[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town Board of the Town of Ellicott 9-6-1972
as L.L. No. 1-1972. Section 98-13 amended at time of adoption
of Code; see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I. Other amendments noted where
applicable.]
This chapter is enacted for the purpose of regulating itinerant merchandising
and soliciting in order that the peace, health, safety, welfare and good order
of the town and its inhabitants shall not be endangered or unduly disturbed.
As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the meanings
indicated:
A permanent building, store or depository in which or where the person
transacts business and deals in the goods, wares or commodities he peddles,
vends or solicits in the ordinary and regular course of business.
The selling, bartering or trading, or offering to sell, barter or
trade, any goods, wares, commodities or services.
Includes, unless otherwise herein provided, any person who engages
in merchandising any goods, wares, commodities, books, periodicals or services
or who solicits contributions of goods or moneys by going from house to house
or from place of business to place of business or in any public street or
public place or by temporarily occupying a room, building or other premises
therefor.
Includes any individual, firm, partnership, corporation, unincorporated
association and principal or agent thereof.
A store, room, building, tent, enclosure or structure of any kind
intended to be occupied for the period of time necessary to peddle, vend or
solicit the merchandise or products therein housed initially, without the
intent to replenish or restock such goods, wares and merchandise sold therein.
In all prosecutions for violation of this chapter, the intent of the defendant
to conduct an established place of business shall be a material fact, and
the burden of proving such intent shall be upon the defendant in such prosecution.
It shall be unlawful for any person within the jurisdiction of this
chapter to act as a peddler, vendor or solicitor, as herein defined, without
first having obtained and paid for, and having in force and effect, a license
therefor.
A.
The provisions of this chapter shall not apply to the
following:
(1)
An honorably discharged soldier, sailor or marine who
is crippled as a result of injuries received while in the naval or military
service of the United States, but no such person shall engage in any of the
occupations specified in this chapter without first having been issued a license
by the Town Clerk, which shall be issued without fee.
(2)
Any person soliciting at the express invitation of the
person solicited or serving an established customer.
(3)
A wholesaler selling articles to dealers or merchants
who have an established place of business within the town.
(4)
A truck gardener or farmer who himself or through his
employees vends, sells or disposes of products of his own farm or garden.
(5)
A child regularly attending any public or parochial or
private school located within the Town of Ellicott or a representative of
any established church maintaining a place of worship within the town or a
member of a veterans organization, provided that such organization has and
maintains a chapter, post, lodge, camp or other group within the Town of Ellicott,
or a member of a fraternal organization or civic group maintaining a chapter
or local organization within the Town of Ellicott; and further provided that
any person coming within the provisions of this exemption shall only peddle,
vend or solicit in connection with an authorized activity of the organization
of which they are a member or of the school which they attend.
(6)
Auction sales held pursuant to law by a sheriff or other
officer authorized by law to conduct such sale.
B.
This chapter shall not apply so as to interfere unlawfully
with interstate commerce.
A.
Every applicant for a license is required to submit to
the Town Clerk a written application supplying, under oath, the following
information:
(1)
The name of the applicant.
(2)
His permanent home residence.
(3)
The name and address of the firm represented, if any.
(4)
The length of time for which the license is required.
(5)
A description of the goods, wares or commodities to be
offered for sale, together with a true invoice of their amount, quality and
value.
(6)
All felonies or misdemeanors with which the applicant
has been charged and the disposition of each such charge.
(7)
To the application must be appended a letter of authorization
from the firm which the applicant purports to represent.
B.
If the application has one or more employees who will
work in the town, the same information must be supplied as to each employee.
Upon receipt of the application and of the license fee and if reasonably
satisfied with the applicant's qualifications, the Town Clerk shall issue
a license to the applicant specifying the particular business authorized and
the location wherein it may be conducted. This license shall be nontransferable
and shall be in the continuous possession of the licensee while engaged in
the business licensed. The license shall be produced upon the demand of any
town official, prospective buyer, police officer or sheriff.
