As used in this article, the following terms shall have the
meanings indicated:
APPLICANTS
Includes owners, as defined herein, as well as those actually
involved in and/or engaging in the activity of going door to door
for the purpose of sales enterprising.
CANVASSING
The practice of going from house to house for the purpose
of obtaining the views of any person upon any economic or social question
or project or for the purpose of distributing literature, pamphlets,
circulars, samples and the like, for the purpose of information, advertising
or for commercial purposes or other purposes.
CHIEF OF POLICE
The Chief of Police of the Township of Haddon, or a representative
authorized by the Chief of Police to perform the acts of the Chief
of Police in accordance with this article.
CRIMINAL HISTORY RECORD BACKGROUND CHECK
A determination of whether a person has a criminal record
by cross-referencing that person's name and fingerprints with those
on file with the State Bureau of Identification in the Division of
State Police.
DOOR-TO-DOOR SALES ENTERPRISE
Any public or private business, corporation or partnership
that produces earnings primarily through door-to-door sales. Door-to-door
sales enterprise shall include businesses, corporations or partnerships
that participate in canvassing, itinerant vending and/or peddling,
as defined herein.
ITINERANT VENDOR
Any person who goes from place to place by traveling on the
streets and roads or from house to house taking or attempting to take
orders for the sale of goods, wares and merchandise or personal property
of any nature whatsoever for future delivery or for services to be
furnished or performed in the future, whether or not such person has,
carries or exposes for sale a sample of the object to be sold and
whether or not he or she is collecting advance payments on such sales;
it shall not include wholesalers calling on retail merchants.
MERCHANDISE
All goods, wares, food, fruit, refreshments, ice cream, vegetables,
farm products, magazines, periodicals and all kinds of articles of
personal property for domestic use, and orders or contracts for a
service home improvement or alterations, shall be considered "merchandise"
within the terms of this article.
OWNER(S) OF DOOR-TO-DOOR SALES ENTERPRISE
Includes all principals who own 10% or more of the equity
in the corporation or business trust, partners and officers in the
aggregate employed by the entity as well as any subsidiaries directly
controlled by the business entity.
PEDDLER
Any person who goes from place to place by traveling on the
streets and roads or from house to house carrying, conveying or transporting
goods, wares, or merchandise for the purpose of selling and delivering
them to customers. The word "peddler" shall include the words "hawker"
and "huckster."
PERSON
Includes the masculine and feminine gender and the singular
and the plural and shall be construed to mean and include any individual,
firm, partnership, corporation, association, club or any other organization
or any principal or agent thereof.
The purpose of this article is as follows: to prevent unfair
competition and dishonest business practices by requiring persons
intending to engage in any of the occupations to be licensed by this
article to furnish certain preliminary information, to conform to
the requirements of this article and, to the extent set forth in this
article, to regulate the conduct of persons engaged in any of such
occupations.
Except as otherwise provided in §
177-33 hereof, it shall be unlawful for any itinerant vendor, hawker or peddler to sell or dispose of or to offer to sell or dispose of any goods, wares, or merchandise or to solicit orders for the performance of any service or to engage in canvassing, within the corporate limits of the Township of Haddon, without first obtaining a license therefor in compliance with the provisions of this article. Such licenses shall not be transferable from the person to whom issued to any other person. A separate license shall be obtained by a licensed itinerant vendor, hawker or peddler for every agent or employee working for him.
The requirements of this article shall not apply to the following:
A. Any charitable, educational, nonprofit or religious body that shall
conduct sales of personal property when the proceeds thereof shall
be applied to the payments of the expenses thereof and to the charitable,
educational, nonprofit or religious body for which the body exists.
B. Any public utility or its employees, which said utility is subject
to regulation by the State Board of Public Utility Commissioners;
provided, however, that such employees shall wear a plainly visible
identification badge on the upper left corner of their torso, pursuant
to the requirements of N.J.S.A. 48:3-42 et seq.
C. Any person not otherwise subject hereto, engaged in the delivery
of goods, wares or merchandise or other articles or things in the
regular course of business, to the premises of persons who had previously
ordered the same or were entitled to receive the same by reason of
a prior agreement.
D. Any person canvassing for a governmental agency.
Upon the filing of the application, a fee in the amount provided by Chapter
111, Fees, shall be paid by the applicant to the Township Clerk for the use of the Township to defray the cost of investigating, photographing, fingerprinting, processing and issuing said permit. The fees payable hereunder shall not apply to applicants possessing licenses issued pursuant to N.J.S.A. 45:24-9 and 45:24-10.
When the aforesaid application is properly filled out and signed
by the applicant, and the license fee is paid, the Township Clerk
shall issue the license to the applicant, provided that the Board
of Health shall have theretofore issued a food handler's license,
if required. Such license shall contain the signature of the issuing
officer and shall show the name, address and photograph of the licensee,
the class of license issued, the kind of goods or services to be sold
thereunder, the date of issue, the length of time the license shall
be operative, and the license number and other identifying description
of any vehicle used in the peddling, soliciting or canvassing activity
licensed.
Before a license shall issue hereunder, the applicant shall
file with the Clerk an instrument, in writing, nominating and appointing
the Township Clerk his true and lawful agent with full power and authority
to acknowledge service or notice of process for and on behalf of the
applicant in respect to any civil matters connected with or arising
out of actions of the licensee in the municipality. Such instrument
shall also contain recitals to the effect that the applicant consents
and agrees that service of any notice or process may be made upon
such agent and, when so made, shall be as valid as if personally served
upon the applicant according to the laws of this or any other state,
and waiving all claim or right of error by reason of such acknowledgment
of service or manner of service. The Township Clerk shall, by certified
mail, forward such notice of process to the address shown on said
application.
Every holder of a license issued by the Township Clerk under
the authority of this article, or by the Clerk of the County of Camden
under the authority of N.J.S.A. 45:24-9, shall be required to carry
such license with him or her while engaged in the business or activity
licensed within the corporate limits of the Township of Haddon. He
or she shall produce such license at the request of any official of
said Township or of any resident of said Township with whom he or
she wishes to conduct his or her said business or activity. Every
such licensee shall restrict his or her activity within the Township
of Haddon to the hours between 10:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m., prevailing
time, on Mondays through Fridays.
The Township Clerk shall maintain a record of all licenses issued
under the provisions of this article and shall record therein all
convictions for violations of this article and other pertinent circumstances
and incidents reported by the Chief of Police.
Any person aggrieved by the denial of a license as provided for in §
177-37 of this article shall have the right of appeal to the Board of Commissioners. Such appeal shall be taken by filing with the Board of Commissioners, within 10 days after the notice of the action complained of has been mailed to such person's last known address, a written statement setting forth fully the grounds for the appeal. The Board of Commissioners shall set a time and place for hearing on such appeal, and notify the aggrieved person thereof. The decision of the Board of Commissioners on such appeal shall be final and conclusive.
All licenses issued under the provisions of this article shall expire December 31 of the calendar year in which they are issued. Any such license may be renewed upon payment of the license fee as stated in §
177-36 and upon submission by the licensee of a new application in conformity with the requirements of §
177-34 of this article or, in lieu thereof, a sworn statement, in writing, setting forth all changes in the information contained in the application for the expired license which are necessary to bring said application completely up to date.
Any person violating any of the provisions of this article shall,
upon conviction thereof, be subject to a fine not to exceed $1,000.00
or to imprisonment not to exceed 90 days, or both. Each and every
day that a violation of the provisions of this article shall continue
after issuance of the initial summons or complaint shall be deemed
and considered a separate and specific violation of this article.