[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town Board of the
Town of Cazenovia by L.L. No. 5-1965; amended in its entirety 4-11-2011 by L.L. No. 2-2011.
Subsequent amendments noted where applicable.]
The purpose of this chapter is to require the licensing of peddlers
and solicitors operating within the Town in order to protect the residents
of the Town from the fraudulent and criminal practices of unscrupulous
persons posing as peddlers or solicitors engaged in lawful business.
As used in this chapter, the following words, terms and phrases
shall have the meanings herein ascribed to them:
Any person by or for whom an application is made under this
chapter.
Any benevolent, philanthropic, patriotic, military veteran,
not-for-profit, education or religious association, society or other
organization or any other association, society or organization qualified
as a tax-exempt organization under Section 501 of the Internal Revenue
Code; or
Any governmental entity or organization, including, without
limitation, a school district, fire district and fire company.
Includes a building or store in which or where the person
transacts business and deals in the goods, wares and merchandise he
or she peddles or solicits for during regular business hours on a
daily basis.
Selling or offering for sale, barter or exchange any property
or service, either for immediate or future delivery or performance
upon any street, road or highway or from house to house in the Town,
and including, without limitation, activities commonly known as hawking;
or
Delivery or distribution of advertising matter, literature,
pamphlets, samples or handbills from house to house or on any of the
streets, roads or highways or by going from place to place in the
Town, but not including the delivery or distribution of newspapers,
magazines or political/religious materials.
A natural person, corporation, partnership, association,
joint venture, society or other organization or association of any
kind, whether acting as principal, agent, employer or employee.
Any goods, wares, merchandise or other article or thing of
every kind or nature, except newspapers.
Seeking, taking or offering contracts or orders for any property
for future sale or delivery or performance of any service upon any
street, road or highway or from house to house in the Town;
Seeking or taking subscriptions or contributions of money or
property, upon any street, road or highway or from house to house
in the Town; or
Seeking or offering contracts or agreements to landowners or
mineral owners regarding the purchase or acquisition of rights to
develop real property or minerals.
The Town of Cazenovia.
A retail or wholesale business conducted from a temporary
structure or tent, truck, van, trailer, stand, parking lot or vacant
parcel of land, in a public right-of-way or in or on any other place
in the Town, but not outdoor sales of property or services accessory
to a business conducted within a permanent structure on a same premises,
or the sale of food products raised or produced on the same premises
from a temporary or seasonal stand, provide that the principal structure
or activities otherwise comply with the zoning and other ordinances
of the Town.
A.
No person shall engage in peddling, soliciting or a transient business
within the corporate limits of the Town without first obtaining a
license or registering, or both, as required by this chapter.
B.
No motor vehicle shall be used for peddling or conducting a transient
business unless a license shall first have been obtained therefor,
which license shall at all times be displayed on a conspicuous location
on the outside of the vehicle.
A.
No license under this chapter shall be required:
(1)
By any person conducting sales pursuant to statute or by order of
any court;
(2)
By any person selling property wholesale to retail merchants;
(3)
By any honorably discharged member of the armed forces or any other
person who has procured a license issued by the County Clerk as provided
by § 32 of the General Business Law of the State of New
York;
(4)
For the peddling of meats, fish, fruit and farm produce by farmers
and persons who produce such commodities;
(5)
By any person under the age of 18 years; or
(6)
By merchants having an established place of business within the Town
or the Village of Cazenovia.
B.
Exempt organizations. Charitable organizations and persons working
for such organizations shall also be exempt. However, in the event
such organizations plan to engage in vending, hawking, peddling or
soliciting, they shall register annually with the Town Clerk, indicating
the type of activities to be undertaken and the names, addresses and
dates of birth of the persons who will conduct activity on its behalf.
It shall be the responsibility of such organizations to furnish identification
for their representatives which must be exhibited upon demand.
C.
Interstate commerce. This Chapter shall not apply so as to unlawfully interfere with interstate commerce, and to that end all persons claiming to be engaged in interstate commerce or claiming any of the exemptions hereinabove set forth shall apply to the Town Clerk for a certificate of compliance, using the form of application described in § 123-5. The applicant shall also submit satisfactory evidence that he or she is so engaged in interstate commerce as to entitle him or her to exemption.
D.
Certificate of compliance. When the applicant shall have established
to the satisfaction of the Town Clerk that he or she is engaged in
interstate commerce, or is entitled to one or more of the above exemptions,
the Town Clerk shall issued to him or her, without charge, a certificate
of compliance, stating, among other things, that such person has complied
with the requirements of this section and has satisfactorily established
that he or she is engaged in interstate commerce. Such certificate
shall be carried with the person exercising it and shall be exhibited
upon demand. Each such certificate shall be valid for a period of
one year from its date of issue. The securing of any such certificate
by fraud or misrepresentation by any person not in fact engaged in
interstate commerce or entitled to one or more exemptions shall constitute
a violation of this chapter.
A.
An application for a license under this chapter shall contain the
following:
(1)
The name, social security number, telephone number, home address
and local address, if any, of the applicant.
(2)
A physical description of the applicant, including the date of birth,
height, weight and color of hair and eyes. A photograph may be required.
(3)
The name and address of the person, if any, by whom the applicant
is employed and for whom or through whom orders and contracts are
to be solicited, cleared, filled or delivered.
(4)
A description of the exact business or activity in which the applicant
intends to engage, including the proposed method of distribution and
of the nature of any property or services involved.
