For the purposes of this chapter, the following words as used
herein shall be considered to have the meanings ascribed thereto:
PEDDLER
Shall include any person, whether a resident of the township
or not, traveling on foot or by wagon, automotive vehicle or any other
type of conveyance, from place to place, from house to house, or from
street to street and carrying, conveying or transporting goods, wares,
merchandise, meats, fish, vegetables, fruits, food, ice cream, fruit
ices, soda water, garden farm products or provisions; offering and
exposing the same for sale; or making sales and delivering articles
to purchasers. The word "peddler" shall include the words "hawker,"
"huckster" and "vendor."
PERSON
Any individual, firm, partnership, association, group of
persons and corporation.
RESIDENCE
Shall include every separate living unit occupied for residential
purposes which one or more persons maintain within any type of building
or structure.
SOLICITOR OR CANVASSER
Any person, whether a resident of the township or not, traveling
either on foot or by wagon, automobile, motor truck or any other type
of conveyance, from place to place, from house to house or from street
to street, taking or attempting to take orders for the sale of goods,
wares and merchandise, or personal property of any nature whatsoever
for future delivery, or for services to be furnished or performed
in the future, whether or not the individual has, carries or exposes
for sale a sample of the item being offered for sale, with or without
accepting an advance payment for the goods. The word "solicitor" or
"canvasser" shall also include any person who may be taking a poll
or survey from house to house or on the street or distributing advertisements
or handbills.
It shall be unlawful for any person to engage in the activity
of a solicitor, canvasser or peddler calling at residences without
the previous consent of the occupant for the purpose of soliciting
orders, sales, subscriptions or business of any kind or seeking information
or donations, without first having obtained a license therefor.
Application for a license as a solicitor, canvasser or peddler
shall be made to the Township Clerk of the Township of Montague at
the office of the Township Clerk during regular business hours. The
applicant shall file a sworn, written application upon a form provided
by the township, in duplicate, which shall contain or be accompanied
by the following data:
A. The name of the applicant and the address of his present place of
residence; length of residence at such address; business address if
other than present address.
B. The address of the place of residence during the past three years
if other than the present address.
C. The age of the applicant.
D. A physical description of the applicant.
E. The name and address of the person, firm or corporation by whom the
applicant is employed or whom the applicant represents; the length
of time at such employment or representation; if a corporation, the
name and address of registered agent.
F. The name and address of the employer during the past three years
if other than the present employer.
G. A description sufficient for identification of the subject matter
of the soliciting, canvassing or peddling in which the applicant shall
engage.
H. The actual dates when the soliciting, canvassing or peddling shall
take place.
I. If goods are to be sold or orders taken therefor, the name and address
where such goods are manufactured or produced and the proposed method
of delivery.
J. If a vehicle is to be used, a description including the license number.
K. A passport-size photograph of the applicant taken within 60 days.
L. Two sets of fingerprinting of the applicant.
M. The date of the latest previous application for license under this
chapter, if any.
N. Whether a license issued to the applicant under this chapter has
ever been revoked.
O. A statement as to whether or not the applicant has ever been convicted
of any crime, misdemeanor or violation of any municipal ordinance
of this state or any other state or federal law of the United States
and, if so, the nature of the offense and the punishment of penalty
assessed therefor.
The Clerk of the Township of Montague shall cause each application
to be kept-as part of the official Clerk's
records together with all other information pertaining thereto and
all licenses issued under the provisions of this chapter and of the
denial of applications. Applications for licenses shall be numbered
in consecutive order as filed, and every license issued shall be identified
with a duplicate number of the application upon which it was used.
No license shall be issued to a person who has been convicted
of the commission of a crime under the laws of this state or any other
state or federal law of the United States within five years prior
to the date of the application, nor to any person who has been convicted
of a violation of any of the provisions of this chapter nor to any
person whose license issued hereunder has previously been revoked
as herein provided.
In the event of a denial by the Clerk of the Township of Montague
of an application for a license, such person shall have the right
to appeal to the Township Committee, provided that written notice
of appeal setting forth the request for an appeal hearing and the
basis of the appeal be made in writing and filed with the Township
Clerk or Mayor of the township within 10 days after the denial of
the application.
