[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Commissioners of the Township of
South Fayette 9-15-2003 by Ord. No. 10-2003.
This ordinance repealed former Ch. 187, Peddling and Soliciting, adopted 1-2-1962
by Ord. No. 32. Amendments noted where applicable.]
As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the meanings
indicated, unless a different meaning clearly appears from the context:
Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday.
8:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. during business days.
Any person granted tax-exempt status under § 501(c)(3)
of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 [Public Law 99-514, 26 U.S.C. § 501(c)(3)]
or any person who is or holds himself out to be established for any charitable
purpose or any person who in any manner employs a charitable appeal as the
basis of any solicitation or an appeal which has a tendency to suggest there
is a charitable purpose to any solicitation. An affiliate of a charitable
organization which has its principal place of business outside this commonwealth
shall be a charitable organization for the purposes of this chapter. Charitable
organizations include, but are not limited to, any person whose avowed purpose
and object is to benefit, assist, aid and further the following causes:
A.
Philanthropy;
B.
Assistance to persons who are poor, impoverished, destitute,
underprivileged,, needy, diseased, injured, crippled, disabled, handicapped,
or in need of physical or mental rehabilitation;
C.
Churches, religious societies or other religious sects,
groups or orders espousing spiritual and/or altruistic motives or conduct;
D.
Teaching of patriotism, or promoting relief and assistance
to this nation's war veterans;
E.
Education or assistance to educational institutions;
and
F.
CHARITABLE SOLICITATION
COMMERCIAL PEDDLING
LEGAL HOLIDAY
LITERATURE
MORAL TURPITUDE
PERSON
TOWNSHIP
TRANSIENT RETAIL BUSINESS
Protection, shelter and sustenance of animals;
Seeking, through canvassing and/or calling from house to house, either
orally or by literature distribution, money donations, pledges thereof, or
anything of value to benefit, assist, aid, and further the cause of a charitable
organization. Charitable solicitation does not include the sale of items.
Same as "transient retail business."
New Year's Day, Easter, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor
Day, Thanksgiving Day and Christmas.
Books, pamphlets, handbills, tracts, cards, circulars, pictures,
films, magazines, or any other written or printed material.
An act of baseness, vileness or depravity in the private and social
duties which a person owes to other people, or to society in general, contrary
to the accepted and customary rule of right and duty among people; conduct
contrary to justice, honesty, modesty or good morals.
Any individual, entity, corporation, association, and/or other entity
recognized by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania or other state through the
filing or incorporation process.
The Township of South Fayette.
Engaging in peddling, soliciting, or taking orders, either by sample
or otherwise, for any goods, wares, services or merchandise upon any street,
alley, sidewalk or public ground, or from house to house, within the Township
of South Fayette. This definition shall also include selling, soliciting or
taking orders for any goods, wares or merchandise from a fixed location within
the Township of South Fayette, on a temporary basis, which shall include,
but not be limited to, such activities conducted at the time of special occasions
or celebrations, for seasonal purposes, or for or in advance of specific yearly
holidays.
No person shall engage in any charitable solicitation or transient retail
business within the Township of South Fayette without first having applied
for and having obtained a license from the Township's Police Secretary.
No fee shall be charged for the charitable solicitation license. A fee, which
shall be used for the administration of the terms and provisions of this chapter,
shall be charged for the transient retail business license in amounts as established
from time to time by resolution.
A.
Each person engaged in charitable solicitation shall personally obtain a separate license, issued to him in his name, except that a representative of a charitable organization may obtain licenses for each of its members participating in a charitable solicitation within the Township by providing the information required for each person as set forth in § 187-4 of this chapter.
B.
Every license issued for a transient retail business
shall be issued on an individual basis to each person or person engaging in
such business; every individual shall personally obtain a separate license,
issued to him/her in his/her name, and the license fee imposed shall be applicable
to every such individual license.
C.
Every person governed under this chapter shall only peddle
or solicit within the Township on business days during business hours as defined
herein.
Each person desiring a license under this chapter, unless otherwise
provided herein, shall first make application in writing to the Township Police
Secretary for such license, The Township shall furnish an application form
to any person seeking a license. The person shall, when making such application,
exhibit a valid driver's license or other photo identification from any
state or other governmental authority. The license application to the Police
Secretary must be filed in duplicate at least three business days in advance
of the first day sought for solicitation and shall contain the following information:
A.
