[HISTORY: Adopted by the Common Council of the City of Lancaster 8-15-2005 by Ord. No. 2005-06 as §§ 12.08 and 12.09 of the 2005 Code. Amendments noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Direct sellers — See Ch. 200.
Licenses and permits — See Ch. 290.
No person shall conduct a garage, yard or rummage sale within the City without having obtained a license from the City Clerk/Treasurer, except as provided in § 244-2 set forth below. The license shall be obtained at least one working day before the sale and shall be prominently displayed during the sale. Before issuing the license, the Clerk/Treasurer shall refer the application to the Building Inspector for verification as to whether or not such sale at the proposed location is compatible with other provisions of this Code. This chapter shall apply to all general sales, open to the public, conducted from or on a residential premises for purposes of disposing of personal property, including but not limited to all sales titled "rummage," "lawn," "yard," "porch," "room," "backyard," "patio," or "garage" sale.
No person shall be required to obtain a license if:
A. 
The sale is conducted in a business district and is a permitted use in such district such as is promoted by the Lancaster Chamber of Commerce (i.e. Maxwell Street Days, Harvest Festival and other holiday or business promotions).
B. 
The person conducts, on his own residential premises, no more than three sales in any one calendar year. Each sale may not be held for more than three consecutive days and shall not be conducted between the hours of 7:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m.
C. 
The sale is conducted by religious, educational, charitable or civic organizations on a premises located in a residential district no more than three times in any calendar year. Each such sale may be conducted for not more than three consecutive days and shall not be conducted between the hours of 7:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m.
All goods for sale at a garage, yard, or rummage sale shall be limited to household goods or personal possessions owned, utilized, maintained and acquired in the normal course of living in or maintaining the residence where the sale is being held or, in the case of a group sale, from the residences of the participating households. In no case shall any such sales become outlets for wholesale or retail commercial sales or merchandise which was purchased for resale or obtained on consignment.
Signs advertising garage, yard or rummage sales shall be subject to the following:
A. 
Such signs shall be freestanding and shall not exceed two square feet in size.
B. 
No signs shall be placed within the area of any public lands or right-of-way.
C. 
Such signs shall not be located on utility poles, signposts, traffic control devices, public trees or shrubs.
D. 
No more than three signs may be used for any sale and no more than one sign per yard shall be permitted, except that two signs shall be permitted on corner lots, one facing each street.
E. 
Such signs may be displayed only between 7:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m. on the date of sale.
F. 
All signs, no matter where placed, must be removed within 24 hours of the close of the sale by the owner of the property where the sale was located.
[Amended 11-17-2014 by Ord. No. 2014-05]
The license fee shall be as provided in the City's Fee Schedule.
Under no circumstances shall a garage, yard, or rummage sale be held for more than three consecutive days or between the hours of 7:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. for more than three times in any calendar year.
Except as otherwise specifically provided in this chapter, any person found to be in violation of any provision of this chapter shall be subject to a penalty as provided in § 1-4 of this Municipal Code. Such penalty may be in addition to the revocation, suspension or nonrenewal of any license or permit issued under the provisions of this chapter.