[HISTORY: Adopted by the Township Council of the Township of Lower
by Ord. No. 92-27 (Sec. 4-11 of the 1975 Code). Amendments noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Conduct — See Ch. 230.
Garage and private sales; flea markets — See Ch. 359.
Ice cream vendors — See Ch. 386.
Junkyards and junk dealers — See Ch. 392.
Payment of taxes prior to issuance of licenses and permits — See Ch. 413.
Littering — See Ch. 419.
Mercantile licenses — See Ch. 432.
Noise — See Ch. 441.
Unsolicited printed matter — See Ch. 493.
Secondhand merchants and dealers of precious metals — See Ch. 529.
Solicitation — See Ch. 564.
This chapter shall be known as the "Transient Merchant Licensing Ordinance"
of the Township of Lower.
It is hereby found and determined by the Township Council of the Township
of Lower that citizens of this Township are often subjected to improper sales
techniques by transient merchants who leave the Township before such purchasers
can take appropriate action to correct the damages resulting from such improper
sales techniques; that it is desirable that the Township take all reasonable
steps to protect residents from misleading sales techniques and monetary losses
that may result therefrom; that this chapter is designed to provide for the
licensing and regulation of transient merchants and to thereby protect citizens
of the Township. Therefore, it is the purpose and intent of this chapter to
protect the people of Lower Township from improper sales techniques by providing
for the licensing and regulation of transient merchants.
As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the meanings
respectively ascribed to them in this section:
Any individual, corporation, partnership, association or other entity.
Any business conducted for the sale or offer for sale of goods, wares,
or merchandise, which is carried on in any building, structure, motor vehicle,
railroad car or real estate for a period of less than three months in each
year.
Any person, firm, corporation, partnership, or other entity which
engages in, does or transacts any temporary or transient business in the Township
of Lower, either in one locality or in traveling from place to place in the
Township, offering for sale or selling goods, wares, merchandise or services,
and includes those merchants who, for the purpose of carrying on such business,
hire, lease, use, or occupy any building, structure, motor vehicle, railroad
car, or real estate. "Transient merchant" includes any person who, as a private
enterprise, schedules, organizes or promotes any entertainments, concerts,
athletic events, contests or competitions or beauty pageants to be held on
a non-regular basis and which require the payment of a fee for entry or admission,
wherein such event is to take place within the confines of the Township of
Lower; provided, however, that no such person shall be classified as "transient
merchant" if he is sponsored by any bona fide civic, fraternal, educational
or religious organization having a local chapter in the Township of Lower.
A.
The provisions of this chapter shall not apply to:
(1)
Sales at wholesale to retail merchants by commercial
travelers or selling agents in the usual course of business;
(2)
Wholesale trade shows and/or conventions;
(3)
Sales of-goods, wares or merchandise by sample catalog
or brochure for future delivery;
(4)
Retail of sale of ice cream and/or flavored water ice
by motor vehicle during the summer months;
(5)
Any general sale, fair, auction or bazaar sponsored by
any civic, fraternal, educational or religious organization;
(6)
Garage sales held on premises devoted to residential
use;
(7)
Sales of crafts or items made by hand and sold or offered
for sale by the person making such crafts or handmade items.
(8)
Any new home construction contractor, residential developer,
master plumber or electrical contractor who is licensed or regulated by any
state, county or municipal agency, division, department or professional board
and any contractor of home improvements as defined in N.J.A.C. 13:45A-16.1
who, in the normal course of business, advertises or performs his services
in the Township of Lower; provided that any such tradesman complies with all
state, county and municipal regulations enforceable by the Township Construction
Official.
(9)
Sale of produce, flowers, or other agriculture products
from buildings, or from roadside stands, where the premises in question are
owned by the farmer, it being the express intention of this chapter that nothing
herein shall prohibit the sale of agriculture products on land owned by the
farmer unless prohibited by the Township Zoning Ordinance.[1]
B.
A transient merchant not otherwise exempted from the
provisions of this chapter shall not be relieved or exempted from the provisions
of this chapter by reason of associating himself temporarily with any local
dealer, auctioneer, trader, contractor, or merchant or by conducting such
temporary or transient business in connection with or in the name of any local
dealer, auctioneer, trader, contractor or merchant.
A.
It shall be unlawful for any transient merchant to transact
business within the confines of the Township of Lower unless such merchant
and the owners of any goods, wares or merchandise to be offered for sale or
sold, if such are not owned by the merchant, shall have first secured a license
and shall have otherwise complied with the requirements of this chapter.
B.
Any person or entity that transacts a transient business
as defined herein without having first obtained a license in accordance with
the provisions of this chapter or who knowingly advertises, offers for sale,
or sells any goods, wares, merchandise or services in violation of the provisions
of this chapter shall be a disorderly person. The penalties prescribed herein
shall be in addition to any other penalties prescribed by law for any criminal
offense committed by the licensee.
