The Township Committee considers the unfair
competition and dishonest business practices of certain canvassers,
hawkers, peddlers, solicitors and itinerant vendors to be detrimental
to the health, safety and welfare of the residents of the Township;
now, therefore, this chapter is enacted to safeguard the health, safety
and welfare of these residents and to provide a uniform set of procedures
for administering the issuance, renewal and revocation of all licenses
issued under this chapter.
As used in this chapter, the following terms
shall have the meanings indicated:
ITINERANT VENDOR
A person in the business of selling personal property or
services who conducts his business from a fixed location but who does
not intend to continue in business within the Township permanently.
A proprietor of a business which is seasonal in nature who suspends
business during the off-season shall not for that reason alone be
considered an itinerant vendor.
NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION
A group of persons, corporation or association organized
for philanthropic, charitable, religious, patriotic or other public-service
purposes and not for private gain. Examples of nonprofit organizations
include veterans groups and organizations which assist the poor, the
aged, the sick, the physically handicapped or mentally retarded or
which aid victims of fire, flood or similar catastrophes. This enumeration
is intended to be typical and shall not be construed as exclusive.
PEDDLER or HAWKER
A person who sells or delivers tangible goods, services or commodities from house to house, store to store, place to place or on the streets or in any public place, whether on foot or in a vehicle, whose sales are not made from one established spot, except where they are made in a street or public place, and who makes delivery at the time of his sale. A peddler selling manufactured ready-to-eat food products must also apply for and receive a food handler's license from the Township pursuant to Chapter
204 of this Code.
PERSON
An individual, firm, partnership, corporation (either profit
or nonprofit), voluntary association, incorporated association, unincorporated
association, society, club, trust or other similar entity or a trustee,
principal or agent thereof.
SOLICITOR or CANVASSER
A person who goes from house to house or from place to place
selling merchandise by sample or by taking orders for future delivery,
with or without accepting advance payments for the goods and regardless
of whether advance solicitation is made by mail, telephone or personal
contact. The provisions of this definition shall apply to the person
who comes in personal contact with the buyer, whether he obtains the
order, delivers the goods or accepts money in payment for them. "Solicitor"
also means any person who goes from house to house or from place to
place for the purpose of obtaining alms, contributions or subscriptions,
or who does research analyses, makes surveys or opinion polls or obtains
rating data or similar information, or who engages in any similar
work which involves a door-to-door or place-to-place activity.
It shall be unlawful for any person to engage
in the business of canvasser, hawker, peddler, solicitor or vendor
without first having secured a license therefor as herein provided.
After submission of the application, the Police
Department shall make any investigation necessary and shall indicate
its written approval or disapproval of the license application within
30 days after the application is filed and shall forward the license
application to the Township Clerk. Upon written approval from the
Police Department, the Township Clerk shall issue a license upon the
payment of all required fees.
The granting of said license shall not authorize
any person except the person named in said license to engage in business
thereunder, and said license shall not be transferable from the person
to whom issued to any other person. A separate license must be obtained
by a licensee hereunder for every agent or employee working for him
or it.
Every person holding a license under this chapter
shall be required to carry the license with him while engaged in the
business licensed. That person must produce the license at the request
of any person solicited, a police officer or any official of the Township
of Chesterfield. All automobiles, wagons, carts or other vehicles
used for canvassing, hawking, peddling, soliciting or vending shall
have affixed thereon a license.
Every person to whom a license is issued under
the terms of this chapter shall be governed by the following rules
and regulations:
A. No person or vehicle shall stand or be parked for
the purpose of display or selling goods, products or services on any
public or private property within a distance of 200 feet from the
nearest public, private or parochial school in Chesterfield Township
during school hours. "School hours" shall mean any time during which
school may be in session.
B. No licensee shall sell or attempt to sell in accordance
with the terms of this chapter, except as set forth in the preceding
subsection, before 9:00 a.m. or after 8:00 p.m. prevailing time. The
aforesaid time limitation shall not apply to persons who are expressly
invited into homes by the occupants thereof.
C. No licensee shall park his vehicle or dispensing container
for a period of time longer than it takes to make a sale to a customer.
D. No person or vehicle shall stand or be parked in a
fixed location for the purpose of displaying or selling goods, products
or services on any public or private property where to do so is likely
to cause a crowd, impede vehicular or pedestrian traffic or produce
annoying sounds, voices or disturbances which interfere with the comfort
of residents.
E. No person shall strew or litter or cause to be strewn
or littered the public streets and highways with refuse or waste matter
of any kind or to in anywise interfere with the comfort or convenience
of the residents or business of the occupants or owners of adjacent
property.
F. All circulars, samples or other matter shall be handed
to an occupant of the property and not left on or about the same.
G. No person shall enter or attempt to enter the house
of any resident in the Township without an express invitation from
the occupant of the house.
H. No person shall conduct himself or herself in such
manner as to become objectionable to or annoy an occupant of any house.
The terms of this chapter shall not be held
to include the acts of persons selling personal property at wholesale
to dealers in such articles.
No licensee shall have any exclusive right to
any location in the public streets. No licensee shall enter upon any
public property, including Township parks for the purpose of peddling
or soliciting without express written consent of the Township.
The Township Clerk shall maintain a record for
each license issued and record the reports of violations therein.
This chapter shall not affect any person engaged
in delivering goods, products or wares or other articles or things
in the regular course of business to the premises of the person ordering
or entitled to receive the same.
Any licensee who shall be guilty of any fraud,
cheating or misrepresentation, whether through himself or through
an employee or agent, while acting as a canvasser, hawker, peddler,
solicitor or itinerant vendor in the Township of Chesterfield or who
shall barter, sell or peddle any goods or products or services, other
than those specified in his application, shall be deemed guilty of
a violation of this chapter.
Any person violating the terms of this chapter
shall, upon conviction thereof, be subject to a fine not exceeding
$2,000 or to imprisonment not exceeding 90 days, or both, in the discretion
of the court.