[HISTORY: Adopted by the Mayor and Council of the Borough
of Ho-Ho-Kus as indicated in article histories. Amendments noted where
applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Transient merchants — See Ch. 75A.
[Adopted 9-25-1962 by Ord. No. 390]
The purpose of this article is to prevent fraud, crime and unethical
and dishonest business practices. The fees to be charged for the issuance
of licenses are not to be considered as revenue but are charged for
the purpose of covering the expense of investigating and regulating
the conduct of the licensees.
It shall be unlawful for any peddler, solicitor or canvasser
as hereinafter defined to engage in such activity within the Borough
of Ho-Ho-Kus without first obtaining a license therefor in accordance
with the provisions of this article.
As used in this article, the following terms shall have the
meanings indicated:
Includes any person, whether a resident of the Borough or
not, who goes from house to house, place to place or street to street,
soliciting or taking or attempting to take orders for the sale of
services, goods, wares, merchandise, real estate or personal property
of any nature for future delivery, or for services to be performed
in the future, whether or not the individual has, carries or exposes
for sale a sample of the product, and whether or not he is collecting
advance payment, or who engages in any of the foregoing activities
from a stationary location on the street or public place. "Canvassing"
shall further be defined as door-to-door delivery of circulars, visitations,
or other means, where the canvasser or his or her employers have not
been invited or requested by the owner, lessee, sublessee, assignee,
managing agent or other person having the right of ownership or possession
or to sell, rent, or lease any real property.
[Amended 10-25-2016 by Ord. No. 2016-10]
Shall mean and include an individual, firm, partnership or
corporation.
[Amended 10-27-1992 by Ord. No. 707]
Applicants for a license under this article must file with the
Borough Clerk a sworn application, in writing (in duplicate), on a
form to be furnished by the Borough Clerk, which shall give the following
information:
A.
The name and physical description of the person applying and desiring
to solicit funds or to peddler, solicit or otherwise canvass.
[Amended 10-23-2018 by Ord. No.
2018-09]
B.
Whether the person applying is a natural person, partnership, corporation,
association or limited liability company, and:
[Amended 10-23-2018 by Ord. No.
2018-09]
(1)
If a natural person, the business and residence address and telephone
number must be given.
(2)
If a partnership, the name of all partners and the principal business
address and telephone number of each partner must be given.
(3)
If a corporation, the person applying must state whether it is organized
under the State of New Jersey or is a foreign corporation and must
state the mailing address, the business location, the telephone number,
the name of the individual in charge of the local office of such corporation
and the names of all officers and directors or holders of 10% or more
of the stock of or interest in said corporation or trustees of said
corporation and, if a foreign corporation, the place of incorporation.
(4)
If an association, the application statement shall show the association's
principal business address and telephone number, if any, and shall
show names and principal business or residence addresses and telephone
numbers of all members of the association, unless they exceed 10 in
number, in which case the application shall so state, and the person
applying may alternatively list the names and principal business or
residence addresses and telephone numbers of the officers and directors
who are trustees of the association. If the association is part of
a multistate organization or association, the mailing address and
business location of its central office shall be given in addition
to the mailing address and business location of its local office.
(5)
If a limited liability company, the names of all members, the principal
business address and telephone number of the limited liability company
and the state where such company is organized.
C.
The name, address, date of birth, social security number and complete
driver's license information of the person or persons who will
be conducting the solicitation or otherwise peddling, soliciting or
canvassing.
D.
A brief description of the nature of the business and the goods to
be sold or services to be performed and an explanation of the intended
use of the funds towards that purpose.
E.
The name, mailing address, telephone number, social security number
and driver's license information of all individuals who will
be in direct charge or control of the solicitation of funds or of
the peddling, soliciting or canvassing, but who otherwise will not
take active part in going from door to door and from street to street.
F.
The time period within which the solicitation of funds or the peddling,
soliciting or canvassing is to be conducted, giving the date of the
commencement and the termination of the effort.
G.
If a vehicle or vehicles are to be used in the solicitation, whether
charitable or noncharitable, a description of the same, including
the year, make and model, together with a license plate number, registration
certificate information and liability insurance information or other
satisfactory means of identification.
H.
The names of any other municipalities in which the person applying
has peddled, solicited or canvassed within the previous 12 months.
I.
A statement to the effect that if a license is granted, such license
will not be used as or represented to be an endorsement of the products,
services or activities of the licensee by the Borough or any of its
officers or employees.
J.
The names of any officer, director, trustee, partner, stockholder,
peddler, solicitor, canvasser or member who has been convicted of
a felony or a misdemeanor or found liable in a civil action involving
any solicitation or transaction or enterprise found to be fraudulent
within the past 10 years, the nature of the offense or liability,
the state where the conviction or judgment occurred and the year of
such conviction or judgment.
