate. A transient
merchant, a transient merchant peddler and a new merchant must post
a license certificate in a prominent place of his business premises.
To the vendors of all other classes shall be issued a license button
which must be affixed on the lapel of his or her coat or garment while
engaged in business.
[Amended 12-16-1953 by Ord. No. 691; 5-29-1990 by Ord. No.
1538; 4-11-2000 by Ord. No. 1893]
License fees shall be as set forth in Chapter 133, Fees.
A.
Every peddler's license shall terminate at the close
of December 31 of the year in which it was issued.
B.
Transient merchants' license shall continue in favor
of the person to whom it is issued for the period of 180 days from
the date the same is issued.
C.
Transient merchant peddler's license shall continue
in effect 180 days.
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 or state or federal statute or falsification
in applying for a license. The licensed person must be granted a hearing
by the Borough Council upon his request. A license may be suspended
for not more than two weeks by the issuing authority without a hearing.
[Amended 5-29-1990 by Ord. No. 1538; 2-10-2009 by Ord. No. 2201]
Any person required by this article to procure
a license who violates its terms or fails to comply with P.L. 1931,
c. 88,[1] shall be subject to such penalties as are provided in Chapter 204 of this Code.
[1]
Editor's Note: See N.J.S.A. 45:24-1 et seq.
