[HISTORY: Adopted by the Township Council of the Township
of Ewing 4-10-2012 by Ord. No. 12-08. Amendments noted where applicable.]
No person, firm or corporation shall place upon, deliver, deposit,
throw upon, leave or abandon, or cause the delivery or deposit of
any unsolicited newspaper, shopper, circular, leaflet, flyer, handbill
or other like printed matter within or upon any private property,
public way adjacent to private property or public place in the Township,
except as hereinafter provided. For the purpose of this chapter, "unsolicited"
shall mean the printed matter referred to herein has not been ordered,
subscribed to or requested by the recipient.
The provisions of this chapter shall not be applicable to the
delivery of:
A.
Mail, parcels or packages by and in accordance with the rules of
the United States Postal Service.
B.
Parcels, packages and materials by and in accordance with the rules
of the Railway Express Agency or other utility licensed or regulated
for such purposes and those delivered by vendors where ordered by
the owner or occupant of the recipient premises.
C.
Newspapers and other publications and periodicals only if subscribed
to by the owner or occupant of the recipient premises, provided that
they are either placed firmly in a receptacle designed for such purpose
or, if none, then tightly wrapped to prevent blowing or scattering
upon the recipient premises or adjacent areas.
D.
Laundry, dry-cleaning and dairy, bakery and similar food products
and commercial product sampling, by agreement with or invitation of
the owner or occupant of the recipient premises.
E.
Solicitation cards, brochures and flyers by duly authorized bona
fide nonprofit charitable organizations, including but not limited
to United Fund, American Red Cross and religious, educational, medical
and volunteer police, fire and ambulance organizations, provided that
they are packaged and placed in such manner as not to blow or scatter
upon the recipient premises or adjacent areas.
F.
Noncommercial handbills of a political or other nature whose distribution
is or may be protected by constitutional rights of free speech, provided
that they are packaged and placed in such manner as not to blow and
scatter upon the recipient premises or adjacent areas.
G.
Unsolicited and unsubscribed newspapers, publications and other periodicals
of a commercial nature, in whole or in part, provided that distribution
and delivery of the same is in compliance with this chapter, and further
provided that they are packaged and placed in such manner as not to
blow or scatter upon the recipient premises or adjacent areas.
H.
The service of any summons, traffic ticket, legal notice or process
which is permitted or required by law.
The delivery of unsolicited and unsubscribed newspapers, publications and other periodicals of a commercial nature, in whole or in part, shall qualify for the exception provided for in § 278-2G hereof, subject to and contingent upon initial and continuing compliance with the following requirements:
A.
License. The publisher or distributor shall, prior to any such delivery,
apply to the Township Clerk for an annual license, to be effective
from January 1 to the following December 31, or any portion thereof,
on forms to be prescribed by the Township, requiring, in part, complete
information about the publisher, the distributor, the publication
concerned and the frequency of distribution and designating specific
persons, with addresses and telephone numbers, responsible for compliance
with this chapter. The fee for the license shall be $500 per year
or any portion thereof, to cover costs of processing the applications
and administering the requirements provided for herein.
B.
Objection to delivery. The owner or occupant of any property within
the Township shall have the right, in writing, at any time, to transmit
to the Township Clerk notice of objection to the continued delivery
of any such unsolicited and unsubscribed publication by any licensee,
and the Township Clerk shall prepare and maintain, at all times on
a current basis, a list of the names and addresses of such objectors,
which shall be sent to the Ewing Township Police Department and shall
be made available to licensees hereunder at all times during the business
hours prescribed by law for the Township Clerk's office. Such
notice of objection shall continue in effect until revoked, and it
shall be deemed a violation of this chapter for any licensee to deliver
or continue to deliver any such unsolicited and unsubscribed publication
to any such objecting owner or occupant whose name appears on the
list of objectors.
C.
Method of delivery. No publication licensed for delivery in accordance
with this chapter shall be distributed or caused to be distributed
by any person at any residence or other building unless such printed
matter shall be delivered into the possession of some person there
offering to receive same or be placed in a slot or receptacle provided
on the premises for the receipt of same or be placed within five feet
of a door or entranceway of such residence or other building.
The Mayor and Council may, in addition to the penalties provided
for herein for violations, either suspend, revoke or refuse to renew
any such license where three or more violations of this chapter by
the licensee shall have occurred within any annual license period,
provided that the licensee is first given 10 days' advance written
notice of any such action and a hearing.
Each violation of the provisions of this chapter, whether the
same shall occur on the same day or on succeeding days, shall be deemed
to be a separate violation hereof.
Any person, firm or corporation violating any of the provisions
of this chapter shall pay a fine not exceeding $500 or be subject
to a term of imprisonment not exceeding 90 days, or both.