A.
The Town Clerk shall keep a record of the application,
of the determinations thereon and of all licenses issued in accordance with
this chapter. The record shall contain the name and residence of the person
licensed, the location of the business, the amount of the license fee paid
and the date of revocation of all licenses revoked.
B.
All licenses hereunder shall expire on the first day
of January following the date of issuance thereof.
The fees for all licenses are hereby fixed as follows: $25 per year
or $5 per day or fraction thereof for the applicant, and $10 per year or $1
per day or fraction thereof for each employee of said applicant.
A licensed peddler, vendor or solicitor shall:
A.
Not willfully misstate the quantity or quality of any
article offered for sale.
B.
Not willfully offer for sale any article of an unwholesome
or defective nature.
C.
Not call attention to his goods by blowing a horn, by
ringing a bell other than a house doorbell, by shouting or crying out or by
any loud or unusual noise.
D.
Not frequent any street in an exclusive nature so as
to cause a private or public nuisance.
E.
Keep the vehicle and/or receptacles used by him in the
furtherance of his licensed business in a sound, clean and sanitary condition.
F.
Keep his edible articles offered for sale well protected
from dirt, dust and insects.
G.
A licensed peddler, solicitor or vendor shall not:
(1)
Stand or permit the vehicle used by him to stand in one
place in any public place or street for more than 10 minutes, nor in front
of any premises for any time if the owner or the lessee of the ground objects.
(2)
Sell confectionary or ice cream within 250 feet of any
school between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. on school days.
A.
Licenses issued under provisions of this chapter may
be revoked by the Town Clerk of the Town of Ellicott after notice and hearing
for any of the following causes:
(1)
Fraud, misrepresentation or false statement contained
in the application for license.
(2)
Fraud, misrepresentation or false statement made in the
course of carrying on his business as peddler, vendor or solicitor.
(3)
Any violation of this chapter.
(4)
Conviction of any crime or misdemeanor involving moral
turpitude.
(5)
Conducting the business of peddling in an unlawful manner
or in such a manner as to constitute a breach of the peace or as to constitute
a menace to the health, safety or general welfare of the public.
B.
Notice of the hearing for revocation of a license shall
be given in writing, setting forth specifically the grounds of complaint and
the time and place of hearing. Such notice shall be mailed, postage prepaid,
to the licensee at his last known address at least five days prior to the
date set for hearing.
C.
The Town Clerk, upon receiving information giving him
reasonable cause to believe that the holder of any license issued hereunder
has violated any provisions of this chapter or has been convicted of any violation
referred to in this section or has been indicted or charged with or for any
crime or offense or has been convicted of any crime or offense may forthwith
temporarily suspend such license until a hearing is held by him, as provided
herein, and the Town Clerk shall have issued his determination thereon.
D.
If the licensee has one or more employees, the revocation
hereunder shall apply to the licensee and all employees if either he or any
one or more of his employees are determined to be in violation of this chapter.
Any person aggrieved by the action of the Town Clerk in the denial of
an application for a license, as provided in this chapter, or in the decision
of the Town Clerk with reference to the revocation of a license, as provided
in this chapter, shall have the right to appeal to the Town Board of the Town
of Ellicott. Such appeal shall be taken by filing, within 14 days after notice
of the action complained of has been mailed to such person's last known
address, a written statement setting forth fully the grounds for the appeal.
The Town Board shall set a time and place for a hearing on such appeal, and
notice of such hearing shall be mailed to the applicant at his last known
address at least five days prior to the date set for the hearing. The decision
and order of the Town Board on such appeal shall be final and conclusive.
Any person who shall act as a peddler, vendor or solicitor, as herein
defined, without a license or who shall violate any of the provisions of this
chapter or who shall continue to act as peddler, vendor or solicitor subsequent
to the revocation of his license shall be punishable by a maximum fine of
$250 or by imprisonment for not more than 15 days, or both. In addition, such
person shall incur a civil penalty of $50 for each day on which such violation
continues.
