It shall be unlawful for any peddler, canvasser, transient merchant or traveling street vendor as defined in § 156-2 of this chapter to engage in any such business with the Borough of Baden without first obtaining a permit therefore in compliance with the provisions of this section.
[HISTORY: Adopted by the Council of the Borough of Baden 10-16-2024 by Ord. No. 984.[1] Amendments noted where applicable.]
[1]
Editor's Note: This ordinance also superseded former Ch. 156, Soliciting and Canvassing, adopted 10-21-1998 by Ord. No. 846.
Shall include any person, whether a resident of the Borough of Baden or not, who goes from house to house from place to place, or from street to street, soliciting or attempting to take orders from individuals for sale of goods, wares or merchandise, including magazines, books, periodicals, or personal property of any nature whatsoever for future delivery, or for service to be performed at that time or in the future, whether or not such individual has, carries, or exposes for sale a sample of the subject of such order or whether or not he is collecting advance payments on such orders.
Any person, whether a resident of the Borough of Baden or not, who goes from house to house, from place to place or street to include placing or leaving flyers on mailboxes or at residences, conveying or transporting goods, wares, merchandise or offering or exposing the same for sale in any manner whatsoever, or making sales and delivering articles to purchasers.
The act of going upon property or approaching people to ask or request monetary contributions, donations, or support.
Engaging in peddling, soliciting or taking orders, either by sample or otherwise, for any goods, wares or merchandise upon any street, alley sidewalk and/or public ground within the Borough.
Selling, soliciting, or taking orders for any goods, wares or merchandise from a fixed location within the Borough, on a temporary basis, including, but not limited to, such activities conducted at the time of special occasions or celebrations, for seasonal purposes, or in advance of specific yearly holidays.
Vendors who travel street to street and only stop when requested to do so (flagged down) by customers, do not stop for longer than 10 minutes and do not enter upon or traverse personal property.
The terms of this section shall not be held to include the acts of persons selling personal property at wholesale or to dealers in such articles; nor the acts of merchants or their employees in delivering goods in the regular course of business including the following:
A.
For farmers selling their own produce.
B.
For the sale of goods, wares and merchandise donated by the owners thereof, where the proceeds are to be applied to any charitable or philanthropic purpose.
C.
For persons 18 years or younger who take orders for and deliver newspapers, grass cutting, yard work, snow removal, pet watching, greeting cards, candy, sandwiches, bakery products and similar activities.
D.
Boy Scouts or Girl Scouts and similar organizations.
E.
Garage sales by residents.
F.
All bona fide religious, charitable, and political organizations, societies, associations or corporations shall be exempt from the application of this chapter so long as the principal purpose of their solicitation activities is the expression of religious, political or other philosophical beliefs, as opposed to the sale or distribution of goods and merchandise.
G.
School and/or athletic organizations soliciting support for Borough-of-Baden-based organizations.
Each applicant for a permit under this section must file a completed application in person with the Borough Manager or designated representative. A processing fee to be determined annually by resolution of the Borough Council shall be paid for each individual seeking to solicit under this chapter and shall accompany the return of the application which shall provide the following information:
A.
Present a valid photo driver's license, State photo identification card, or United States passport; no other form of identification will be accepted.
B.
Complete permanent home and local address of the applicant and, in the case of transient merchants, the local address from which proposed sales will be mailed.
C.
Applicant's contact information, including a phone number and email address.
D.
The name and phone number for the applicant's direct supervisor.
E.
The days and times during which the applicant wishes to canvass the Borough.
F.
The name, address, and phone number of the business or organization for which the applicant is working/volunteering as well as a brief description of the nature of the business and the goods to be sold.
G.
The make, model, color, and license plate number of any vehicle(s) used during canvassing.
H.
A national criminal background check report for each applicant.
A.
The Borough of Baden Manager shall endorse on the application his/her approval and upon payment of the appropriate fee(s) shall make available to the applicant a copy of the approved and endorsed application.
B.
The permit shall be issued upon filing of a completed application unless the Borough informs the applicant, in writing and within 10 business days of the date of application is received by the Borough, that the person is seeking to engage in unsafe, illegal, fraudulent, or criminal activity, has made a material misrepresentation on the permit application or is a home improvement contractor and has failed to register with the Pennsylvania Attorney General.
C.
Fees shall be set annually by resolution by the Borough of Baden.
D.
Permits of any nature are not transferable.
E.
Hours: 10:00 A.M to 5:00 P.M, Monday through Saturday, no Sundays or holidays recognized by the United States or the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
F.
No permittee shall be permitted to solicit within Borough parks without the express consent of the Borough Manager.
G.
All permittees are required to always exhibit their permits to any resident, police officer or any other designated Borough official.
No permittee nor any person in his behalf shall shout, cry out, blow a horn, ring a bell or use any sound or amplifying device upon any of the streets of the Borough of Baden or upon private premises for the purpose of attracting attention to any goods, wares or merchandise which such permittee proposes to sell. The Chief of Police may at his discretion if deemed conducive to traffic safety permit ice cream trucks to play music at an agreed-upon volume.
Borough residents may post or display a "No Soliciting/Peddling/Canvassing" or similar sign on the front door of their dwelling or residence. It shall be a violation of this section for any peddler, solicitor, and/or canvasser to go upon any property that the owner or resident has posted a "No Soliciting/Peddling/Canvassing" sign.
A.
