[HISTORY: Adopted by the Village Board of the Village of Johnson Creek 12-1-1994 by Ord. No. 12-94 as § 31.03 of the 1994 Code; amended in its entirety 7-8-2003 by Ord. No. 20-03. Subsequent amendments noted where applicable.]
[Amended 6-8-2020 by Ord. No. 09-20]
A. 
No transient merchant shall engage in business within the Village without first obtaining a license from the Village Clerk-Treasurer in compliance with the provisions of this chapter. As used herein, the terms “transient merchants” and “mobile food vendor” shall include, but not be limited to, peddlers, hawkers, solicitors, canvassers or other business activities of a transient and temporary nature.
B. 
No mobile food vendor shall sell food from a mobile food truck without first obtaining a license from the Village Clerk-Treasurer in compliance with the provisions of this chapter. As used herein, the term “mobile food truck” means a vehicle specifically designed and used for cooking, keeping, storing, or warming food or beverages which are for sale by a vendor, which truck moves under its own power.
[Amended 1-22-2024 by Ord. No. 01-24]
This chapter or any part thereof shall not apply to newspaper delivery persons; merchants delivering goods in the regular course of business; vendors of frozen foods, bakery goods, or grocery products to only regular customers on established routes; minors who are residents of the Johnson Creek School District; mobile food vendors marketing to employees of a specific business during a meal period, mobile food vendors catering private events, or persons holding a state license issued pursuant to § 440.51, Wis. Stats., but such persons shall comply with the provisions of § 193-8 of this chapter.
[Amended 6-8-2020 by Ord. No. 09-20]
At the time of the filing of an application for a transient merchant or mobile food vendor license, an investigation fee as provided in Chapter 33, Fees, shall be paid to the Village Clerk-Treasurer to cover the costs of investigation of the facts regulated. The application filed with the Clerk-Treasurer shall contain such information as the Clerk-Treasurer shall require for effective enforcement of this chapter and the safeguarding of the residents of the Village from fraud, misconduct or abuse, including, but not limited to, the following information:
A. 
Name, address and telephone number of the person or persons for whom a license is requested.
B. 
The birth date, height, weight, color of hair and eyes of the applicant for whom a license is requested.
C. 
The length of time for which the license is being requested.
D. 
The make, model, license number and ownership of any mobile food truck which will be used by any mobile food vendor for whom a license is being requested.
E. 
A statement as to whether the applicant for whom a license has been requested has been arrested or convicted of any crime or ordinance violation within the past 10 years, as well as the nature of each offense, the place of the arrest, and the disposition of any matter disclosed by the application.
F. 
Copies of food and beverage licenses issued by the State of Wisconsin, Jefferson County, or any other licensing agency where such licenses are issued and required for any activities to be conducted by a mobile food vendor.
G. 
Proof of insurance for any vehicle proposed to be used by an applicant seeking issuance of a mobile food vendor license.
H. 
A copy of the drivers license issued by the State of Wisconsin authorizing any applicant for a mobile food vendor’s license to operate the mobile food truck.
Upon receipt of each application, the Clerk-Treasurer shall provide the Police Chief with all information contained therein. The Police Chief shall institute an investgation of the applicant's business and moral character as he deems necessary for the protection of the public good and shall endorse his approval or disapproval upon said application with 72 hours after it has been filed with him and shall approve or deny the license in accordance with his findings after presentation by the applicant of a receipt showing payment of the required fee.
The fee for a peddler/transient merchant and soliciting license shall be as provided in Chapter 33, Fees. Annual licenses issued on or after July 1 shall be issued for 1/2 of the required annual fee. No fee shall be required for a canvasser's license or for exempt organizations. Peddlers/transient merchants may employ two assistants without payment of an additional license fee, but such persons must comply with the other provisions of this chapter.
If the Police Chief determines from his investigation of the application that the interests of the Village or of inhabitants of the Village require protection against possible misconduct of the licensee or that the applicant is otherwise qualified but due to causes beyond his control is unable to supply all of the information required by § 193-3, he may require the applicant to file with the Village Clerk-Treasurer a bond in the sum of $1,000 with surety that he will fully comply with the ordinances of the Village and laws of the state relating to peddlers, solicitors, canvassers or transient merchants and guaranteeing to any citizen of the Village of Johnson Creek doing business with him that the property purchased will be delivered according to the representations of the applicant, provided that action to recover on any such bond shall be commenced within six months after the expiration of the license of the principal.
The Village Clerk-Treasurer shall date all licenses issued hereunder and shall specify thereon the fee paid and date of expiration. Annual licenses shall be issued on a calendar-year basis and expire December 31 of the year of issue. Applications for renewals shall be handled in the same manner as original applications. Licenses issued under this chapter are personal and may not be transferred.
[Amended 6-8-2020 by Ord. No. 09-20]
A. 
Consent required. No transient merchant shall go in or upon any private residence, business establishment or office in the Village for the purpose of soliciting orders for goods, wares and merchandise or other activities authorized by the transient merchant license without having been requested or invited to do so by the owner or owners, occupant or occupants of the property.
B. 
Days and hours of operation. Transient merchants shall be prohibited from calling at any dwelling or other place on Sundays or holidays and between the hours of 9:00 p.m. and 9:00 a.m., except by appointment.
C. 
Display of license. All persons issued a license under this chapter shall carry their license with them while engaged in licensed activities and shall display such licenses to any police officer or citizen upon request.
D. 
Misrepresentation. No licensee shall intentionally misrepresent to any prospective customer the purpose of his visit or solicitation, nor the name or business of his principal, if any, nor the source of supply of the goods, wares or merchandise offered for sale, nor the disposition of the proceeds or profits of those sales.
E. 
Loud noises and speaking devices. No licensee shall have any exclusive right to any location in the public streets, nor shall any licensee be permitted a stationary location thereon, nor shall any licensee be permitted to operate in a congested area where such operation might impede or inconvenience the public use of such streets. For the purpose of this chapter, the judgment of a police officer, exercised in good faith, shall be deemed conclusive as to whether the area is congested and the public impeded or inconvenienced.
F. 
No peddler/transient merchant shall impede the free use of sidewalks and streets by pedestrians and vehicles.
G. 
Licenses for mobile food vendors to engage in mobile food sales activities shall only be issued if such activities occur on privately owned commercial or industrial property, and in accordance with the Zoning Code[1] of the Village. Licenses issued to mobile food vendors operating on publicly owned property shall be allowed with authorization from the governing body of the public entity owning or controlling the property. Any license issued for a mobile food vendor shall identify the location on the lot or private property on which mobile food sales activities can be conducted. No license authorizing mobile food vendor sales may be issued for a private lot, parcel or any property which is owned or used for residential purposes.
[Amended 1-22-2024 by Ord. No. 01-24]
[1]
Editor's Note: See Ch. 250, Zoning.
Licenses issued under the provisions of this chapter may be revoked or suspended by the Village President or Police Chief for a period not to exceed five days pending hearing by the Village Board for fraud, misrepresentation or incorrect statement contained in the application or made in the course of carrying on business, conviction of the licensee of any crime or misdemeanor, or conducting the licensed business in an unlawful or disorderly manner or in such a manner as to menace the health, safety or general welfare of the public.
The penalty for violation of any provision of this chapter shall be a penalty as provided in § 60-1 of this Code. A separate offense shall be deemed committed on each day on which a violation occurs or continues.