A person who goes from house to house or place to place selling goods, wares and merchandise by sample or taking orders for future delivery, with or without accepting an advance payment for the goods, and, regardless of whether the solicitation is made by mail, telephone or personal contact, the provisions of this article shall apply to the person who comes in contact with the buyer through the delivery of the goods or the acceptance of any money in payment thereof. For purposes of this article, a canvasser or solicitor shall also be deemed to be anyone who is not in the business of selling goods but rather makes surveys, research analyses, opinion polls, rating data and any such similar work the nature of which involves a door-to-door or place-to-place activity.

ITINERANT MERCHANT or TRANSIENT VENDOR

As defined in the category of hawker, peddler, itinerant vendor or junk dealer, as set forth herein.

NON-PROFIT-MAKING VENDOR

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 agent, with or without pay, but excluding those individuals or organizations soliciting for funds or other things of value for which no merchandise, wares or services are required.

PEDDLER or HAWKER

Includes any person, whether a resident of the Borough of Palmyra or not, who goes from house to house, from place to place or from street to street conveying or transporting goods, wares or merchandise and offering or exposing the same for sale or making sales and delivering articles to purchasers.

§ 197-2 Applicability; exceptions.

This article, except as provided in § 197-12 of this article, shall not affect any non-profit-making vendor or any person duly licensed by the Commissioner of Banking and Insurance or the Real Estate Commission of the State of New Jersey.

The terms of this article shall not be held to include the acts of persons selling personal property at wholesale to dealers in such articles, and nothing contained herein shall be held to prohibit any sale required by statute or by order of any court.

This article shall not affect any person engaged in delivering wares, goods or merchandise or other articles or things in the regular course of business to the premises of the person ordering or entitled to receive the same.

This article shall not apply to anyone who solicits any votes or support for a bona fide political candidate seeking public office or political party.

§ 197-3 License required.

It shall be unlawful for any hawkers, peddlers, itinerant merchants, transient vendors, canvassers or solicitors, as defined in this article, to engage in any such business or operation to canvass, solicit, distribute circulars or other matter or call from house to house in the Borough of Palmyra without having first obtained a license therefor in compliance with the provisions of this article and, in any event, only in accordance with the terms and provisions of this article and only in parts or locations of the Borough of Palmyra as permitted herein.

§ 197-4 Contents of application; fee.

Applicants for a license under this article must file with the Borough Clerk a sworn application, in writing,[1] which shall give the following information:

(1)

The name and physical description of the applicant.

(2)

The complete permanent home and local address of the applicant.

(3)

A description of the nature of the business and the goods, services or wares to be sold.

(4)

If employed, the name and address of the employer, together with credentials therefrom establishing the exact relationship.

(5)

The length of time for which the right to do business is desired and the days of the week and the hours of the day within which said business will be conducted.

(6)

The source of supply of the goods or property or services proposed to be sold, where such goods, services or products are located and the method of delivery.

(7)

Three recent photographs of the applicant, which shall be approximately two inches by two inches, showing the head and shoulders of the applicant in a clear and distinguishing manner.

(8)

Appropriate evidence as to the good character and business responsibility of the applicant as will enable an investigator to properly evaluate such character and business responsibility.

(9)

A statement as to whether or not the applicant has been convicted of any crime, misdemeanor or violation of any municipal ordinance, other than traffic violations, the nature of the offense and the punishment or penalty assessed therefor.

[1]

Editor's Note: A form for the application for a solicitor's license is included as an attachment to this chapter.

Fingerprinting.

[Amended 11-13-2012 by Ord. No. 2012-33]

(1)

All applicants shall be fingerprinted in order to be checked for previous criminal history. Any person who has been convicted or pled guilty to any crime under the laws of the State of New Jersey or equivalent offenses under the laws of any other state or the United States shall be disqualified from receiving a license under this article.

(2)

Fingerprinting is to be done at a state-approved fingerprint center. The cost of the fingerprinting shall be set by the state and paid by the applicant to the fingerprint center. In the event that a person disagrees with the results of any fingerprint search, that person may produce any information he or she wishes to rebut any findings.

At the time of the filing of the application, a fee of $60 shall be paid to the Borough Clerk to cover the cost of investigation of the applicant.

[Amended 11-13-2012 by Ord. No. 2012-33]

No license shall be issued until the application shall have been approved by the Police Department, allowing adequate time for investigation of the facts stated in the application.

