[Ord. No. 791 § 1, 6-20-2006]
A. 
The Board of Aldermen of the City of Lake Lotawana finds and declares that to protect the people against the nuisance of and incident to the promiscuous distribution of handbills and circulars, with the resulting detriment and danger to public health and safety, the public interest, convenience and necessity requires the regulation thereof and to that end the purposes of this Chapter are specifically declared to be as follows:
1. 
To protect local residents against trespassing by solicitors, canvassers or handbill distributors upon the private property of such residents if they have given reasonable notice that they do not wish to be solicited by such persons or do not desire to receive handbills or advertising matter (amended at first reading 5/24/06). Residents shall advise solicitors to cease distribution by registered mail with a return receipt.
2. 
To protect the people against the health and safety menace and the expense incident to the littering of the streets and public places by the promiscuous and uncontrolled distribution of advertising matter and commercial and non-commercial handbills; and
3. 
To preserve the people's constitutional right to receive and disseminate information.
[Ord. No. 791 § 1, 6-20-2006]
A. 
The following words, terms and phrases, when used in this Chapter, have the meanings ascribed to them in this Section, except where the context clearly indicates a different meaning:
COMMERCIAL HANDBILL
Includes any printed or written matter, any sample or device, circular, leaflet, pamphlet, paper, booklet or any other printed or otherwise reproduced original or copies of any matter or literature:
1. 
Advertising for sale any merchandise, product, commodity or thing;
2. 
That directs attention to any business or mercantile or commercial establishment or other activity for the purpose of either directly or indirectly promoting the interests thereof by sales;
3. 
That directs attention to or advertises any meeting, theatrical performance, exhibition or event of any kind, for which an admission fee is charged for the purpose of private gain or profit; but the terms of this Subsection shall not apply where an admission fee is charged or a collection is taken up for the purpose of defraying the expenses incident to such meeting, theatrical performance, exhibition or event of any kind, when either of the same is held, given or takes place in connection with the dissemination of information that is not restricted under the ordinary rules of decency, good morals, public peace, safety and good order, provided that nothing contained in this Subsection shall be derived to authorize the holding, giving or taking place of any meeting, theatrical performance, exhibition or event of any kind without a license, where such license is or may be required by any law of this State, or ordinance of this City; or
4. 
That, while containing reading matter other than advertising matter, is predominantly and essentially an advertisement, and is distributed or circulated for advertising purposes, or for the private benefit and gain of any person so engaged as advertiser or distributor.
NEWSPAPER
Includes any newspaper of general circulation as defined by general law, any newspaper duly entered with the United States Postal Service in accordance with Federal Statute or regulation, and any newspaper filed and recorded with any recording officer as provided by general law; and, in addition thereto, includes any periodical or current magazine regularly published with not less than four (4) issues per year, and sold to the public.
NON-COMMERCIAL HANDBILL
Includes any printed or written matter, any sample or device, circular, leaflet, pamphlet, newspaper, magazine, paper booklet or any other printed or otherwise reproduced original or copies of any matter or literature not included in the aforesaid definitions of a commercial handbill or a newspaper.
OBSCENE
Material that depicts or describes sexual conduct that is objectionable or offensive to accepted standards of decency that the average person, applying contemporary community standards, would find, taken as a whole, appeals to prurient interests or material that depicts or describes, in a patently offensive way, sexual conduct specifically defined by the applicable State law, which, taken as a whole, lacks serious literary, artistic, political or scientific value.
PERSON
Includes any person, firm, partnership, association, corporation, company or organization of any kind.
PRIVATE PREMISES
Includes any dwelling, house, building or other structure designed or used either wholly or in part for private residential purposes, whether inhabited, uninhabited or vacant, and shall include any yard, grounds, walk, driveway, porch, steps, vestibule or mailbox belonging or appurtenant to such dwelling, house, building or other structure.