[Amended 10-23-2018 by Ord. No.
2018-09]
K.
If the person applying is unable to provide any of the foregoing
information, an explanation of the reason why such information is
not available.
L.
Signature. The application must be signed by the applicant if the
person applying is an individual; if the person applying is a partnership,
by a partner in charge; if the person applying is a corporation, association
or limited liability company, by an officer or member authorized to
execute such application.
[Amended 10-23-2018 by Ord. No.
2018-09]
M.
If employed, the name and address of the employer, together with
credentials establishing the exact relationship, and three photographs
of the applicant taken within 60 days immediately prior to the date
of filing of the application, which picture shall be two inches by
two inches, showing the head and shoulders of the applicant in a clear
and distinguishing manner.
N.
The fingerprints of the applicant and the names of at least two reliable
property owners of the County of Bergen and State of New Jersey who
will certify as to the applicant's good character and business
respectability; in lieu of the names of references, such other available
evidence as to the good character and business responsibility of the
applicant as will enable an investigator to properly evaluate such
character and business responsibility.
[Amended 10-23-2018 by Ord. No.
2018-09]
[Amended 10-27-1992 by Ord. No. 707]
A.
Upon receipt of such application, the Borough Clerk shall review
the same to determine if all information required by this article
has been provided on the application form. In the event that it has
not, the Borough Clerk shall notify the person applying that the application
does not provide complete information as required by the chapter and
specifically point out the information that has not been furnished
and which is required before a license can be issued.
B.
Within 24 hours of receipt of a complete application, the Borough
Clerk shall forward the original to the Chief of Police. The Chief
of Police shall cause to be made an investigation of the information
supplied on the application and shall determine if the requirements
of this article have been met.
[Amended 10-23-2018 by Ord. No.
2018-09]
(1)
The Chief of Police, following his investigation and determination,
shall then return said application to the Borough Clerk, endorsing
thereon:
(2)
In reaching such determination, the Chief of Police shall be governed
by, but not necessarily be limited to, the following criteria:
(a)
Misrepresentation or false statement contained in the application.
(b)
Conviction of any crime or misdemeanor involving moral turpitude.
(c)
A judgment of liability in a civil action involving any solicitation,
transaction or enterprise found to be fraudulent within the last 10
years.
(d)
Evidence that the applicant's activities have caused a
breach of the peace or unethical or dishonest business practices or
have been a menace to the health, safety or general welfare of the
public.
(e)
Evidence of fiscal irresponsibility or immoral character.
(f)
If the applicant has prior arrests, failure to list any prior
arrests on the application form.
C.
Upon receipt from the Chief of Police, the Borough Clerk shall, as
to those applications that meet the requirements of this article,
and upon obtainment of the prescribed fee, execute and deliver to
the applicant his license. As to those applications that do not meet
the requirements of this article, the Borough Clerk shall deny the
applicant a license in accordance with the terms of this article.
D.
Licenses shall be issued no later than seven days after receipt of
a complete application.
[Added 10-23-2018 by Ord. No.
2018-09]
A separate license must be obtained for every agent or employee
working for any person. Such license shall not be transferable from
the person to whom issued to any other person.
[Amended 5-22-1979 by Ord. No. 534; 11-26-1991 by Ord. No. 691; 10-27-1992 by Ord. No. 707]
The license fee shall be paid to the Borough Clerk as follows:
A.
A charge of $50 shall be paid with the submission of the application
to cover the cost of processing each application ($25) and issuance
of the license ($25). This shall apply to each individual who makes
application for said license.
C.
No license fee shall be prorated for any portion of the year. Licenses
shall not be transferable and shall expire at the end of the calendar
year.
[Amended 10-27-1992 by Ord. No. 707]
A.
All persons holding such a license must carry it on their person
and shall exhibit the same upon request of any resident at any time
when engaged in the activities regulated herein.
B.
The Borough Clerk shall prescribe the form for said license. However,
each said license shall bear the signature of the Borough Clerk, the
name and address of the person registering, his or her license number,
the name of the person or agent and the issuance and expiration date
of the license. In addition, each license shall have prominently printed
thereon: "This license is not an endorsement of the products, services
or activities of the licensee by the Borough of Ho-Ho-Kus or its officers
or employees."
A.
No licensee, nor any person on his behalf, shall shout, cry out,
blow a horn, ring a bell or use any sound device, including any loud-speaking
radio or sound-amplifying system, upon any of the streets, parks or
other public or private places in the Borough without the prior approval
of the Ho-Ho-Kus Police Department.
B.
The equipment used or employed by peddlers, hawkers and vendors of
ice cream, foods, beverages, confections and other related commodities
shall be maintained in a clean and sanitary manner and shall be subject
to the inspection of the Board of Health.
C.
