No person, except as provided in this article,
shall canvass, solicit or distribute circulars or other matter from
house to house within the Township without first having reported to
and received a written permit from the Chief of Police or other officer
in charge at police headquarters.
Any person desiring a permit under this article
shall make application to the Chief of Police or other officer in
charge at police headquarters, which application shall give the following
information:
A. The name and address of the person seeking the permit.
B. If the applicant is an agent or employee, the name
and address of the principal or employer and evidence of the agent's
or employee's authority to act.
C. The purpose for which the permit is applied for and,
in case it is for the solicitation of funds or goods, the details
of the project or work, including the amount to be raised, the purpose
thereof, the amount paid to the solicitor and the method of solicitation.
D. Each applicant shall be subject to fingerprinting. Per the New Jersey
State Police, applicant fingerprinting is to be performed by Indentogo.
The cost for the fingerprinting check, including all costs of administering
and processing the check, shall be borne by the applicant.
[Added 5-20-2024 by Ord. No. 24-30]
E. Any charitable, political or civic nonprofit organization shall
be exempt from the requirements for a permit, including but not limited
to: public school related associations; scouting groups; Township
athletic programs; political parties and candidates; public safety,
military or veteran support organizations; and religious or civic
clubs.
[Added 5-20-2024 by Ord. No. 24-30]
[Amended 2-2-1998]
The Chief of Police or other officer in charge
at police headquarters shall have the power to grant a permit to canvass
or solicit from house to house. The application for a permit may be
held for 72 hours before determining whether or not the permit shall
be issued. The application for a permit shall be denied in all cases
where the application of the canvasser or solicitor on investigation
shows that they are not of good character or that they are canvassing
for a project not free from fraud. No person under the age of 13 shall
be permitted to canvass or solicit from house to house pursuant to
a valid permit issued hereunder unless accompanied by a person over
the age of 21 years old.
Any permit issued under the provisions of this
article shall be exhibited to any resident of the Township on demand
and shall be limited to the purpose of solicitation or canvassing
therein set forth.
A record of all permits issued shall be kept
by the Police Department.
On expiration of any permit issued under the
provisions of this article, the holder thereof shall, within 24 hours,
surrender the same to the officer in charge at police headquarters.
This article shall not affect any person engaged
in the delivery of goods, wares or merchandise or other articles or
things in the regular course of business to the premises of persons
ordering or entitled to receive the same.
[Added at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions,
Art. I)]
A. For the purposes of this section, "unsolicited" shall mean the printed
matter referred to herein which has not been ordered, subscribed to
or requested by the recipient.
B. It shall be unlawful for any person to deliver or deposit, or to
cause the delivery or deposit, or for any person, firm or corporation
to cause the delivery or deposit of any unsolicited printed material
to or upon the premises of any private residence located within the
Township except in accordance with the terms of the following subsections:
(1)
Any unsolicited printed material shall be delivered to or deposited
upon the premises of a private residence only within a permanently
installed appurtenance to the premises which an owner or occupant
of the private residence has designated for such material to be received
and collected. If there is no such appurtenance at the premises, any
unsolicited printed material may be deposited only upon either the
ground or the floor, at a point beneath the place where the private
residence regularly receives its mail or within a three-foot radius
of that point.
(2)
Exceptions.
(a)
Excepted from Subsection
B(1) shall be any unsolicited printed material which is delivered to or deposited upon the premises of any private residence which plainly bears either the name, mailing address and email address of a person responsible for the delivery or deposit of said material, or a telephone number which may be contacted to determine such name, regular mailing address and email address, which may be used by an owner or occupant of the private residence to effectively request by certified mail, return receipt requested, or by email with verified receipt capability, that such material cease to be delivered to or deposited upon the premises of that private residence.
(b)
Where the private residence referred to in this subsection is
an individual unit of any condominium or other such common property,
the request by certified mail, return receipt requested, or by email
with verified receipt capability shall be made by an owner or occupant
of that individual unit.
(3)
It shall be unlawful for any person to intentionally deliver
or deposit any unsolicited printed material to or upon the premises
of a private residence after such time as said person has received
a request by certified mail, return receipt requested, or by email
with verified receipt capability, made by an owner or occupant of
that private residence, that such material cease to be delivered to
or deposited upon the premises of that private residence.
(4)
Nothing contained in this subsection shall be deemed to prohibit
or restrict any person from delivering unsolicited printed material
directly to a person who is i) actually present on the premises of
a private residence at the time of delivery and ii) who personally
accepts said material at such time.
(5)
Any owner or occupant of any private residence located within
the Township shall have the right to enforce any violation of this
subsection by filing a complaint in Municipal Court.