[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Supervisors of East Earl Township 1-16-2018 by Ord. No. 202. Amendments noted where applicable.]
It shall be unlawful for any individual to solicit funds, peddle, canvass, or take orders, either by sample or otherwise, upon the streets, public alleys, sidewalks, parks or from house to house in East Earl Township, or solicit funds, sell or take orders for any goods, wares or merchandise from a fixed location within East Earl Township on a temporary basis, which shall include, but not be limited to, such activities conducted at the time of special occasions or celebrations, for seasonal purposes or for yearly holidays.
Section 286-1 shall not apply to the following:
A. 
Farmers selling their own products.
B. 
The solicitation of funds or the sale of goods, wares and merchandise donated by the owner thereof, wherein the funds or the proceeds are to be applied exclusively to any charitable or philanthropic purpose.
C. 
Any member of a local community service group, local athletic association for youths, school or church group, Boy Scouts or Girl Scouts, or similar organizations who solicit funds, sell goods or take orders, wherein the proceeds are to be used exclusively for the group represented.
D. 
Children 14 years old and younger selling homemade food and/or drinks from temporary locations within residential areas, such as a lemonade stand or similar activity.
E. 
Any individual who has registered with the East Earl Township and paid a license fee in accordance with § 286-4 of this chapter.
Any person seeking such a permit shall submit a written application with the East Earl Township Secretary on a form provided by East Earl Township, containing the following information:
A. 
Name, address, telephone number, and contact person for the principal applicant;
B. 
The nature of the goods, wares, merchandise or services that are to be solid or distributed;
C. 
The proposed method of solicitation and/or operation within East Earl Township, including, but not limited to, days and hours of solicitation, peddling or canvassing;
D. 
A list of all persons who will solicit or canvass in East Earl Township on behalf of the applicant, including name, address, telephone number, or general description;
E. 
A current photograph to be affixed to the permit for purposed of identification; and
F. 
Such other and further information as East Earl Township may deem relevant and require from time to time.
A. 
Upon payment of the prescribed fee and compliance with § 286-3, where applicable, the East Earl Township Secretary, if the application is in order, shall issue a license which shall be valid for not more than 30 days, except that a license for a food truck, ice cream truck or similar food selling item shall be valid for 180 days. East Earl Township shall have a reasonable amount of time to issue said license in order to verify the information set forth in the application. The prescribed fee, which shall be required of each individual solicitor, shall be set from time to time by resolution of the East Earl Township Board of Supervisors.
B. 
Said license shall be in the individual's possession while engaged in the solicitation.
C. 
Where P.L. 744, No. 241, enacted November 25, 1970,[1] is applicable to solicitation of magazine subscriptions by the use of door-to-door sales, no license shall be issued until satisfactory proof is provided by the applicant that he or his organization is registered with the Office of the Attorney General of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and is currently licensed under this Act. Nothing provided hereinabove shall prohibit East Earl Township from taking a reasonable amount of time to verify such proof of registration with the Office of the Attorney General before the issuance of license.
[1]
Editor's Note: See 73 P.S. § 2011.
D. 
Upon expiration of such license, the license may be renewed upon payment of the prescribed fee for the period of time requested.
No person shall solicit, peddle or canvass within East Earl Township without possessing a current, valid copy of the official permit issued by East Earl Township, together with such other identification as may be required by East Earl Township. Such person shall solicit, peddle or canvass only these items, commodities, services or subscriptions identified in the registration application.
No person, while engaged in business as described in this chapter, shall:
A. 
Sell any product or type of product not mentioned in his/her license.
B. 
Hawk or cry his/her wares upon any of the streets, alleys, sidewalks or public grounds in East Earl Township.
C. 
When operating from a vehicle, stop or park such vehicle upon any streets or alleys in East Earl Township for longer than necessary in order to sell therefrom to persons residing or working in the immediate vicinity, or to cause traffic congestion by stopping whereby traffic lanes are blocked.
D. 
Park any vehicle upon any streets or alleys in East Earl Township for the purpose of sorting, rearranging or cleaning any of his/her goods, wares or merchandise or of disposing of any carton, wrapping material, or stock, wares or foodstuffs which have become unsalable through handling, age or otherwise.
E. 
Engage in any business activity, except by prior appointment, at any time on a Sunday or legal holiday, or at any time before 9:00 a.m. or after 6:00 p.m. on any day of the week other than a Sunday or legal holiday, provided that food trucks, ice cream trucks and similar food selling solicitor shall be permitted to operate until dusk on days except Sundays and legal holidays.
No solicitor, peddler or canvasser shall contact any residence within East Earl Township that is posted with signage providing that such contact or canvassing is not desired by the resident thereof.
Any person violating the provision of this chapter shall, upon conviction by a Magisterial District Judge, be sentenced to pay a fine to East Earl Township of not more than $600 plus costs of prosecution for each and every offense and, in default of payment of such fines and costs, to undergo imprisonment for a period not exceeding 30 days.