[Amended 8-9-88 by Ord. No. 88-15]
Upon completion of the application and unless such applicant
is denied a license pursuant to the provisions of this chapter, the
Township Clerk shall issue the applicant a license for a period not
exceeding 30 days after the date of issuance thereof upon payment
by the applicant of the sum of $20. Each such license shall state
expressly thereon the dates on which solicitation, canvassing or peddling
shall take place and the expiration date of the license, the expiration
date of the license being the last date on issuance, whichever is
the shorter period of time.
Any license issued hereunder shall be revoked by the Mayor if
the holder of the license has been convicted of a violation of any
of the provisions of this chapter or has made a false material statement
in the application or otherwise becomes disqualified for the issuance
of a license under the terms of this chapter. Immediately upon such
revocation, written notice thereof shall be given by the Mayor to
the holder of the license in person or by certified mail, return receipt
requested, to his or her resident address as set forth in the application.
Immediately upon the giving of such notice, the license shall be null
and void.
No person, whether licensed by this chapter or not, shall go
upon any premises in the Township of Montague and ring the doorbell
upon or near any door of a residence located thereon or rap or knock
upon any door or create any sound in any other manner as to attract
the attention of the occupant or occupants of such residence, for
the purpose of securing an audience with any occupant thereof and
engage in soliciting, canvassing or peddling as herein defined prior
to 9:00 a.m. or after 8:00 p.m. on any day of the week or at any time
on a Saturday, Sunday or on a state national holiday.
Every person licensed as a solicitor, canvasser or peddler pursuant
to this chapter shall, upon the demand of any official of the township
or any police officer or any occupant of any residence being canvassed,
solicited or peddled by that person, immediately exhibit the license
issued by this township and give the inquirer an opportunity to examine
same. The issuance of any such license to canvass, solicit or peddle
pursuant to this chapter shall not, however, in any way be construed
to require any person to answer the questions of any canvasser, deal
with a solicitor or peddler or admit into his residence any of said
persons. Any solicitor, canvasser or peddler who has gained entrance
to any residence in the Township of Montague, whether invited or not,
shall immediately and peacefully depart from the premises when requested
to do so by the occupant.
If any resident posts at or near the gate or entranceway of
his residence a notice stating "no solicitors" or "no canvassers"
or "no peddlers" or any similar wording, then the solicitor, canvasser
or peddler shall peacefully depart without ringing the doorbell, rapping,
knocking or creating any sound or doing anything in any manner to
attract the attention of any occupant of such residence.
The provisions of this chapter shall not apply to the following
persons:
A. Officers or employees of the township, county, state or federal government
when on official business.
B. Any veteran and/or volunteer fireman who holds a special license
issued pursuant to N.J.S.A. 45:24-9 et seq.
C. A bona fide charitable, educational or cultural organization organized
not for profit and being able to establish that it is such a type
of nonprofit organization.
D. Any person distributing literature or handbills on behalf of a candidate
for public office.
E. Persons delivering milk, eggs, bread, newspapers or such other necessary
and perishable articles of food or merchandise of the type commonly
delivered on a house-to- house basis at intervals of less than one
week.
[Added 10-12-82 by Ord. No. 82-12]
A. Any person, organization or corporation that has reason to believe that it is exempt from the provisions of, this chapter under §
58-12 has the right to apply to the Montague Township Clerk for a certificate of exemption which will be granted by the Clerk if he or she is satisfied that the person, organization or corporation is exempt under §
58-12. This provision is not to be construed as requiring a certificate of exemption in all cases, since it is a discretionary application to clarify the exempt status for the benefit of the applicant.
B. In the event that the Township Clerk has a question as to whether
a particular application is exempt, the Township Clerk shall refer
the applicant to the Township Committee for decision on whether or
not it is exempt. If the Township Committee finds that the applicant
is exempt, it shall authorize the Township Clerk to issue a certificate
of exemption.
Any person violating any provision of this chapter shall, upon
conviction thereof, be subject to a fine of not to exceed $500 or
a sentence of 30 days in the county jail, or both. Each violation
of this chapter shall be a separate offense.
The constable or constables of the Township of Montague shall
be the enforcing authority for this chapter.