[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Trustees of the Village of Mount Kisco 6-1-1999 by L.L. No. 5-1999. Amendments noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Distribution of handbills and advertisements — See Ch. 81, § 81-5.
Peddling and soliciting — See Ch. 83.
The Board of Trustees of the Village/Town of Mount Kisco (the "village") finds and declares that to protect the people against the nuisance of unrequested distribution of handbills and circulars, with the resulting detriment and danger to public health and safety, the public interest, convenience and necessity requires the regulation thereof, and to that end the purposes of this chapter are specifically declared as follows:
A. 
To protect local residents against trespassing by solicitors, canvassers or handbill distributors upon the private property of such residents if they have given reasonable notice that they do not wish to be solicited by such person or do not desire to receive handbills or advertising matter;
B. 
To protect the people against the health and safety menace and the expense incident to the littering of the streets and public places by the uncontrolled distribution of advertising matter and commercial and noncommercial handbills; and
C. 
To preserve the people's constitutional right to receive and disseminate information.
The following words, terms and phrases, when used in this chapter, have the meanings ascribed to them in this section, except where than context clearly indicates a different meaning:
COMMERCIAL HANDBILL
Includes any printed or written matter:
A. 
Which advertises for sale any merchandise, product, commodity or thing;
B. 
Which directs attention to any business or mercantile or commercial establishment, or other activity, for the purpose of either directly or indirectly promoting the interests thereof for commercial gain; or
C. 
Which, while containing reading material other than advertising matter, is predominantly and essentially an advertisement, and is distributed or circulated for advertising purposes or for the private benefit and gain of any person so engaged as advertiser or distributor.
NEWSPAPER
Includes any newspaper of general circulation, any periodical or magazine which is distributed to the public.
NONCOMMERCIAL HANDBILL
Includes any printed or written matter not included in the aforesaid definitions of a commercial handbill or a newspaper.
PERSON
Shall have the meaning ascribed pursuant to § 1-13A of the Code.
PRIVATE PREMISES
Includes any dwelling, house, building or other structure, designed or used either wholly, or in part, for private residential purposes, whether inhabited, uninhabited or vacant, and shall include any yard, grounds, walks, driveway, porch, steps, vestbule or mailbox belonging or appurtenant to such dwelling, house, building or other structure.
PUBLIC PLACE
Includes any and all streets, boulevards, avenues, lanes, alleys or other public ways and any and all public parks, squares, spaces, plazas, grounds and buildings.
No person shall post, stick, stamp, paint or otherwise affix, or cause the same to be done by any person, any notice, placard, bill, card, poster, advertisement or other paper or device calculated to attract the attention of the public to or upon any sidewalk, crosswalk, curb or curbstone, flagstone or any other portion or part of any public way or public place or any lamppost, electric light pole or railway structure, hydrant, shade tree or tree-box or upon the piers, columns, trusses, girders, railings, gates or other parts of any public structure or building, except such as may be authorized or required by the laws of the United States or the State of New York or the Village Code.
It shall be unlawful for any person to distribute, place, deposit, throw, scatter or cast any commercial or noncommercial handbill in or upon any public place within the village; provided, however, that it shall not be unlawful for any person to hand out or distribute, without charge to the receiver thereof, any commercial or noncommercial handbill in any public place to any person willing to accept such handbill.
It shall be unlawful for any person to distribute, place, deposit, throw, scatter or cast any commercial or noncommercial handbill in or upon any automobile or other vehicle; provided, however, that it shall not be unlawful for any person to hand out or distribute, without charge to the receiver thereof, any commercial or noncommercial handbill to the owner or other occupant of any automobile or other vehicle, who is willing to accept the same.
It shall be unlawful for any person to distribute, place, deposit, throw, scatter or cast any commercial or noncommercial handbill upon any premises if requested by anyone thereon not to do so or if there is placed on said premises in a conspicuous position near the entrance thereof a sign bearing the words "No Trespassing," "No Peddlers or Agents," "No Advertisement" or any similar notice indicating that the occupants of said premises do not desire to be molested or to have their right of privacy disturbed or to have any such commercial or noncommercial handbills left upon such premises.
A. 
No person shall throw, deposit or distribute any commercial or noncommercial handbill in or upon private premises except by handling or transmitting any such handbill directly to the owner, occupant or other person then present in or upon such private premises, provided that except where the premises are posted as provided in this chapter or where anyone upon the premises requests otherwise, a person may place or deposit any such commercial or noncommercial handbill in or upon such private premises, if such handbill is contained in a plastic bag ventilated with air holes throughout the surface of the bag or in an unventilated plastic bag no greater than six inches in width or if such handbill is so placed or deposited as to secure or prevent such handbill from being blown or drifted about such premises or sidewalks, streets or other public places. Mailboxes may not be used when so prohibited by federal postal law or regulations.
B. 
The provisions of this section shall not apply to the distribution of mail by the United States or to newspapers, except that newspapers shall be placed on private property in such a manner as to prevent their being carried or deposited by the elements upon any street, sidewalk or other public place or upon private property.
This chapter shall not be deemed to repeal, amend or modify any ordinance ever ordained, either prohibiting, regulating or licensing canvassers, hawkers, peddlers, transient merchants or any other person using the public streets or places for any private business or enterprise or for commercial sales, not covered herein.