Township of White, NJ Chapter 198 Peddling and Soliciting

[HISTORY: Adopted by the Township Committee of the Township of White 12-5-1975 (Ch. 50 of the 1977 Code). Amendments noted where applicable.]

GENERAL REFERENCES

Noise — See Ch. 174.

§ 198-1 Registration required.

No person, except as provided herein, shall canvass, solicit, distribute circulars or other matter or call from door to door or place to place in the Township of White without first registering with the Township Clerk of the Township of White.

§ 198-2 Use of terms.

A "canvasser" or "solicitor" shall include itinerant vendors of merchandise who shall go from door to door in this Township, selling, causing to be sold, offering for sale or taking orders for present or future delivery of merchandise of any description whatever. "Merchandise," within the terms of this chapter, shall include magazines, periodicals, books, and orders or contracts for a service, home improvement or alterations. For the purpose of this chapter a "canvasser" or "solicitor" shall also be deemed to be one who is not in the business of selling goods but who makes surveys for research purposes, analyses, opinion polls, rating data and any such similar work which of its nature involves a door-to-door or place-to-place activity, and shall include persons going from door to door or place to place for the purpose of contributions, donations or alms for any persons or organization.

§ 198-3 Purpose.

The purpose of this chapter is to prevent fraud, crime and unethical and dishonest business practices and for the general protection, health and welfare of the residents of the Township of White.

§ 198-4 Information required with application; license fees.

A. Each registrant shall, at the time of registering, file with the Township Clerk an application in writing which shall give the following information:

(1) Name, age and physical description of applicant.

(2) Complete permanent home and local address of applicant.

(3) Name and address of the organization or person for whom solicitation is being made.

(4) Description of the nature of the business and the goods, services or wares to be sold, and sufficient information to determine whether or not the business he is to transact is interstate or intrastate commerce.

(5) Two photographs of the applicant, which shall be approximately 2 1/2 inches by 2 1/2 inches in size, showing the head and shoulders of the applicant in a clear and distinguishing manner.

(6) The days, dates and route of his business in the Township of White (which shall be between the hours of 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m.).

(7) A statement as to whether or not the applicant has been convicted of a crime, misdemeanor or disorderly conduct offense, and where and when so convicted, the nature of the offense and the penalty, if any.

(8) The make, model, year, color and license plate number of automobiles used by the applicant during the period of solicitation with the Township, and the number of his driver's license and the state of issuance.

B. Fees for licenses under this chapter shall accompany the application and shall be calculated as follows:

(1) For one month or any part thereof: $25.

(2) For one year or any part thereof: $50.

§ 198-5 Separate registration for each person.

A separate registration must be made for every solicitor, agent or employee soliciting within the Township limits.

§ 198-6 Registration certificate.

Each registrant, upon being so registered, shall be issued forthwith a registration certificate by the Township Clerk (subject to § 198-8 below), upon which shall be affixed one photograph of the applicant over which shall be impressed the Official Seal of the Township of White.

§ 198-7 Display of registration certificate; return.

Each registrant shall carry the registration certificate at all times when in the Township and shall exhibit it to any citizen or Township official upon request. At the conclusion of the period for which registration certificate was issued, said registration certificate shall be deposited with the Township Clerk.

§ 198-8 Appeal from denial of application.

In the event an application for canvassing or soliciting is disapproved by the Township Clerk for any reason, the applicant may appeal to the Township Committee, which shall set a time and place for a hearing, which hearing shall be held within 10 days after appeal is taken by the applicant, at which hearing the applicant will be given an opportunity to present his reasons why the license should be issued. The decision of the Township Committee shall be final.

§ 198-9 Rules and regulations.

Every person to whom a registration certificate is issued under the terms of this chapter shall be governed by the following rules and regulations:

A. All circulars, samples or other matter shall be handed to an occupant of the property or left in a secure place on the premises.

B. No person subject to the provisions of this chapter shall canvass, solicit or distribute circulars or other matter except between the hours of 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. Monday through Saturday.

C. No person subject to the terms of this chapter shall enter or attempt to enter the house or apartment of any resident in the Township of White without an express invitation from the occupant of the house or apartment.

D. No person subject to the terms of this chapter shall conduct himself in such a manner as to become objectionable to or annoy any person while soliciting within the Township limits.

E. No person subject to this chapter shall make any solicitation within the Township limits where solicitors are notified by sign that soliciting is prohibited.

§ 198-10 Charitable solicitations.

A. Any person, organization, society or association of a charitable, religious, patriotic, philanthropic or community nature and having its residence or principal place of business in the Township, desiring to solicit or have solicited in its name money, property or financial assistance for which no merchandise, wares or services are required, may be exempt from § 198-4 of this chapter, provided there is filed with the Township Clerk an application in writing giving the following information:

(1) Names of solicitors and purpose or cause for which solicitation is being made.

(2) Names and addresses of the officers of the organization.

(3) Names and addresses of the agents or representatives who will solicit, canvass or distribute literature in the Township.

B. Each solicitor for such organization, society or association shall carry proper identification and shall display same upon request.

C. If an exempt status is rejected by the Township Clerk, the applicant may, at his option, file an application under § 198-4 hereof or appeal to the Township Committee under the procedure detailed in § 198-8 hereof.

D. Any charitable organization as defined in Section 3 of P.L. 1994, c. 16 (N.J.S.A. 45:17A-20) shall be permitted to solicit donations on Township roadways, county highways with county approval, and state highways with NJDOT approval, and may be exempt from § 198-4 of this chapter, provided such organization filed with the Township Clerk an application in writing giving the following information:

[Added 11-10-2021 by Ord. No. 2021-09]

(1) Name of the charitable organization.

(2) Names of the responsible members of the organization for the solicitation event.

(3) Date, time and location for the solicitation event.

§ 198-11 Violations and penalties.

Any person violating the terms of this chapter, whether as an individual, principal or agent or employee of another, shall, upon conviction in the Municipal Court of the Township of White, be subject to a fine not to exceed $500 or to imprisonment in the county jail not exceeding 90 days, or both, in the discretion of the Municipal Court.