[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town Board of the
Town of LaGrange 4-29-1981 by L.L.
No. 3-1981 as Ch. 52 of the 1975 Code; amended in
its entirety 8-22-2018 by L.L.
No. 9-2018. Subsequent amendments noted where applicable.]
This chapter is enacted for the purpose of regulating the peddling
and soliciting of merchandise and of services so that the peace, health,
safety, welfare and good order in the Town of LaGrange, and of the
inhabitants thereof, shall not be endangered or unduly disturbed.
As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the
following meanings:
Any individual, firm, partnership, corporation, unincorporated
association, and any principal, agent or employee thereof, and all
other entities of any kind.
Includes all areas legally open to public use as public streets,
sidewalks, roadways, highways, parkways, alleys and any other public
way (except state highways, pursuant to Vehicle and Traffic Law § 1157,
as hereinafter amended or revised).
Any person who goes from place to place or house to house,
or who stands in any roadway or public place, taking or offering to
take orders for goods, wares or merchandise, or for services to be
performed in the future, or for making, manufacturing or repairing
any article or thing whatsoever for future delivery.
Any person, either principal or agent, who, from any vehicle
or any public road or public place, or by going from house to house
or place of business to place of business, on foot or from any animal
or vehicle, sells or barters, offers for sale or barter, or carries
or exposes for sale or barter any food, beverages, goods, wares or
merchandise.
A.
License required. It shall be unlawful for any person, unless exempt from the provisions of this chapter as provided in § 176-4, to act as a vendor, hawker, peddler or solicitor without first having obtained and paid for, and having in force and effect, a hawking and peddling license pursuant to this chapter. All licenses issued pursuant to this chapter shall be nontransferable. Licenses shall be approved by the Town Board. Licenses shall be issued by the Town Clerk in the event of approval by the Town Board.
B.
Restricted and prohibited locations:
(1)
Pursuant to §§ 1157(c) and 1800 of the New York State
Vehicle and Traffic Law, no pedestrian shall occupy any part of a
state highway in any manner for the purpose of selling or soliciting,
except a veteran holding a peddler's license under §§ 32
and 35 of the General Business Law.
(2)
No solicitor/peddler/vendor who is licensed by the Town to sell from
a vehicle shall solicit, peddle or vend on privately owned lands without
permission from the owner unless specifically authorized by the Town
Board to do so for an event such as a flea market, carnival, circus,
community day or any similar activity.
(3)
It shall be unlawful for any solicitor, peddler or vendor in plying
his trade to enter upon any premises or property, or to ring the doorbell
or knock upon or enter any building whereon there is painted or otherwise
affixed or displayed to public view any sign containing any or all
of the following words: "no solicitors, peddlers or vendors," or other
wording, the purpose of which purports to prohibit soliciting or peddling
on the premises.
(5)
No solicitor/peddler/vendor shall have any exclusive right to any
location in the public streets, nor shall any be permitted a stationary
location without a special permit, nor shall any be permitted to operate
in a congested area where such operation might impede access to the
entrance of any adjacent building or driveway or inconvenience the
public. For the purpose of this chapter, the judgment of any police
officer or Building Inspector exercised in good faith shall be deemed
conclusive as to whether the area is congested or the public impeded
or inconvenienced.
The provisions of this chapter shall not apply to political,
charitable, or not-for-profit organizations involved in activities
covered by this statute, to peddling of meats, fish, fruits or farm
produce, nor to sales made to merchants for retail trade or to persons
selling newspapers or periodicals. This exemption shall apply to farmers
and producers thereof or their servants or employees and shall not
be construed to include other persons who buy goods for resale.
Any veteran of the Armed Services of the United States who has obtained a veteran's license from the Dutchess County Clerk, under Article 4, § 32, of the General Business Law, to hawk, peddle, vend or solicit trade on the streets and highways within the County of Dutchess shall be exempt from the provisions of § 176-8 of this chapter. Upon approval of the veteran's application, the Town Clerk will issue the license to said veteran to ply his or her trade in the Town of LaGrange, subject to all other provisions of this chapter.
Applications for licenses or a renewal thereof by solicitors,
peddlers or vendors shall be made to the Town Clerk, shall be sworn
and in writing, and shall contain the following information:
A.
Name, age, telephone number, permanent address and current address,
if different.
B.
A brief description of the nature of the business to be conducted
and the goods to be sold.
C.
If employed, the name and address of the employer, together with
credentials establishing the exact relationship.
D.
The names of all municipalities in which the applicant has carried
on the business of soliciting, peddling or vending orders during the
preceding six months.
E.
If a vehicle is to be used, a description of such vehicle, its VIN
number, and its license number.
F.
A description of the proposed location(s) of the vending business
and the length of time during which it is proposed that the business
shall be conducted.
G.