No licensee shall have any exclusive right to any one place upon
any sidewalk or any street, and he shall not be permitted to operate
in any congested area where his operation might impede or inconvenience
the public. For the purpose of this article, the judgment of a police
officer exercised in good faith shall be deemed conclusive as to whether
the area is congested or the public impeded or inconvenienced.
D.
No person covered by this article shall sell or attempt to sell in
accordance with the terms this article before 10:00 a.m. or after
sunset, Monday through Saturday, or at any time on Sundays. The aforesaid
time limitation shall not apply to persons who are expressly invited
into homes by the occupant thereof.
[Amended 10-23-2018 by Ord. No.
2018-09]
E.
No vehicle shall be parked upon any public street at a fixed location
for the purpose of displaying or selling wares or merchandise.
G.
No licensee shall conduct himself in such manner as to become objectionable
to or annoy an occupant of any house.
[Added 10-23-2018 by Ord. No.
2018-09]
H.
No licensee shall call at any private residence which has a sign
bearing words to the effect that peddlers, solicitors or canvassers
are not invited.
[Added 10-23-2018 by Ord. No.
2018-09]
I.
No licensee shall attempt to peddle, solicit, canvass or distribute
merchandise or printed material without first having identified himself
as a peddler, solicitor or canvasser licensed with the Borough and
displaying his license.
[Added 10-23-2018 by Ord. No.
2018-09]
This chapter shall not apply to the following:
A.
Employees of any public utility which is subject to regulation by
the State Board of Public Utility Commissioners; provided, however,
that such employee shall, at all times while he is working in the
Borough, display the identification badge or card issued by his employer.
B.
The selling of any article at wholesale to dealers in such articles
or the delivery of milk, eggs, bread, newspapers or other necessary
and perishable articles of food or merchandise of a type commonly
delivered on a house-to-house basis at intervals of less than eight
days.
C.
Any person holding a special license for peddling, soliciting or canvassing issued under the laws of the State of New Jersey or the United States government, except that said person shall be subject to the rules and regulations set forth in § 40-9 hereof.
D.
Certain nonprofit organizations.
(1)
Any nonprofit, religious, charitable, civic or veterans organization,
service club, volunteer fire or ambulance corps desiring to solicit
or have solicited in its name, by other than a profit-making organization,
money, donations or financial assistance of any kind or desiring to
sell or distribute any item of literature for which a fee is charged,
provided that they receive written approval of the Borough Council
and there is filed an application, in writing, with the Borough Clerk
containing the following information:
(a)
The name and address of the organization.
(b)
The purpose for which the special permit is requested.
(c)
The names and addresses of the officers and directors of the
organization.
(d)
The period during which solicitation is to be carried on and
the names and addresses of all persons intending to solicit/canvass.
[Amended 10-27-1992 by Ord. No. 707]
(e)
The person responsible for any action in the Borough of Ho-Ho-Kus
shall advise the Chief of Police with whatever details he may require
prior to such action.
(2)
The application shall be forwarded to the Chief of Police, who shall,
after investigation, endorse the application, and after approval by
the Borough Council, the application shall be returned to the Borough
Clerk, who shall issue a special permit, without charge, for a specified
period. The permit shall be issued to all persons intending to solicit
and/or canvass.
[Amended 10-27-1992 by Ord. No. 707]
(3)
All persons who intend to solicit and/or canvass herein must carry
the special permit on their person and shall exhibit the same upon
request of any resident at any time when engaged in the activities
regulated herein.
[Added 10-27-1992 by Ord. No. 707]
E.
The requirements of § 40-7B of this article requiring the payment of a license fee shall not apply to persons engaged in interstate commerce. It shall be the duty of the Chief of Police to determine whether or not any such person is engaged in interstate commerce. All other provisions of this article shall, however, be complied with by persons engaged in interstate commerce.
F.
Notwithstanding any provision of this article to the contrary pertaining to the permitted hours of solicitation and fingerprinting, such provisions shall not apply to political solicitation and canvassing, nor to persons or groups soliciting or canvassing on behalf of political persons or groups. Such solicitation shall be permissible between the hours of 9:00 a.m. and 9:00 p.m., daily and no fingerprinting shall be required. Such persons or organizations shall comply with the provisions of Subsection D hereof. This amendment is intended to assure compliance by the Borough of Ho-Ho-Kus with the mandate of the Supreme Court of the United States as set forth in recent cases.
[Added 7-28-1987 by Ord. No. 608; amended 10-23-2018 by Ord. No. 2018-09]
A.
Licenses issued under this article may be revoked by the Mayor and
Council, after notice and hearing, for any of the following causes:
(1)
Misrepresentation or false statement contained in the application.
(2)
Misrepresentation or false statement made in the course of carrying
on activities regulated herein.
(3)
Conviction of any crime or misdemeanor involving moral turpitude.
