[HISTORY: Adopted by the Township Council of the Township of Lower
12-10-1975 as Sec. 3-11 of the 1975 Code. Amendments noted where applicable.]
Solicitation directed toward persons within the Township or originating
within the Township is hereby declared to be an activity affected with a public
interest and, the State of New Jersey having conferred upon municipalities
the power to regulate same, this chapter is hereby declared to be adopted
pursuant to the power and any other expressed or implied powers, and the provisions
hereof are declared reasonably necessary for the protection of the public.
As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the meanings
indicated:
Those having a charitable, patriotic, social service, welfare, benevolent
or other nonprofit organization, membership, agency or group who have one
or more of the objects as the purpose for existence.
The direct or implied appeal for gifts, donations, subscriptions,
pledges, or contributions of money or other thing of value, and it includes
solicitations by all persons when made for or on behalf of a charitable or
philanthropic organization or agency whether the same originates within this
Township or beyond the territorial limits thereof and whether bona fide or
not. Solicitation shall be deemed to have been made when the solicitor has
communicated with the proposed contributor, whether or not the contributor
to whom it is directed has given, transferred, set over or delivered any money
or other thing of value in response thereto.
Under the police power, and pursuant to the statutory authority and
right to provide for the protection of persons and property, and for the preservation
of the public health, safety and welfare, but not pursuant to any other legislative
authority, the provisions hereof are hereby made applicable to solicitations
conducted by, in the name of, or on behalf of any bona fide religious body
and for educational purposes, and to the agencies, auxiliaries, members, solicitors
and agents thereof.
[Amended by Ord. No. 97-36]
Pursuant to N.J.S.A. 39:4-60, charitable organizations may be permitted
to solicit contributions along roadways in Lower Township subject to the following
conditions:
A.Â
The charitable organization must first obtain and provide
to the Township Clerk proof of liability insurance in amounts and with coverages
satisfactory to the Township, and also naming the Township as additional insured.
B.Â
The charitable organization must obtain a permit pursuant to § 564-5 below and, in connection with its application for a permit, shall also submit such documentation as may be requested by the Township Council to establish its charitable purpose, including a resolution authorizing the request, certification as to the charitable purpose of the organization and the proposed use of the contributions, and a determination letter from the Internal Revenue Service approving it as a charitable organization under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986.
C.Â
The charitable organization shall also disclose, as a
part of its application for a permit, the exact date(s), hours, and location
of the proposed solicitations, and any permit granted shall be limited accordingly.
D.Â
If the solicitations are to occur along a county or state
highway, permission must also be obtained from the County Board of Chosen
Freeholders (for county highways) and the New Jersey Commissioner of Transportation
(for state highways).
E.Â
F.Â
All solicitation authorized hereunder shall further be
subject to any regulations promulgated by the New Jersey Department of Transportation
in consultation with the New Jersey Division of Motor Vehicles and New Jersey
Division of Highway Traffic Safety, as adopted and amended from time to time.
[Amended by Ord. No. 97-36]
It shall be unlawful for any person to conduct a solicitation without
a permit.
[Amended by Ord. No. 97-36]
A.Â
An application for a permit to conduct any solicitation
as defined herein shall be made on forms provided by the Township and filed
with the Township Clerk not later than 10 days before the proposed date of
commencement of the solicitation, provided that, for good cause shown and
when the completed application form and any other evidential matter satisfactorily
establishes the bona fides of the applicant and any agency or organization
the applicant purports to represent, this ten-day requirement may be waived.
B.Â
The application form shall disclose the name and address
of the applicant, the name and address of the person, organization or agency
in whose name or on whose behalf the solicitation is to be conducted, sufficient
facts relating to complete identity of any agency, including the names and
addresses of officers, directors or trustees, the proposed date of commencement
and duration of the solicitation, the purpose and nature of it and the methods
proposed to be utilized. When the application discloses that one or more persons
other than the applicant will conduct or participate in conducting the solicitations,
the names and also the addresses of all such persons shall be made known,
and neither the applicant nor any other solicitor shall conduct such solicitation
unless it is done without compensation or other remuneration to them or any
one of them.
[Amended by Ord. No. 97-36]
Upon the satisfactory completion of an application, a permit shall be
issued to the applicant, and provisions shall then be made by the applicant
to supply, at the applicant's expense, appropriate identification cards or
other insignia for each person who shall actually conduct solicitation, and
any such person, while in the act of soliciting, shall have such card or other
identifying material in his or her possession, and upon request shall exhibit
the same to any law enforcement officer requesting an opportunity to examine
the same.
[Amended by Ord. No. 97-36]
If the application is incomplete without good cause, or is false or
misleading; or if it is discovered that the real or purported purpose is fraudulent
in any respect or if it is discovered that the same is completely and wholly
without merit, then the permit shall be denied, and if at the time of the
determination or making the discovery the permit has been issued it may, upon
notice and hearing, be revoked by the Township Council. Additionally, if any
applicant for a permit is denied, a right of appeal to the Township Council
is hereby established and provided for.
[Amended by Ord. No. 97-36]
A.Â
The Township Clerk is hereby authorized and directed
to provide for the required application forms, process the same and issue
or deny permits in accordance with the authority hereof, with the approval
of the Township Council, and in the case of the issuance of any such permit,
it shall not in any case be valid beyond midnight on December 31 in the year
of its issuance.
B.Â
With respect to the approval of any permits for roadway solicitations as set forth in § 564-4 above, the Township Council may approve or disapprove such permits, limit the duration of such permits or further restrict the activities of the charitable organization, all of which may be exercised in its sole and absolute discretion.