No permittee shall have any exclusive right to any location in the public streets, nor shall any be permitted a stationary location thereon, nor shall any be permitted to operate in a congested area where such operation might impede or inconvenience the public use of such streets or sidewalks.
B.
No permittee shall be permitted to solicit on property that displays a "no soliciting sign" visible from the road.
C.
No permittee shall solicit within Borough parks without the express consent of the Borough Manager.
D.
No permittee shall enter or attempt to enter any dwelling unit without invitation or permission of the occupant and shall immediately leave the premises upon request of the occupant.
E.
No permittee shall make any untrue statements or misrepresentation while soliciting or omit to state any material fact necessary to prevent any statement made from being misleading. No permittee shall utilize any unfair or deceptive acts or practices while soliciting. In determining whether a practice is unfair or deceptive under this section, definitions, standards, or interpretations relating thereto under the Pennsylvania Unfair Trade Practices and Consumer Protection Law, as amended from time to time, shall apply.
F.
Permittees are required to exhibit their permits at the request of any citizen or official of the Borough.
The Borough Council, or the manager may, after notice, revoke any permit issued pursuant to this chapter for one or more of the following reasons:
A.
Harassment of a resident in soliciting the sale of goods where a police report is filed; and/or soliciting after the hours stated in § 156-5.
B.
Failure to disclose a criminal conviction of the applicant after the permit is issued.
C.
Determination by the Borough Manager that the applicant has made a material misrepresentation on the application subsequent to the permit being issued.
No person shall engage in any transient retail business/traveling street business in the Borough without first obtaining a license from the Borough Manager and paying the applicable fees established, from time to time, by resolution of the Council of Borough of Baden. Time periods shall be established by the Borough Manager, provided that the time period shall not exceed 30 days.
A.
Application for license. Every person desiring a license shall first make application to the Borough Manager on a form established from time to time by the Borough Manager. The completed application for a license shall, at a minimum, contain the following information and/or documentation:
(1)
Present a valid photo driver's license, State photo identification card, or United States passport; no other form of identification will be accepted.
(2)
Complete permanent home and local address of the applicant and, in the case of transient merchants, the local address from which proposed sales will be mailed.
(3)
Applicant's contact information, including a phone number and email address.
(4)
The name, job title, phone number, and email address for the applicant's direct supervisor.
(5)
The days and times during which the applicant wishes to canvass the borough.
(6)
A statement as to whether the applicant has been convicted of a crime other than a summary offense and if so, the nature of the offense and the punishment assessed, therefore.
(7)
The name, address, and phone number of the business or organization for which the applicant is working/volunteering as well as a brief description of the nature of the business and the goods to be sold.
(8)
The make, model, color, and license plate number of any vehicle(s) used during canvassing.
(9)
A national criminal background check report for each applicant.
B.
Issuance of license; custody, display or exhibit.
(1)
Upon receipt of such application and the prescribed fee, the borough manager, if he/she shall find such application to be complete, shall issue the license required under this chapter. Such license shall contain the information required to be given on the application therefor.
(2)
The license holder shall carry such license upon his person while engaged in transient retail business in the Borough, with an additional copy of the license displayed at the fixed location where the transient business is occurring. The license holder shall exhibit such license, upon request, to all police officers, Borough officials and employees, and citizens of the Borough.
C.
Prohibited acts. No transient business or traveling street vendor shall:
(1)
Be conducted on or within public property, public roads and right-of-way, sidewalks, private roads, access drives or driveways.
(3)
Involve loud noises or sound devices to be heard beyond the premises where the transient business is occurring or to cause a public nuisance.
(4)
Sell any product or type of product not mentioned in his/her license.
(5)
Hawk or cry his/her wares upon any of the streets, alleys sidewalks or public grounds in the Borough.
(6)
Park any vehicle upon any of the streets or alleys in the Borough for the purpose of sorting, rearranging, or cleaning any of his/her goods, wares, or merchandise or disposing of any carton, wrapping, material or of any stock or wares or foodstuffs which have become unsalable through handling, age or otherwise.
(7)
Be permitted to solicit/peddle or vend within Borough parks without the express consent of the Borough Manager.
D.
Hours. All licensed transient business activities shall be restricted to the following hours:
(1)
Between the hours of 9:00 A.M to 9:00 P.M., prevailing time, including Saturdays and Sundays.
E.
Denial, suspension and revocation of license; appeal. The Borough Manager is hereby authorized to suspend or revoke any license issued under this section when he/she deems such suspension or revocation to be:
(1)
Beneficial to the public health, safety or morals.
(2)
For giving false information upon any application for license hereunder or to any Borough official related thereto.
(3)
Any complaint from anyone in which a police complaint is filed.
(4)
Failure to disclose a criminal conviction of the applicant after the permit is issued.
(5)
Determination by the Borough Manager that the applicant has made a material misrepresentation on the application subsequent to the permit being issued.
Any person, firm, or corporation or association who or which shall violate any provision of any section shall upon conviction thereof, in a summary proceeding, be subject to a fine not exceeding $1,000 for each and every offense together with costs and attorney fees. Each and every day which such violation shall continue shall constitute a separate offense.
This chapter shall take effect upon adoption.
All ordinances, code sections or parts thereof in conflict here with are hereby repealed to the extent of such conflict.
Should any sentence, section, clause, or part or provisions of this chapter be declared by a court of competent jurisdiction to be invalid, the same shall not affect the validity of the chapter as a whole, or any part thereof, other than the paid declared to be invalid.