This chapter shall be known as and may be cited as the "West
Manchester Township Peddling, Canvassing and Soliciting Ordinance."
The following words shall be construed to have the meanings
set forth below. The singular number includes the plural, and the
masculine includes the feminine and the neuter.
PEDDLING, CANVASSING AND SOLICITING
The taking of orders for goods, wares or merchandise, including
subscriptions for magazines or other printed matter, the obtaining
of contracts for home and building devices, repairs and improvements
and the securing of contributions to various causes and organizations,
from house to house, or upon any street or sidewalk in the Township.
PERSON
Any natural person, association, partnership, firm or corporation.
Except as otherwise provided in this chapter, no person shall
engage in peddling, canvassing and soliciting in the Township without
first having registered with the Township and having obtained an identification
card from the Township.
Every person engaged in peddling, canvassing or soliciting within
the confines of West Manchester Township shall, in the conduct of
his activities, comply with the following standards of conduct:
A. He shall conduct himself at all times in an orderly and lawful manner.
B. He shall carry his identification card at all times and exhibit it
upon request to any police officer or to any person on whom he shall
call or with whom he shall talk, or if not registered and licensed
under this chapter, he shall identify himself by means of a firm or
corporate identification card or a valid Pennsylvania State motor
vehicle driver's license.
C. He shall not permit any person to have possession of his identification
card and shall immediately report its loss to the Township. He shall
not cause or permit his identification card to be altered or defaced
in any way.
D. He shall not engage in peddling, canvassing and soliciting before
8:00 a.m. nor after 9:00 p.m., prevailing time.
E. He shall not enter or attempt to enter any dwelling without the invitation
or permission of the occupant and shall immediately leave any premises
upon request of the occupant.
F. He shall not be guilty of any false pretense or misrepresentation,
and particularly, he shall not represent his identification card to
be an endorsement of himself or his goods or services or of the goods
or services of his employer by the Township.
G. He shall immediately surrender his identification card to the Township
upon revocation thereof.
H. He shall give a written receipt for all orders taken within West
Manchester Township where a down payment is received, which receipt
shall be signed by the solicitor and shall set forth a brief description
of the goods, wares, merchandise or services ordered, the total purchase
price thereof and the amount of the down payment received by the solicitor
from the purchaser.
Any identification card may be revoked by the Township if the holder fails to comply with the standards of conduct contained in §
91-5 hereof or any of them or upon ascertainment by the Police Department that the holder has made a false statement in his application.
The Township reserves the right to have all the following named
groups be subject to the registration and licensing requirements of
this chapter, except that the license fee shall be waived. All other
provisions of this chapter will be applicable to the following:
A. Boy or girls under 19 years of age who take orders for and deliver
newspapers, greeting cards, candy, submarine sandwiches and the like
for Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, schools, churches or other charitable
and civic organizations.
B. Persons delivering or distributing goods or services previously ordered
or contracted for by the person to whom they are delivered or distributed.
C. Persons who deliver milk, bread, gasoline, kerosene or other heating
and/or cooking fuels.
D. Persons who work for an organization which has registered with the
Pennsylvania Department of State under the Solicitation of Charitable
Funds Act, Act of August 9, 1963, P.L. 628, and produce proof of such current registration.
E. Persons who are acting as representatives of accredited war veterans
organizations.
F. Farmers who are selling their own produce that is raised or produced
on their farm.
G. Persons engaged in interstate commerce.
The license fee shall be $25 per individual per month or fractional
part thereof. The Township shall indicate on the identification card
the period of time for which the required license fee shall have been
paid.
This chapter shall not apply to any person to whom a transient
retail merchant's license has been issued.
[Amended 11-14-1991 by Ord. No. 91-09; 5-9-1996 by Ord. No. 96-14; 6-26-1997 by Ord. No. 97-15]
Any person who shall engage in peddling, canvassing or soliciting
without registering with the appropriate Township officer or any person,
whether or not required to be registered and licensed under this chapter,
who shall violate any of the other provisions of this chapter shall,
upon conviction thereof before a District Justice, be subject to a
fine or penalty of not more than $600, plus costs of prosecution.
Such fine or penalty shall be collected as like fines or penalties
are now by law collected.
West Manchester Township Ordinance No. 72-4, entitled "An Ordinance
Regulating Peddling, Canvassing and Soliciting in West Manchester
Township, Requiring Peddlers, Canvassers and Solicitors to Register
and to be Licensed by West Manchester Township, Establishing Standards
of Conduct and Procedures for Obtaining Identification Cards and Permits,
Providing for Exemptions, Providing for License Fees and Fixing Penalties,"
is hereby repealed in its entirety and any ordinance of West Manchester
Township or part thereof that conflicts with the terms and provisions
hereof is hereby repealed.