(4)
Conducting the licensed business in an unlawful manner, in violation
of this article or in such a manner as to cause a breach of the peace
or to constitute a menace to the health, safety or general welfare
of the public.
B.
Notice of hearing for revocation of a license shall be given, in
writing, setting forth the grounds of complaint and the time and place
of hearing. Such notice shall be served personally upon the licensee
or mailed by registered letter to the licensee at his last known address
at least five days prior to the date set for hearing.
C.
A license may be suspended for not more than two weeks by the Chief
of Police without a hearing. No fees shall be returned for any unexpired
period of a license, whether revoked or not.
Any person aggrieved by the action of the Chief of Police or the Borough Clerk in the denial of an application for a license as provided in § 40-5 of this article shall have the right of appeal to the Mayor and Council. Such appeal shall be taken by filing with the Council, 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 of appeal. The Council shall set a time and place for hearing on such appeal, and notice of such hearing shall be given to the applicant in the same manner as provided in § 40-11B of this article for notice of hearing on revocation. The decision and order of the Council on such appeal shall be final and conclusive.
It shall be the duty of any police officer of the Borough of
Ho-Ho-Kus to require any person seen peddling, soliciting or canvassing
and who is not known by such officer to be duly licensed to produce
his license and to enforce the provisions of this article against
any person found to be violating the same.
Any person violating any of the provisions of this article shall,
upon conviction thereof, be punished by a fine not to exceed $200
or by imprisonment not to exceed 90 days, or both.
If any of the provisions of this article or its application
to any person or circumstances shall be held invalid, the remainder
of the chapter or the application of the provisions to other persons
or circumstances shall not be affected.
All ordinances or parts of ordinances inconsistent with the
provisions of this article are hereby repealed.
This chapter shall take effect upon final passage and publication
as provided by law.
[Adopted 10-25-2016 by Ord. No. 2016-10]
Any owner or occupant of real property within the Borough of
Ho-Ho-Kus who refuses to be canvassed or solicited for the sale or
rental of his or her property may enroll in the Borough's "no-knock"
registry established pursuant to the provisions promulgated by the
Borough Administrator, which are incorporated herein by reference.
No person shall engage in the following acts:
A.
Promote, influence, or attempt to promote or influence a property
owner, occupant, or tenant to list for sale, sell or remove from a
lease real property by referring to race, color, sexual orientation,
ethnicity, or religious affliction of neighbors, prospective buyers
or other occupants or prospective occupants of real property.
B.
Induce directly or indirectly, or attempt to induce directly or indirectly,
the sale or listing for sale of real property by representing that
the presence or anticipated presence of persons of any particular
race, religion, or national origin in the area has resulted or may
result in:
(1)
The lowering of property values.
(2)
A change in the racial, religious, or ethnic composition of the block,
neighborhood, or area in which the property is located.
(3)
An increase in criminal or antisocial behavior in the area.
(4)
A decline in the quality of the schools serving the municipality.
C.
Make any representations (or misrepresentation) concerning the listing
or sale of the anticipated listing for sale or the sale of any real
property in any residentially zoned areas for the purpose of inducing
or attempting to induce the sale or listing for sale of other real
property in such area.
D.
Place a sign purporting to offer for sale any property that is not
actually for sale or rental.
E.
Advertise for sale or rental property which is nonexistent or which
is not actually for sale or rental.
F.
Engage in or hire or conspire with others to commit acts or activities
of any nature, the purpose of which is to coerce, cause panic, incite
unrest, create or play upon fear with the purpose of inducing or attempting
to induce the sale or listing for sale of real property.
G.
To solicit or canvass any owner whose name and property address is
included on the list maintained by the Borough Clerk of persons requesting
that they not be canvassed or solicited.
H.
To engage in any economic reprisal or any other form of intimidation
against any person because that person has filed a complaint, testified,
assisted or participated in any manner in any investigation, proceeding
or conference under the terms of this article.
I.
To aid, abet, incite, compel or coerce any person to engage in any
of the practices forbidden by this article or to obstruct or prevent
any person from complying with the provisions of this article.
J.
Refer, directly or indirectly or by implication to race, color, creed,
ethnicity, or sexual orientation in any advertisement or solicitation
offering real property for sale or rental.
K.
Solicit or attempt to solicit the sale or rental or the listing for
sale or rental of real property without furnishing in written form
to the owner or occupier of such real property the name of the person
or organization soliciting such sale, rental or listing.
If any section, sentence or any other part of this article is
adjudged unconstitutional or invalid, such judgment shall not affect,
impair or invalidate the remainder of this article but shall be confined
in its effect to the section, sentence or other part of this article
directly involved in the controversy which such judgment shall be
rendered.
All ordinances or parts of ordinances which are inconsistent
with the provisions of this article are hereby repealed, but only
to the extent of such inconsistencies.
