[Adopted 5-29-1984 by Ord. No. 84-2]
This article may be cited as the "Door-to-Door Soliciting and Canvassing Ordinance." The following activities are expressly excluded from the operation and effect of this article:
A. 
Otherwise lawful parades.
B. 
Otherwise lawful assemblies or demonstrations upon public lands or places.
C. 
Any otherwise lawful activity by or on behalf of a legitimate candidate for public office organized and conducted according to Title 17 of the General Laws of Rhode Island, 1956 (as amended), entitled "Elections."[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: See R.I.G.L. § 17-1-1 et seq.
D. 
Lawful activities of religious groups, charitable organizations or political action groups.[2]
[2]
Editor's Note: Added at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. II).
No person shall engage in door-to-door soliciting or canvassing within the Town of Portsmouth without first having obtained a solicitor's permit from the Town Chief of Police in accordance herewith.
Any person issued a solicitor's permit hereunder shall carry said permit upon his or her person at all times while engaged in the activity permitted; such persons shall produce said permit upon the demand of any law enforcement official of the state or Town and upon the demand of any person then being solicited or canvassed by the permit holder.
Each person desiring to engage in door-to-door canvassing or soliciting within the Town of Portsmouth shall apply for a permit by providing the Chief of Police with the following information upon a form to be supplied by the Chief of Police:
A. 
Name of solicitor or canvasser;
B. 
Residence address of solicitor or canvasser;
C. 
Date of birth and social security number of solicitor or canvasser;
D. 
Name of organization or entity being represented by the solicitor or canvasser, if any;
E. 
Address, telephone number and name of the Town, county or statewide head of the organization or entity being represented by the solicitor or canvasser, if any;
F. 
A brief statement of the nature of the organization or entity being represented by the solicitor or canvasser, if any;
G. 
Make, model and license plate number of automobile(s) to be used while soliciting, if any;
H. 
A statement detailing the past record for convictions of any crime by the person applying, excluding violations and nonmoving traffic offenses, to include the date and place of conviction and the crime for which said person was convicted;
I. 
A statement authorizing the Chief of Police to make inquiry into the veracity of all information provided upon the application form;
J. 
A statement acknowledging that the applicant has carefully read the completed application form, that the information provided is true and correct to the best of his or her knowledge, and acknowledging that any statement proven later to have been falsely made will constitute grounds for denial or revocation of the permit;
K. 
Customarily acceptable proof of the applicant's identity;
L. 
The dated signature of the applicant; and
M. 
A statement of the applicant's appellate rights hereunder.
A. 
Upon receipt of each application for a permit hereunder, the Chief of Police shall issue a solicitor's and canvasser's permit within the three business days next following the date of application, exclusive of Sundays and legal holidays, unless he/she shall find any one of the following:
(1) 
The applicant has provided false information upon the application; or
(2) 
The applicant has been adjudicated guilty of having violated any provision of this article within the 12 months next preceding the application date; or
(3) 
The applicant has been adjudicated guilty of a crime of violence, theft, moral turpitude, or violation of the criminal gambling or weapons provisions of Rhode Island law within the five years next preceding the application date.
B. 
If the Chief of Police shall find that any one or more of the above conditions obtains, he/she shall endorse the application with the word "denied" over his dated signature across its face and append thereto a brief statement of his reasons therefor.
Any person denied a permit hereunder may, within 10 business days of its denial, excluding Sundays and legal holidays, file a simple written statement with the Town Clerk claiming an appeal. Failure to file within the time stated shall constitute a forfeiture of an applicant's appellate rights hereunder.
Upon receipt of each claim of appeal, the Town Clerk shall place the written claim upon the agenda for the next regularly scheduled meeting of the Town Council and notify the appellant in writing of the date, time and place of said meeting. Appeals hereunder shall be given first priority upon said agenda, and if more than one such appeal is received, said appeals shall be ordered upon said agenda according to the date and time of their receipt.
The Town Council shall provide a complete and impartial hearing upon each appeal. The appellant may produce evidence tending to show by clear and convincing evidence that either the permit was unlawfully denied or that special circumstances exist which, notwithstanding the provisions of this article, merit granting of the permit in the applicant's case. The Town Council, after hearing the evidence, shall render its decision at the same meeting at which the evidence was offered, unless there exists good cause for the delay or unless the applicant consents to a delay.
The Town Council shall reverse the decision of the Chief of Police and order him/her in writing to grant the permit as applied for within 24 hours or grant the permit with special conditions reasonably related to the circumstances shown at the hearing; otherwise, the Town Council shall uphold the decision of the Chief of Police by affirming the denial of the permit.
No person issued a permit hereunder shall enter upon any private premises whereon there is conspicuously posted a sign or other artifice clearly purporting to prohibit trespassers, solicitors or canvassers.
A. 
No door-to-door canvassing or soliciting activities shall be engaged in between the hours of 9:00 p.m. and 8:00 a.m. within the Town of Portsmouth.
B. 
Solicitors and canvassers shall not engage in soliciting or canvassing upon property or within buildings owned by the Town and used for Town business during the hours of Town use and operation.
C. 
Solicitors and canvassers shall not block or cause to be blocked any highway, street or public access within the Town.
No person shall destroy or cause to be destroyed any permit issued hereunder while it remains valid.
Permits issued hereunder shall be valid for a period of six months from the date of issue.
Any person adjudicated guilty of violating any provision of this article by a court of competent jurisdiction shall be subject to revocation of his or her active permit and a fine of up to $100 for each violation.