The Village of East Syracuse Board of Trustees finds that public
health, safety, and welfare requires that the citizens of the Village
be provided with information relating to persons and organizations
who peddle, solicit or vend within the Village, that such activities
be regulated, and that the citizens of the Village be protected from
deceptive and dishonest practices.
As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the
meanings indicated:
MOTORIZED MOBILE VENDING UNIT
A truck, van or other motorized vehicle that incorporates
a kitchen or other food preparation area from which prepared or prepackaged
food may be sold.
NONMOTORIZED MOBILE VENDING UNIT
A cart, kiosk or other device capable of being pushed by
one person, with at least two functional wheels and positive wheel-locking
devices.
SOLICITOR or PEDDLER
Any person who shall sell, offer for or expose for sale,
or who shall trade, deal, or traffic in any goods or services in the
Village of East Syracuse by going from house to house or from place
to place or by indiscriminately approaching individuals.
A.
Any person who, while selling or offering for sale any goods,
services or anything of value, stands in a doorway, any unenclosed
vacant lot, parcel of land, or in any other place not used by such
person as a permanent place of business shall be deemed a solicitor
or peddler within the meaning of this chapter, except as noted in
the definition of "street vendor" in this section.
STREET VENDOR
Any person who shall sell food, flowers, nonalcoholic beverages
only, and/or other goods or services from either a motorized or nonmotorized
mobile vending unit.
The license fees for solicitors, peddlers or street vendors
shall be as follows:
A. Investigative fee. New applications for a solicitor, peddler or street
vendor license shall be accompanied by a nonrefundable investigation
fee of $10.
B. Annual fee. On January 1 of each year all solicitor, peddler and
street vendor licenses shall automatically expire and be null and
void unless an annual fee of $100 is paid to the Village Clerk; provided,
however, for licenses issued after June 30 of any year only 1/2 of
the annual fee shall be required. Any license renewed after June 30
of any year shall be treated as a new application and subject to the
investigation fee. For each mobile vending unit there shall also be
an annual fee of $250.
C. Associated solicitors, peddlers and street vendors and mobile vending
unit operated as an adjunct to an existing business shall pay an annual
fee of $50. The fees provided for by this subsection shall not be
reduced after June 30.
D. Exemptions.
(1) The following shall be exempt from license fees and applications
required under this chapter:
(b)
Charitable, religious or nonprofit organizations or corporations
which have received tax exempt status under 26 U.S.C.A. § 501(c)(3)
or other similar civic, charitable or nonprofit organizations.
(c)
Farmers or gardeners selling fruits, vegetables, or other similar
farm produce raised, gathered, or produced by such persons.
(d)
Persons engaged in political or other First Amendment speech
or solicitation.
(e)
Candidates for political office, campaign workers, members and
representatives of political committees or political organizations
campaigning on behalf of ballot issues, distributors of sample ballots
and other political literature and persons soliciting signatures of
registered voters on petitions to be submitted to any governmental
agency.
(f)
Honorably discharged soldiers, sailors, or marines of the military
and naval services of the United States who have obtained a license
from the County Clerk in connection with § 32 of the General
Business Law.
(g)
A street vendor who is participating in a special event organized
pursuant to a contract between the Village of East Syracuse and another
entity, such as Community Days Ice Cream Social and fireworks and
the Taste of East Syracuse.
(2) Notwithstanding the exemptions provided herein, all exempt persons
must provide proof of their exempt status along with photo identification
to the Village Clerk prior to conducting activities within the Village
of East Syracuse.
(3) Exempt persons are exempt only from the Village licensing fees and
must still comply with all provisions of the law, ordinances and regulations
of the Village of East Syracuse and all applicable Onondaga County
Health Department requirements.
(4) Recognizing that bona fide charitable, religious and nonprofit organization
will engage in appropriate canvassing within the Village, they must
still comply with requirements to notify the Village Clerk, in writing,
of their presence in the Village, including names and addresses of
all individuals and dates and time of activities. Organizations shall
be limited in time, and in no more than 30 days in any calendar year.
It shall be the duty of the Chief of Police to investigate each
application made. The investigation shall determine:
A. The genuineness of all credentials presented by the applicant and/or
the individual solicitor, peddler or street vendor and the reliability
of the product or services;
B. If the applicant and/or its solicitor, peddler or street vendor has
a criminal record;
C. The truth of the facts set forth in the application; and
D. If the applicant or solicitor, peddler or street vendor proposes
to engage in a lawful and legitimate commercial or professional enterprise.
Any person seeking a permit for a street vendor license under
the definition of this chapter shall comply with the following requirements:
A. All advertising shall be placed on the nonmotorized mobile unit and
will not be allowed on the street or sidewalk. Maximum sign area allowed
shall be four square feet.