Applications for partners shall be signed by all partners with the foregoing provisions of this section answered in detail as to each said partner, and applications of corporations shall have attached thereto individual statements in accordance with all of the provisions of this section relating to each and every employee, agent or servant who shall engage in any of the functions authorized by this article and signed by each such agent, servant or employee, and full compliance herewith by each such individual.

§ 197-5 Investigation of applicant.

Each application shall be referred to the Chief of Police or officer in charge of the Police Department, who shall immediately institute such investigation of the applicant's business and moral character as he deems necessary for the protection of the public good and shall endorse the application in the manner prescribed in this article within a reasonable period time after it has been filed by the applicant.

If, as a result of such investigation, the applicant's character or business responsibility is found to be unsatisfactory or the products or services are not free from fraud, the Chief of Police shall endorse on such application his disapproval and his reasons for the same and return said application to the Borough Clerk, who shall notify the applicant that his application is disapproved and that no license will be issued.

§ 197-6 License fee.

Every applicant for a license under this article shall pay a license fee of $15.

§ 197-7 Bond requirements.

Prior to the issuance of any license or permit to any licensee, said prospective licensee shall file with the Borough Clerk of the Borough of Palmyra a bond to said Borough of Palmyra in the amount of $1,000, which said bond shall be executed by the proposed licensee, as principal, and a surety company licensed to do business in the State of New Jersey, which said bond shall be in accordance with and for the purposes provided in N.J.S.A. 45:24-5 and which said bond shall remain in force for the term of the license to be issued and shall be conditioned as follows: to indemnify and pay the Borough of Palmyra any penalties or costs incurred in the enforcement of any of the provisions of this article and to indemnify or reimburse any purchaser of personal property from the licensee in a sum equal to at least the amount of any payment such purchaser may have been induced to make through the misrepresentation as to the kind, quality or value of the personal property, whether the misrepresentations were made by the licensee or said licensee's agents, servants or employees either at the time of making the sale or through any advertisement printed or circulated with reference to such personal property or any part thereof.

The aforesaid bond shall be declared forfeited upon proof of falsification in the application for a license.

Said bond shall be deemed forfeited upon proof of the violation of any of the provisions of this article by the licensee or said licensee's agents, servants or employees.

§ 197-8 Use of vehicles.

No licensee shall at any time permit merchandise to remain in or upon any street, roadway, curbs or walks.

No licensee shall sell or attempt to sell any article to pedestrian or vehicular traffic, other than when his vehicle shall be properly parked immediately adjacent to the curb of a public street in a permitted locality, and said licensee shall at no time double-park when dealing with any of his trade and in no event shall transact any of his business operations other than on the curb side of his vehicle.

All licensees and their respective vehicles or modes of transportation in carrying on their permitted business shall at all times fully comply with all of the terms, covenants and conditions of this article and all other applicable municipal ordinances and all other applicable state laws, regulations or provisions pertaining thereto and particularly, but not in limitation thereof, those that may deal with provisions of health, safety and general welfare.

§ 197-9 Hours of sale.

No person subject to the provisions of this article shall sell or attempt to sell in accordance with the terms of this article except as set forth in the preceding sections before 9:00 a.m. and after 8:00 p.m., Mondays through Saturdays, except where expressly invited into the home of the occupant thereof, and except as further provided in § 197-10B below.

[Amended 5-15-2017 by Ord. No. 2017-5]

Peddlers or hawkers who sell or attempt to sell manufactured, ready-to-eat food products such as ice cream or custard shall be permitted to operate Mondays through Sundays between the hours of 9:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m., subject to all other restrictions. This subsection shall be strictly construed.

[Amended 5-15-2017 by Ord. No. 2017-5]

No person subject to the provisions of this section shall canvass, solicit or distribute circulars or other matter except during the hours of 9:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m., Mondays through Sundays.

§ 197-10 Conduct of licensee.

Every person to whom a license is issued under the terms of this article shall be governed by the following rules and regulations:

All circulars, samples or other matter shall be handed to an occupant of the property or left in a secure place located on the premises and in accordance with the provisions of Chapter 137, Handbills and Circulars, of the Code of the Borough of Palmyra.

No person subject to the terms of this article shall enter or attempt to enter the house of any resident in the Borough of Palmyra without an express invitation from the occupant of the house.

No person subject to this article shall conduct himself in such a manner as to become objectionable to or annoy an occupant of any house.