A statement as to whether the applicant has been convicted of any
crime, misdemeanor or violation of any municipal ordinance regarding
soliciting, peddling or vending, the nature of the offense and the
punishment or penalty assessed therefor.
H.
If the application is for a license to handle food in any form, the
applicant shall submit a valid permit issued by the Dutchess County
Health Department establishing compliance with the provisions of the
Dutchess County public health regulations.
I.
If the applicant requires the use of weighing and/or measuring devices,
such application shall be accompanied by a certificate, not more than
six months old, from the County Sealer of Weights and Measures certifying
that all weighing and measuring devices to be used by applicant have
been examined and approved.
J.
Proof that applicant holds a New York State sales tax identification
number.
K.
A copy of any other license or permit required by any other governmental
agency in connection with the applicant's business.
L.
Any change in circumstances with regard to the information provided
in the application or on the license shall be reported to the Town
Clerk within 30 days.
N.
A copy of government-issued photo identification.
[Added 6-26-2019 by L.L. No. 6-2019]
A.
An application to solicit, peddle or vend accompanied by all required
information shall be submitted to the LaGrange Town Clerk.
B.
The Town of LaGrange shall contract a firm of its choosing to perform
a background check on any vendor, solicitor, hawker or peddler who
goes house to house or door to door, to determine whether the issuance
of the license would involve an unreasonable risk to property or to
the safety or welfare of specific individuals or of the general public.
If the vendor, solicitor, hawker or peddler has received a background
check report from another municipality within the past three months
this provision may be waived by the Town Clerk upon receipt of a copy
of such report.
[Amended 6-26-2019 by L.L. No.
6-2019]
The license fee shall be set forth on the prevailing fee schedule
adopted by resolution of the Town Board and as such schedule is modified
from time to time by resolution of the Town Board.
No license shall be issued to an applicant unless the applicant
furnishes proof to the Town of a public liability bond or insurance
policy in an amount not less than $500,000 for property damage and
injuries, including injury resulting in death, caused by the operation
of the vending business, and naming the Town of LaGrange as an additional
insured.
Any person or persons having obtained a license under the provisions
of this chapter, using a vehicle, shall place upon either side of
the body of such vehicle the words "licensed vendor," together with
the number of such license.
No person shall use any vehicle for vending fruit or any article
of food that has been used for the purpose of carting manure, rags,
garbage, ashes or any material which would injuriously affect such
fruit or food or contact with which would render such fruit or food
unfit for human consumption, without first thoroughly cleaning such
vehicle and removing all traces of such former use.
All licenses issued hereunder shall expire one year from the
day on which issued. Any person holding a license shall file an application
for a renewal thereof with the Town Clerk of the Town of LaGrange
a minimum of 30 days before its expiration date, for a license for
the ensuing year.
Licenses shall be issued by the Town Board. Enforcement of this
chapter shall be within the jurisdiction of the Building Inspector.
This is a land use regulation. The Building Inspector, and Code Enforcement
Officers reporting to the Building Inspector, are authorized to issue
appearance tickets. Each separate offense in violation of the provisions
of this chapter is a distinct violation. Upon conviction, the violation
shall be punished by a fine not to exceed $500 or imprisonment not
to exceed 15 days for a first offense. Maximum fines shall be $750
for a second offense and $1,500 for a third or a greater number of
offense. The maximum duration of imprisonment shall not exceed 15
days for second, third or greater number of offense. The Town shall
also be empowered to enforce violations by actions for injunctive
relief. The Town shall be entitled to collect its actual and reasonable
attorneys' fees and other consultants' cost, in an amount
to be determined by the court, and collection of the attorney fees
award may be exercised by imposition of a tax lien upon the violator's
real property located within the Town of LaGrange. The defendant shall
be entitled to notice and an opportunity to be heard by the Town Board
with respect to the potential tax lien. The notice shall be at least
14 days in duration from the date of mailing by the Town to the last
known address of the defendant as it appears on the license application.
Licenses issued under the provisions of this chapter may be
revoked by the Town Board of the Town of LaGrange after notice of
at least 14 days by certified mail, return receipt to be sent to last
known address of the applicant as it appears in the license application
and a hearing, if the opportunity is exercised by the licensee before
the Town Board, for any of the following causes:
A.
Fraud, misrepresentation or false statement contained in the application
for license.
B.
Fraud, misrepresentation or false statement made in the course of
carrying on business as a peddler/solicitor/vendor.
C.
Any violation of this chapter.
D.
Conducting the business of peddling in an unlawful manner or in such
a manner as to constitute a breach of the peace or to constitute a
menace to the health, safety or general welfare of the public.
E.
Upon the recommendation of the Dutchess County Department of Health
that the sale of food or food products or other edibles is being conducted
under unsanitary conditions or that there is a violation of law, regulation,
code or ordinance cited by the Dutchess County Department of Health.