B. The vending site shall be kept clean and orderly at all times, and
the vendor must provide a refuse container and is encouraged to provide
containers for recycling, and shall duly dispose of all waste outside
of the Village limits. No portion of the vendor's inventory, sales
equipment, or any other structure or equipment used in the sales or
solicitation process shall be left overnight upon any unenclosed portion
of any lot or site within the Village, nor any public street or right-of-way.
C. The Village reserves the right to limit the number of vending permits
in any given area of the Village. When the number of permitted mobile
vendors reaches 10, a review before the Board of Trustees is triggered
to determine if the number of mobile vendors should be limited. The
Village Board of Trustees review may consider the needs of the public,
diversity of products offered for sale, the smooth flow of pedestrian
and vehicular traffic, number of complaints, and locations where vending
units are located.
D. If located on a sidewalk, a minimum clearance of five feet shall
be maintained by any street vendor.
E. Street vendors shall not locate within that portion of the improved
street right-of-way designed for vehicular traffic or parking. Street
vendors seeking to locate in improved street rights-of-way or on a
sidewalk shall be oriented toward pedestrian traffic movement or safety.
Any application to locate a street vendor in the street right-of-way
shall require approval by the Village Code Enforcement Officer and
shall not interfere in any way with vehicular or pedestrian traffic
or safety.
F. No mechanical audio or noise making devices and no hawking are allowed.
Hawking is the loud, repeated oral solicitation of business by the
vendor or an assistant.
G. Street vendors may operate in the parks only if they have a concession
agreement with the Village of East Syracuse Parks and Recreation Department
to operate at a specific park property.
H. All street vendors shall comply with all applicable Onondaga County
Health Department requirements.
I. The applicant shall submit with his application a copy of the written
approval for the vending site from the property owner when locating
on private property. When locating on a sidewalk within the right-of-way,
the applicant shall have written approval for the vending site from
the abutting property owner and/or tenant. In the event that the property
owner or tenants shall disagree, the property owner's decision shall
be final.
(1) In the event that the proposed site is on or abuts property owned
by the Village of East Syracuse, the applicant shall be required to
obtain the Village's approval. Approvals relating to park property
shall be handled as a request to let concession. Requests for sites
abutting all other public land owned by the Village shall be forwarded
to the Board of Trustees for its review and approval.
(2) In the event that the proposed site is on or abuts publicly owned
property not owned by the Village, the applicant shall be required
to obtain approval from the public entity that owns the property.
(3) In the event that the site for which approval is sought abuts vacant
land, the applicant shall make reasonable written attempts to secure
the approval of the property owner. If the applicant is unable to
do so, the Village may accept written proof of such attempts and issue
a conditional permit. If a complaint is later received from the owner
of the land, the license will be revoked. The granting of such conditional
license shall vest no right to the applicant.
J. When locating within a parking lot of a private location, the applicant
shall:
(1) Identify the location the mobile vending unit will be located and
provide a circulation plan. The location and circulation plan shall
require approval by the Village Code Enforcement Officer to ensure
the vending unit will not interfere in any way with vehicular or pedestrian
traffic or safety.
(2) Demonstrate that the site will meet the parking requirements excluding
parking space(s) occupied by the mobile vending unit.
K. The maximum permissible size for any nonmotorized mobile vending
unit shall be 20 square feet. In no event shall any nonmotorized mobile
vending unit exceed 10 feet in length.
L. During special events held within the Village where food providers
are required to pay a fee to participate (such as Ice Cream Social,
Community Fireworks and Taste of East Syracuse), no mobile vending
units may be allowed to operate within 1/4 mile of the special event.
All licenses issued pursuant to this chapter shall be subject
to the following time and location restrictions:
A. Community Day fireworks. For the purpose of crowd and traffic control
on this day, all soliciting after 6:00 p.m. within one mile of the
official fireworks display and only within confines designated by
the Chief of Police.
B. No peddler or solicitor shall engage or attempt to engage in the
business of peddling at any home, residence, apartment complex or
business that prominently displays a "No Peddlers" or "No Solicitors"
sign or any other similar sign that communicates the occupants' desire
to not be contacted by peddlers.
C. No peddler or solicitor shall persist or continue in any solicitation
or attempted solicitation of any particular member or members of the
general public if such person or persons do not wish or desire any
further solicitation efforts.
D. No persons subject to the terms of this chapter shall conduct themselves
in such a manner as to annoy or harass any person while soliciting
within the Village.
E. No peddler or solicitor shall engage in the business of peddling
between the hours of 8:00 p.m. and 10:00 a.m.
F. Motorized and nonmotorized mobile vending units which are located
directly adjacent to residential property may not operate between
the hours of 9:00 p.m. and 9:00 a.m. Motorized and nonmotorized mobile
vending units not located adjacent to residential areas may not operate
between the hours of 10:00 p.m. and 8:00 a.m.