No licensee or any person in his behalf shall shout, cry out, blow a horn, ring a bell or use any sound-making or -amplifying device upon any of the streets, parks or other public places of the Borough or upon private premises where sound of sufficient volume is emitted or produced therefrom to be capable of being plainly heard upon the streets, avenues, parks or other public places for the purpose of attracting attention to any goods, wares, merchandise or services which said licensee proposes to sell, with the exception that such sound shall be permitted as may attract attention but which will not disturb the peace, quiet and comfort of the inhabitants, provided that such sound is produced or caused to be produced only between the hours of 9:00 a.m. and 12:00 noon and between 2:00 p.m. and 9:00 p.m. (prevailing time) in the months of April through September, inclusive, and between the hours of 9:00 a.m. and 12:00 noon and between 2:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. (prevailing time) in the months of October through March, inclusive.[1]

[1]

Editor's Note: See also Ch. 178, Noise.

§ 197-11 Locations restricted.

No licensee shall have any exclusive right to any location in the public street, nor shall any be permitted a stationary location thereon, nor shall any be permitted to operate in a congested area where such operation might impede or inconvenience the public use of such streets. For the purpose of this section, the judgment of the police officer, exercised in good faith, shall be deemed conclusive as to whether the area is congested and the public impeded or inconvenienced.

In an attempt to allow residents to be free from door-to-door solicitations, residents may elect to display prominently on their outermost front doors an official "No Knock" sticker issued by the Borough of Palmyra Police Department that signifies that the residents do not wish to be disturbed by any knocking on their doors or ringing their door bells. No canvasser, solicitor, itinerant merchant, transient vendor, peddler or hawker shall knock on the door or ring the doorbell of any residence upon which a No Knock sticker is so affixed. At the time that licenses are issued as set forth above, licensees shall be provided a sample of the Borough of Palmyra "No Knock" sticker and a copy of this article.

[Added 5-15-2017 by Ord. No. 2017-5]

§ 197-12 Non-profit-making vendors.

Any non-profit-making vendor shall be exempt from §§ 197-4, 197-5, 197-6 and 197-7 of this article, provided that there is filed with the Borough Clerk or Chief of Police a sworn application which shall give the following information:

(1)

Name and purpose of the cause 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 sell goods in the Borough.

Upon being satisfied that such person is a non-profit-making vendor, the Borough Clerk or Chief of Police shall endorse his approval on said application. Each representative or agent of the non-profit-making vendor shall carry proper identification or credentials indicating the name of the organization and the name and address of the representative and shall display the same upon request.

§ 197-13 Exemptions.

Any veteran or exempt member of a volunteer agency, as defined by N.J.S.A. 45:24-9, who holds a special state license issued under the laws of the State of New Jersey shall be exempt from securing a license as provided herein for hawking and peddling but shall be required to comply with all other applicable sections of this article and shall be required to procure from the Borough Clerk a special veteran's permit, which shall be issued by the Borough Clerk upon proper identification.

Any person to whom a valid mercantile license shall have been issued under provision of laws other than this article shall be exempt from securing a license as provided in this article, but said person or said person's employees, agents or servants shall be required to comply with all other applicable sections of this article and shall be required to procure from the Borough Clerk a permit, upon proper identification and said compliance herewith.

§ 197-14 License display.

Licensees are required to exhibit their certificates of license at the request of any citizen or member of the Police Department.

§ 197-15 Record of violations.

The Chief of Police shall report to the Borough Clerk all convictions for violations of this article, and the Borough Clerk shall maintain a record of each license issued and record the reports of violation therein.

§ 197-16 Appeals.

Any person whose application for a license has been rejected by action of the Chief of Police or Borough Clerk may file an appeal with the Borough Clerk to be heard by the Borough Council. Said appeal must be filed within 15 days after the action of either of the above-named officials rejecting the application. The Borough Council will rule on the appeal within 30 days after it has been filed. In deciding the appeal, the Borough Council will consider the sworn testimony of the appellant, the Borough Clerk, the Chief of Police and other witnesses whose testimony would be relevant to the issue before the Council.

§ 197-17 Violations and penalties.

[Amended 5-15-2017 by Ord. No. 2017-5]

Any person required by this article to procure a license who violates the provisions of this article may forfeit his or her license, receive a fine of $200 and/or be incarcerated for a period of no more than 90 days.

Article II Soliciting by Charitable Organizations

[Adopted 4-21-2014 by Ord. No. 2014-3]

§ 197-18 Permit requirements.

All charitable organizations as defined in N.J.S.A. 45:17A-20 who desire to solicit contributions on roadways situated in the Borough of Palmyra shall file an application for a permit with the Palmyra Borough Clerk on a form supplied by the Clerk specifying the following information:

Name of applicant organization. Copy of state charitable organization registration letter/certificate (initial submission) as evidence of tax exempt status.