Full name, address and telephone numbers (legal and local)
of the business or charitable organization sponsoring, conducting or promoting
the solicitation.
B.
Whether the applicant organization is a branch or division
of a parent and/or larger organization, and if so, the name thereof, the mailing
and street addresses and telephone numbers of same.
C.
General description of the solicitation to be conducted
(for example, a solicitation for donations; the distribution of literature
and solicitation for donations; the sale of items).
D.
For transient retail business, the type of goods, wares
and merchandise the person wishes to deal with in such transient retail business.
E.
For charitable solicitation, the purpose or object thereof.
F.
Dates, hours and location of the solicitation, including
street names.
G.
The true legal name, nickname and alias, social security
number, date of birth, address, sex, height, hair color, eye color, driver's
license number and telephone number of each person participating in the solicitation.
H.
List of other municipalities where applicant has received
any licenses.
I.
Statement as to whether the applicant and/or any person
participating in the solicitation has ever been convicted of engaging in fraudulent
transaction or enterprise felony or other criminal offense involving moral
turpitude.
J.
Type, make and license number of motor vehicle(s) to
be used, if any.
K.
Acknowledgment that any person completing said license
application hereby consents to a background check conducted by the Township's
Police Department including a review of the person's other municipal
references.
A.
Upon receipt of said license application and the prescribed fee, if applicable, the license application shall be registered in a book maintained by the Township's Police Secretary called the "registry book." The license application shall be granted, except as provided in § 187-8 herein, and the Township's Police Secretary shall issue the license issued within 72 hours after the application has been filed. Upon noting approval in the registry book, the Township's Police Secretary shall issue to the applicant, or any agent or representative of the applicant who will participate under the license, an identification card. Such identification card shall contain the following information from the application:
B.
Every license holder shall wear or display in a clearly
visible manner such identification card if engaged in solicitation from house
to house or upon any street, alley, sidewalk, or public grounds, or shall
display such license at the location where he shall engage in such business
if doing so at a fixed location. Furthermore, the license holder shall also
possess on his person a photocopy of the license application. The holders
of either the charitable solicitation license or the transient retail business
license shall exhibit such identification card and photocopy of license application,
upon request, to all police officers, municipal officials and the citizens
or residents of the Township of South Fayette. licenses and/or identification
cards shall not be transferred to another person and must be returned to the
Township's Police Secretary within 24 hours of the expiration of the
license.
A.
No license shall be required by any of the following
persons:
(1)
Farmers selling their own produce.
(2)
Persons engaging in the sale of goods, wares, and merchandise,
donated by the owners thereof, the proceeds whereof are to be applied to any
charitable or philanthropic purpose.
(3)
Any manufacturer or producer in the sale of bread and
bakery products, meat and meat products, or milk and milk products.
(4)
Children under the age of 18 years who take orders for
and deliver newspapers, greeting cards, candy, bakery products, and the like,
or who represent the Boy Scouts or Girl Scouts or similar organizations.
(5)
Children under the age of 18 years who solicit on behalf
of recreational or athletic groups affiliated with the Township of South Fayette
or any other governmental entity.
(6)
Persons engaging in religious or political speech as
defined by the United States Supreme Court in the case of Watchtower Bible
and Tract Society of New York, Inc., v. Village of Stratton, including, but
not limited to persons engaged in the sale of goods, wares and merchandise
incidental to, or as apart of their religious and/or political vocations.
B.
Provided, any person dealing in one or more of the above
mentioned exempted categories, and dealing with other goods, wares, or merchandise
not so exempted, shall be subject to the payment of the license application
fee fixed by resolution for his or her activities in connection with the sale
of goods, wares and merchandise not in such exempted categories. Provided
further, the Township's Police Secretary shall similarly exempt from
payment of the license application fee, but not from registering with the
Township, persons working without compensation and selling goods, wares, or
merchandise for the sole benefit of any nonprofit corporation.