PUBLIC PLACE
Includes any and all streets, boulevards, avenues, lanes, alleys or other public ways and any and all public parks, squares, spaces, plazas, grounds and buildings.
[Ord. No. 791 § 1, 6-20-2006]
No person shall post, stick, stamp, paint or otherwise affix or cause the same to be done by any person any notice, placard, bill, card, poster, advertisement or other paper or device calculated to attract the attention of the public to or upon any sidewalk, crosswalk, curb or curbstone, flagstone or any other portion or part of any public way or public place or any lamppost, electric light, telegraph, telephone or trolley line pole, or railway structure, hydrant, shade tree or tree box, or upon the piers, columns, trusses, girders, railings, gates or other parts of any public bridge or viaduct or other public structure or building, or upon any pole, box or fixture of the fire alarm except such as may be authorized or required by the laws of the United States or the State of Missouri and the ordinances of the City.
[Ord. No. 791 § 1, 6-20-2006]
It shall be unlawful for any person to deposit, place, throw, scatter or cast any commercial or noncommercial handbill in or upon any public place within the City. Provided, however, that it shall not be unlawful for any person to hand out or distribute, without charge to the receiver thereof, any commercial or non-commercial handbill in any public place to any person willing to accept such handbill.
[Ord. No. 791 § 1, 6-20-2006]
It shall be unlawful for any person to distribute, deposit, place, throw, scatter or cast any commercial or non-commercial handbill in or upon any automobile or other vehicle. The provisions of this Section shall not be deemed to prohibit the handing, transmitting or distributing of any commercial or non-commercial handbill to the owner or other occupant of any automobile or other vehicle, who is willing to accept the same.
[Ord. No. 791 § 1, 6-20-2006]
It shall be unlawful for any person to distribute, deposit, place, throw, scatter or cast any commercial or non-commercial handbill upon any premises, if requested by anyone thereon not to do so, or if there is placed on said premises in a conspicuous position near the entrance thereof a sign bearing the words: "No Trespassing," "No Peddlers or Agents," "No Advertisements," or any similar notice indicating in any manner that the occupants of said premises do not desire to be molested or to have their right of privacy disturbed, or to have any such commercial or noncommercial handbills left upon such premises.
[Ord. No. 791 § 1, 6-20-2006]
A. 
No person shall throw, deposit or distribute any commercial or non-commercial handbill in or upon private premises except by handing or transmitting any such handbill directly to the owner, occupant or other person then present in or upon such private premises. However, if the premises are posted as provided in this Chapter, or where anyone upon the premises requests otherwise, a person may place or deposit any such commercial or non-commercial handbill in or upon such private premises, if such handbill is contained in a plastic bag ventilated with air holes throughout the surface of the bag or unventilated plastic bag no greater than six (6) inches in width, or if such handbill is so placed or deposited as to secure or prevent such handbill from being blown or drifted about such premises or sidewalks, streets or other public places. Mailboxes may not be so used when so prohibited by Federal postal law or regulations.
B. 
The provisions of this Section shall not apply to the distribution of mail by the United States or to newspapers; except that newspapers shall be placed on private property in such a manner as to prevent their being carried or deposited by the elements upon any street, sidewalk or other public place or upon private property.
[Ord. No. 791 § 1, 6-20-2006]
This Chapter shall not be deemed to repeal, amend or modify any ordinance ever ordained, either prohibiting, regulating or licensing canvassers, hawkers, peddlers, transient merchants or any person using the public streets or places for any private business or enterprise or for commercial sales not covered herein.
[Ord. No. 791 § 1, 6-20-2006; Ord. No. 17-02, 3-7-2017]
Any person who shall violate any provision of this Chapter, upon conviction thereof, shall be punished by a fine or penalty as set forth in the Comprehensive Schedule of Fees and Charges,[1] or by imprisonment for not more than ninety (90) days, or both.
[1]
Editor's Note: See § 100.230 of this Code.