Address of applicant organization.

Telephone number of applicant organization.

Contact person of applicant organization.

Specific location or locations of proposed charitable solicitation. (Solicitation shall only be permitted at signalized intersections or when the existing traffic control device causes temporary interruption in the flow of normal traffic.) A sketch is required to be attached to the application clearly indicating the location of the proposed solicitation.

Dates and times of proposed charitable solicitation. It is the responsibility of the charitable organization to insure that there is sufficient time to obtain any necessary Borough of Palmyra, County of Burlington, and/or State of New Jersey approvals.

Provide the number of people participating in the solicitation. No one under the age of 18 shall participate, and a supervisor from the soliciting organization must be present at all times.

All participants shall wear highly visible safety vests, Type II (minimum), ANSI Level 2 or 3. It will be the responsibility of the approved charitable organization to provide its own safety vests for each individual present to solicit contributions. It shall also be the responsibility of the soliciting organization to establish a work zone for its members to utilize. The soliciting organization shall be responsible for any traffic control equipment such as cones and signs to utilize for the soliciting event.

The name of the organization shall be clearly displayed to the traveling public.

The hours of solicitation shall be limited to daylight hours only on the approved date, and in no way shall exceed the hours of 9:00 a.m. until 3:00 p.m.

Soliciting organizations will be limited to two events per year and only one location per occasion. Only two charitable solicitations may occur on any date within the Borough of Palmyra.

Soliciting events shall not be conducted during any type of inclement weather.

Participants shall only approach vehicles for the purposes of solicitation when the traffic is at a standstill. No solicitations are allowed when the traffic signal has turned green or when traffic is in motion. Solicitation shall not stop or impede the flow of traffic nor harass the traveling public.

The charitable organization shall be responsible for the cleaning up of any debris resulting from their presence.

Those soliciting contributions shall not drink alcoholic beverages, use drugs or be under the influence of drugs or alcohol when soliciting.

A written work plan is to be included showing the placement of cones and signage. This plan also is to contain the rules governing those soliciting contributions. Identify the manner in which the motorist solicitation will be conducted and the procedures to be used to ensure the safety of the members of the public who will be traveling the roadways situated in the Borough of Palmyra.

If said request pertains to a location or locations on any county highway, or intersections of a county highway, the applicant will be required to submit a Burlington County Highway Department Daily Lane and Shoulder Closure Request Form. The Borough of Palmyra will forward a request for the authorization from the Burlington County Board of Chosen Freeholders to permit said charitable solicitation.

If said request pertains to a location or locations on any state highway or intersection of a state highway, said application shall include a copy of an authorization from the Commissioner of Transportation of the State of New Jersey to permit said charitable solicitation.

§ 197-19 Issuance of permit.

Upon the filing of a complete application in accordance with the provisions of this article, the Borough Clerk shall forward same to the Chief of Police for review. After which the Chief of Police or his designee shall grant or deny the applicant's request. If the event is to be held on a county roadway, the permit and accompanying documents will be forwarded to the County for approval. If the event is to be held on a state roadway, the permit and accompanying documents will be forwarded to the New Jersey Department of Transportation for approval.

§ 197-20 Indemnification; insurance.

The charitable organization shall execute an indemnification/hold harmless agreement protecting the Borough of Palmyra and the County of Burlington (as applicable) and the State of New Jersey (as applicable).

The charitable organization shall provide general liability insurance coverage in the amount of $1,000,000 naming the Borough of Palmyra as an additional insured and shall comply with any insurance requirements required by the County of Burlington (as applicable) and the State of New Jersey (as applicable).

§ 197-21 Statutory requirements.

Any charitable organization requesting authorization from the Borough of Palmyra for said charitable solicitation shall comply with all of the terms and conditions of N.J.S.A. 39:4-60, as amended by P.L. 1997, c. 82, approved April 30, 1997.

§ 197-22 Legislative authority.

This article is adopted pursuant to N.J.S.A. 39:4-60, as amended by P.L. 1997, c. 82, approved April 30, 1997.

§ 197-23 Appeal of application denial.

§ 197-24 Violations and penalties.

Any person or entity required by this article to procure a permit who fails to obtain a permit or otherwise violates or fails to comply with the terms of the permit or any provision of this article shall be subject to a fine of up to $500 or may be incarcerated for a period of not exceeding 90 days, or both.