(5)
A list of crimes for which the applicant has been arrested or convicted,
including the dates and places.
(6)
A statement as to the length of time the applicant desires the license.
(7)
The applicant's driver's license number and a description
of any motor vehicle that will be used for pickup or delivery of property
or for the purpose of bringing such property into the Town for peddling,
soliciting or transient business purposes, or from which a transient
business will be conducted, to include the name of manufacturer, year,
type of vehicle, vehicle identification number, registration plate
number, title holder and name of the person other than the title holder
to whom the vehicle is registered, if any.
(8)
Further information required by the Town Clerk.
B.
The application shall be signed by the applicant and sworn to before
a notary public or other officer authorized to administer oaths.
C.
If the transient business is to be conducted from private property,
the written consent of the owner, if other than the applicant, shall
be filled with the application.
A.
The Town Clerk shall issue or deny requests for licenses.
(1)
Upon the filing of the application, the Town Clerk shall, upon approval of such application, issue to the applicant a license as provided in § 123-3. A license may be refused if the applicant shall have been convicted of a misdemeanor or felony which, in the judgment of the Town Clerk, renders the applicant unfit or undesirable to carry on the trade or occupation for which the license is sought. The Town Clerk may also refuse a license to any person who, in his or her judgment, shall be an undesirable person or incapable of properly conducting the trade or business for which a license is sought.
(2)
No license shall be issued by the Town Clerk until the Town Clerk
has a reasonable opportunity to determine the applicant's fitness
and in no event prior to the passage of two business days following
the day on which the application is received.
B.
Appeal to the Town Board. Any applicant who has been refused a license
by the Town Clerk may apply to the Town Board therefor, and the same
may be granted or refused by the Town Board, except as prohibited
by Town Law § 137.
A.
A license shall not be assignable. Any holder of any license who
permits it to be used by any other person, and any person who uses
such license granted to any other person, shall be guilty of an unclassified
misdemeanor.
B.
Every licensee, while exercising his or her license, shall carry
the license and exhibit same upon demand.
C.
A license shall be for such term as requested by the applicant, but
shall expire not later than the first day of January next succeeding.
D.
The fee for licenses issued pursuant to this chapter shall be as
set forth by resolution, and amended from time to time, by the Town
Board.
E.
Any person engaged in an activity regulated under this chapter, regardless
of whether that person is exempt, who has entered upon private property,
whether invited or not, shall immediately and peacefully depart therefrom
when requested to do so by any occupant.
F.
Whenever a license shall be lost or destroyed on the part of the
holder or his agent or employee, a duplicate in lieu thereof, under
the original application, may be issued by the Town Clerk upon the
filing by the licensee of an affidavit setting forth the circumstances
of the loss and what, if any, search has been made for its recovery.
G.
A license may be revoked of any person who has made a false statement
on the license application or who has been convicted of a crime while
having in effect a license issued under this chapter, or for any violation
of this chapter committed after its issuance. Notice of revocation
shall be sent immediately to such person at the permanent address
listed on the application.
A.
No peddling, soliciting or transient business activities, whether
or not exempt from the license requirements of this chapter, shall
be conducted before 9:00 a.m. or after the earlier of 1/2 hour after
sunset or 8:00 p.m., except upon invitation of the householder or
occupant.
B.
The owner or occupant of any building may post a notice prohibiting
peddlers and solicitors, which shall be placed in a conspicuous place
adjacent to the entrance of the door of the building and shall contain
any or all of the following words: "No peddlers," "No solicitors,"
"No agents," or other wording, the purpose of which purports to prohibit
peddling or soliciting on the premises. No person shall engage in
any activity regulated by this chapter by attempting to enter a building,
ringing a doorbell or knocking on an entrance door to any building
where such a notice has been posted.
C.
No person engaged in soliciting or peddling shall hawk or cry property,
offers, contracts or services upon any of the streets, roads or highways
in the Town, or use any loudspeaker, horn or other sound making device
other than a bell to attract attention or announce his or her presence.
D.
No person shall use private real property for any activity requiring
a permit under this chapter without the consent of the owner.
E.
No person engaged in soliciting or peddling shall falsely or fraudulently
misrepresent the quantity, character or quality of any article offered
for sale. Nor shall any person engaged in soliciting or peddling,
by trick or device or by any false representation, obtain or attempt
to obtain admission to the house or garage of any person or corporation
in the Town.
F.
No person engaged in soliciting or peddling shall represent or state
or otherwise indicate that he or she is not intending to sell or other
enter into a contract with any person in the household.
G.
No person engaged in soliciting or peddling shall, in order to effectuate
or assist in any sale or solicitation, represent that he is engaged
in any contest or in any way attempt to induce a sale or solicitation
by appealing to the sympathies of the person so solicited.
H.
Any contract or sale made in violation of Subsections E, F, and G shall be null and void and of no effect as to the person solicited, and any merchandise delivered shall be forfeited and any sums paid by the person so solicited shall become immediately due and payable jointly and severally by the peddler or solicitor and his principal.
All orders taken by licensed peddlers and solicitors who demand,
accept or receive payment or deposit of money in advance of final
delivery shall be in writing made in duplicate, stating the terms
thereof and the amount paid in advance, and one copy shall be given
to the purchaser at the time the deposit is paid to the solicitor.
Any person who violates any provision of this chapter shall
be guilty of a violation. Each violation shall be punishable by a
fine not to exceed $240 or by imprisonment for a period not to exceed
15 days, or both.