Any transient merchant desiring to transact business within the confines
of the Township of Lower shall make application for and obtain a license therefor.
The application for license shall be filed with the Township Clerk, and shall
include the following information:
A.
The name and permanent address of the transient merchant
making application, and if the applicant is a firm or corporation, the name
and business and home addresses of the members of the firm or the officers
of the corporation, as the case may be.
B.
If the applicant is a corporation, there shall be stated
on the application form the date of incorporation, the state of incorporation
and, if the applicant is a corporation formed in a state other than the State
of New Jersey, the date on which such corporation qualified to transact business
as a foreign corporation in the State of New Jersey.
C.
A statement showing the kind of business proposed to
be conducted, the length of time for which the applicant desires to transact
such business and the location or locations of such proposed place of business.
D.
The name and permanent address of the transient merchant's
registered agent or office.
E.
Proof that the applicant has acquired all other required
Township, county, and state permits and licenses.
A.
Each registered agent designated by a transient merchant
in the application for a license shall be a resident of the State of New Jersey
and shall be agent of the transient merchant upon whom any process, notice,
or demand required or permitted by law to be served upon the transient merchant
may be served. The registered agent shall agree in writing to act as such
agent, and a copy of the agreement to so act shall be filed by the applicant
with the application for a license.
B.
The Township Clerk shall maintain an alphabetical list
of all transient merchants in the Township and the names and addresses of
their registered agents.
C.
If any transient merchant doing business or having done
business in the Township of Lower shall fail to have or maintain a registered
agent in the State of New Jersey or if such registered agent cannot be found
at his permanent address, the Township Clerk shall be an agent of such transient
merchant for service of all process, notices or demands. Service on the Township
Clerk shall be made by delivering to and leaving with him/her or any person
designated by the Clerk to receive such service, duplicate copies of the process,
notice or demand. When any such process, notice or demand is served on the
Clerk, he/she shall immediately cause one copy thereof to be forwarded by
certified mail to the permanent address of the transient merchant. The provisions
of this section shall not limit or otherwise affect the right of any person
to serve any process, notice or demand in any other manner now or hereafter
authorized by law.
Each application for a transient merchant license shall be accompanied
by a license fee of $250.
Each application for a transient merchant license shall be accompanied
by a cash bond or a surety bond issued by a corporate surety authorized to
do business in the State of New Jersey in the amount of $5,000. The surety
bond shall be in favor of the Township of Lower and shall assure the payment
by the applicant of all taxes that may be due from the applicant to the State
of New Jersey or any political subdivision of the state, the payment of any
fines that may be assessed against the applicant or its agents or employees
for violation of the provisions of this chapter, the satisfaction of all judgments
that may be rendered against the transient merchant or its agents or employees
in any cause of action commenced by any purchaser of goods, wares, merchandise
or services within one year from the date of the sale by such transient merchant,
and/or the satisfaction of any judgment on file arising out of litigation
initiated by the New Jersey Attorney General, the Division of Consumer Affairs,
the New Jersey Office of Consumer Protection, the Cape May County Office of
Consumer Affairs, or any individual pursuant to the provision of N.J.S.A.
56:8-1 et seq. The bond shall be maintained so long as the transient merchant
conducts business in the Township of Lower and for a period of one year after
the termination of such business and shall be released only when the transient
merchant furnishes satisfactory proof to the Township Clerk that it has satisfied
all claims of purchasers of goods, wares, merchandise or services from such
merchant, and that all state and local sales taxes and fees have been paid.
A transient business license may be issued hereunder only by the Township
Council and only when all requirements of this chapter have been met, such
license shall not be transferable, shall be valid only within the territorial
limits of the Township of Lower, shall be valid only for a period of not more
than 90 days, and shall be valid only for the business stated in the application.
A license so issued shall be valid for only one person, unless such person
shall be a member of a partnership or employee of a firm or corporation obtaining
such license. The Township Council may, in its sole discretion, deny the issuance
of a transient business license if it determines that the issuance of said
license will be deleterious to the health, safety and/or welfare of the people
of Lower Township, or any of them.
The Township Council may revoke any license issued hereunder at any
time if it finds that the conduct of the licensee or the continued existence
of the license is deleterious to the health, safety and/or welfare of the
people of Lower Township, or any of them. In such event, the licensee shall
be entitled to a hearing before the Township Council within 30 days from the
date of the revocation. The licensee shall be entitled to appear with an attorney
at said hearing and to present witnesses and other proofs tending to show
that the continuance of his license is not deleterious to the health, safety
and/or welfare of the people of Lower Township, or any of them.
It is the duty of the Township Police Department and the Township Construction
Official to enforce the provisions of this chapter.