At the time of issuance of an identification card and license, the Township
shall issue to the person a list of all persons, with their residence addresses,
who have specifically requested that solicitors do not solicit at their premises
at any time. Solicitors shall not solicit at the addresses set forth on this
list.
No person in any transient retail business or charitable solicitation
shall:
A.
Sell any product or type of product not mentioned in
the license application.
B.
Hawk or cry to sell his wares or solicit upon any of
the streets, alleys, sidewalks or public grounds in the Township of South
Fayette.
C.
When operating from a vehicle, stop or park such vehicle
upon any of the streets or alleys in the Township of South Fayette for longer
than necessary in order to solicit therefrom to persons residing or working
in the immediate vicinity.
D.
Park any vehicle upon any of the streets or alleys in
the Township for the purpose of sorting, rearranging or cleaning any materials
to be distributed in association with the solicitation, or disposing of any
carton, wrapping material or other materials which have become unsuitable
for distribution through handling, age or otherwise.
E.
Engage in business activity or solicitation activity,
except by prior appointment, at any time on a Sunday or legal holiday or at
any time before 8:30 a.m. or after 8:30 p.m. prevailing time on any day of
the week other than a Sunday or legal holiday.
F.
Violate any law, statute and/or ordinance, federal, state
or local, including those regarding fraud, assault, battery, theft, littering
and/or any other law relating to the conduct of persons in public places.
A person's license application for a license pursuant to this chapter
will be refused, if, upon investigation by the Township's Police Secretary,
one or more of the following situations are found to exist:
A.
One or more of the statements in the application are
not true.
B.
Applicant or any agent or representative of the applicant
who will participate under the permit has been convicted of engaging in a
fraudulent transaction or enterprise, a felony or other criminal offense involving
moral turpitude, and/or is subject to an outstanding warrant or violation,
in which case the permit shall be denied to the applicant or to the agent
or representative so convicted.
C.
Applicant or any agent or representative of the applicant
who will participate under the permit has three previous separate violations
of any of the terms and provisions of this chapter or any prior permit(s)
issued hereunder, or by any other municipality.
The Township's Police Secretary shall supervise the activities
of all persons holding licenses under this chapter with, if necessary, the
assistance of the Township of South Fayette Police Department. The Township's
Police Secretary shall keep a record of all licenses issued hereunder and
shall make a report thereof each month to the Township's Board of Commissioners.
Unless otherwise specified by the terms of the license, the license
shall expire at 8:00 p.m., prevailing time, 30 days from the date of issuance.
A license may be renewed for successive thirty-day intervals if written request
for the same is received by the Township's Police Secretary within the
period of 10 days prior to the expiration date, and the request for renewal
contains a statement that the request is predicted on the same information
as contained in the original application. If there has been a change (other
than the solicitation dates) in information provided in the original application,
the applicant shall complete an amended application detailing such changes.
The Township Manager is hereby authorized to suspend or revoke any license
issued under this chapter when the Township's Police Secretary or Chief
of Police has reported to the Manager that the suspension or revocation of
the license is necessary to protect the public's health, safety or morals,
provided that said suspension or revocation be based on the violation of the
provision(s) of this chapter, or on supplying false information upon any application
for a license hereunder, or if any of the reasons for prior refusal should
be discovered or become apparent during the solicitation period.
To appeal the refusal, suspension or revocation of any license, the
applicant shall notify, in writing, within 10 days after notice of such refusal,
suspension or revocation, the Township Manager of the intent to contest said
action. Within 30 days after receipt of said notice to contest, the Township's
Board of Commissioners shall hold a hearing on the appeal petition and render
a decision or may institute in a court of competent jurisdiction a proceeding
for temporary, preliminary and/or permanent injunction to restrain the denied
solicitation or distribution. The Township's Board of Commissioners shall
have any and all other rights conferred upon it by law. No part of a license
fee shall be refunded to any person whose license has not been issued, suspended
or revoked.
Any person, firm, corporation or other entity who violates any provision(s)
of this chapter shall, upon conviction thereof; be sentenced to pay a fine
of not more than $600 plus costs and, in default of payment of said fine and
costs, and/or to a term of imprisonment not to exceed 30 days. Each day that
a violation of this chapter shall continue shall constitute a separate offense
hereof.
