[HISTORY: Adopted by the City Council of the City of Vineland 7-28-2009 by Ord. No. 2009-50. Amendments noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Secondhand goods — See Ch. 574.
For the purposes of this chapter, "solicitation" or "solicit" means the request, directly or indirectly, for money, credit, property, financial assistance, or other thing of any kind or value. Solicitation shall include, but not be limited to, the use or employment of canisters, cards, receptacles or similar devices for the collection of money or other thing of value. A solicitation shall take place whether or not the person making the solicitation receives any contribution.
Charitable clothing bins installed prior to the enactment of this chapter are subject to all provisions of said chapter. Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, no person shall place, use, or employ a donation clothing bin, for solicitation purposes, unless all of the following requirements are met:
A. 
The person has obtained a permit, valid for a calendar year, from the Department of Licenses and Inspections in accordance with the following:
(1) 
In applying for such a permit, the person shall include:
(a) 
The location where the bin would be situated, as precisely as possible (three copies of plot plan are required).
(b) 
Copy of approved zoning permit.
(c) 
The manner in which the person anticipates any clothing or other donations collected via the bin would be used, sold, or dispersed, and the method by which the proceeds of collected donations would be allocated or spent.
(d) 
The name and telephone number of the bona fide office required pursuant to Subsection B of this section of any entity which may share or profit from any clothing or other donations collected via the bin.
(e) 
Submission of written consent form, provided by Department of Licenses and Inspections, from the property owner to place the bin on his or her property.
(2) 
The Department of Licenses and Inspections shall not grant an application for a permit to place, use, or employ a donation clothing bin in a right-of-way.
(3) 
The Department of Licenses and Inspections shall not grant an application for a permit to place, use, or employ a donation clothing bin if it determines that the placement of the bin could constitute a safety hazard. Such hazards shall include, but not be limited to, the placement of a donation clothing bin within 100 yards of any place which stores large amounts of, or sells, fuel or other flammable liquids or gases.
(4) 
The Department of Licenses and Inspections may impose a fee for such application, not to exceed $25, to offset the costs involved in enforcing this chapter.
(5) 
An expiring permit for a donation clothing bin may be renewed upon application for renewal and payment of any fee imposed by the Department of Licenses and Inspections for such renewal, not to exceed $25 annually, to offset the costs involved in enforcing this chapter. If a permit is not renewed within the calendar year following the original application, the application will be considered an original application. Renewal applications must be submitted no later than the 31st of January. Such renewal application shall include:
(a) 
The location where the bin is situated, as precisely as possible, including three copies of plot plan and, if the person intends to move it, the new location where the bin would be situated after the renewal is granted and submission of notarized written consent form, provided by Department of Licenses and Inspections, from the property owner to place the bin on his or her property.
(b) 
The manner in which the applicant has used, sold, or dispersed any clothing or other donations collected via the bin, the method by which the proceeds of collected donations have been allocated or spent, and any changes the applicant anticipates to make in these processes during the period covered by the renewal.
(c) 
The name and telephone number of the bona fide office required pursuant to Subsection B of this section of any entity which shared or profited from any clothing or other donations collected via the bin, and of any entities which may do so during the period covered by the renewal.
(6) 
The permit number and its date of expiration shall be clearly and conspicuously displayed on the exterior of the donation clothing bin, in addition to the information required pursuant to Subsection C of this section.
B. 
The person, and any other entity which may share or profit from any clothing or other donations collected via the bin, maintains a bona fide office where a representative of the person or other entity, respectively, can be reached at a telephone information line during normal business hours for the purpose of offering information concerning the person or other entity. For the purposes of this subsection, an answering machine or service unrelated to the person does not constitute a bona fide office.
C. 
The applicant must provide and maintain the display of the following information clearly and conspicuously on the exterior of the donation clothing bin:
(1) 
The name and address of the registered person that owns the bin, and of any other entity which may share or profit from any clothing or other donations collected via the bin.
(2) 
The telephone number of the person's bona fide office and, if applicable, the telephone number of the bona fide office of any other entity which may share or profit from any clothing or other donations collected via the bin.
(3) 
In cases when any entity other than the person who owns the bin may share or profit from any clothing or other donations collected via the bin, a notice, written in a clear and easily understandable manner, indicating that clothing or other donations collected via the bin, their proceeds, or both, may be shared, or given entirely to, an entity other than the person who owns the bin, and identifying all such entities which may share or profit from such donations.
(4) 
A statement, consistent with the information provided to the Department of Licenses and Inspections in the most recent permit or renewal application pursuant to Subsection A(1)(c) of this section and Subsection A(5)(b) of this section, indicating the manner in which the person anticipates any clothing or other donations collected via the bin would be used, sold, or dispersed, and the method by which the proceeds of collected donations would be allocated or spent.
Clothing bins shall be maintained by the applicant in a neat and orderly fashion. Clothing and other donations shall be placed directly in the clothing bin, and the bin shall be emptied on a regular basis or when full. Clothing and other donations that are left outside or alongside the clothing bins shall be placed directly in the clothing bin by the applicant or designee in a timely manner. Failure to maintain the clothing bin as stated herein shall constitute a violation of this chapter. The act of a donor placing clothing or other donations outside or alongside the clothing bin may constitute a violation of other ordinances involving property maintenance or littering.
A. 
The City of Vineland shall receive and investigate, within 30 days, any complaints from the public about the bin. Whenever it appears to the City of Vineland that a person has engaged in, or is engaging in any act or practice in violation of § 2 of P.L. 2007, c. 209 (N.J.S.A. 40:48-2.61), the person who placed the bin shall be issued a warning, stating that if the violation is not rectified or a hearing with the City of Vineland is not requested within 45 days, the bin will be seized or removed at the expense of the person who placed the bin, and any clothing or other donations collected via the bin will be sold at public auction or otherwise disposed of. In addition to any other means used to notify the person who placed the bin, such warning shall be affixed to the exterior of the bin itself.
B. 
In the event that the person who placed the bin does not rectify the violation or request a hearing within 45 days of the posting of the warning, the City of Vineland may seize the bin, remove it, or have it removed, at the expense of the person who placed the bin, and sell at public auction or otherwise dispose of any clothing or other donations collected via the bin. Any proceeds from the sale of the donations collected via the bin shall be paid to the Chief Financial Officer of the City of Vineland.
In addition to any other penalties or remedies authorized by the laws of this state, any person who violates any provision of this chapter which results in seizure of the donation clothing bin shall be:
A. 
Subject to a penalty of up to $20,000 for each violation. The City of Vineland may bring this action in the Municipal Court or Superior Court as a summary proceeding under the "Penalty Enforcement Law of 1999," P.L. 1999, c. 274 (N.J.S.A. 2A:58-10 et seq.), and any penalty monies collected shall be paid to the Chief Financial Officer of the City of Vineland.
B. 
Deemed ineligible to place, use, or employ a donation clothing bin for solicitation purposes pursuant to § 2 of P.L. 2007, c. 209 (N.J.S.A. 40:48-2.61). A person disqualified from placing, using, or employing a donation clothing bin by violating the provisions of this chapter may apply to the City of Vineland to have that person's eligibility restored. The City of Vineland may restore the eligibility of a person who:
(1) 
Acts within the public interest.
(2) 
Demonstrates that he or she made a good faith effort to comply with the provisions of this chapter and all other applicable laws and regulations, or had no fraudulent intentions.