[Ord. 1854, passed 7-2-1984]
As used in this chapter:
COMMERCIAL CANVASSER
Any person, whether a resident of the Municipality or not, who goes from house to house, from place to place, or from street to street, soliciting or attempting to take orders from individuals for the sale of goods, wares or merchandise, including magazines, books, periodicals or personal property of any nature for future delivery or for service to be performed at that time or in the future, whether or not such individual has, carries or exposes for sale a sample of the subject of such order or whether or not he is collecting advance payments on such orders.
NONCOMMERCIAL CANVASSER
Any organization, society, association, corporation or individual desiring to solicit or have solicited, in its or his or her name, donations, money, property or financial assistance of any kind, or desiring to sell any item of literature, tokens or merchandise, or disseminate any type or form of information without a fee or donation, from or to persons, other than members of such organizations, upon the streets, in office buildings, by house to house canvass or in public places, for a charitable, religious, patriotic, philanthropic or political purpose.
PEDDLER and TRANSIENT MERCHANT
Any person, whether a resident of the Municipality or not, who goes from house to house, from place to place, from street to street, or in or along the public streets, highways or alleys within the Municipality, conveying or transporting goods, wares and merchandise, and offering or exposing the same for sale, or making sales and delivering articles, items, etc., to purchasers.
[Ord. 1854, passed 7-2-1984]
No peddler, transient merchant, or commercial or noncommercial canvasser shall engage in any such business within the Municipality without first having obtained a license therefor in compliance with the provisions of this chapter.
[Ord. 1712, passed 10-21-1981]
The provisions of this chapter shall not apply to acts of persons selling personal property at wholesale to dealers in such articles, or to newsboys, or to the acts of merchants or their employees in delivering goods in the regular course of business, or to any farmer or truck gardener who vends, sells or disposes of, or offers to sell, vend or dispose of, the products of the farm or garden occupied and cultivated by him, or to any manufacturer or producer in the sale of bread and bakery products, meat and meat products, or milk and milk products, or to the activities of any franchisee of the Municipality. Nothing contained in this chapter shall be held to prohibit any sale required by statute or by order of any court, or to prevent any person from conducting a bona fide auction sale pursuant to law.
[Ord. 983, passed 4-1-1963]
Applicants for the license required in Section 840.02 shall file with the Police Department a sworn application in writing, on a form to be furnished by the Municipality, which shall contain the following information:
(a) 
The name and physical description of the applicant;
(b) 
The complete permanent home and local address of the applicant and, in the case of transient merchants, the local address from which proposed sales will be mailed;
(c) 
A brief description of the nature of the business and the goods to be sold;
(d) 
If the applicant is employed, the name and address of the employer, together with credentials therefrom establishing the exact relationship;
(e) 
The source of supply of the goods or property proposed to be sold, or orders taken for the sale thereof, and the proposed method of delivery;
(f) 
A recent photograph of the applicant, which picture shall be approximately two inches by two inches, showing the head and shoulders of the applicant in a clear and distinguishing manner;
(g) 
The applicant's fingerprints upon a noncriminal file card which can be reclaimed upon the expiration of the license; and
(h) 
A statement as to whether or not the applicant has been convicted of any crime, felony, misdemeanor or any violation of any municipal ordinance, other than traffic violations, and the nature of the offense and the punishment or penalty assessed therefor.
[Ord. 1854, passed 7-2-1984]
Noncommercial canvassers shall be exempt from §§ 840.04, 840.06, 840.07, 840.08 and 840.09, provided that there is filed a sworn application, in writing, on a form furnished by the Police Department, which application contains the following information:
(a) 
The name and purpose of the cause for which a license is sought;
(b) 
The name and address of the officers and directors of the organization;
(c) 
The period during which solicitation is to be conducted; and
(d) 
The names and addresses of those individuals doing solicitation and canvassing.
Upon receipt of the completed application, the Police Department shall issue a license without charge.
[Ord. 983, passed 4-1-1963]
(a) 
Upon receipt of each application, it shall be referred to the Director of Police, who shall immediately institute such investigation of the applicant's business and moral character as he deems necessary for the protection of the public safety.
(b) 
If, as a result of such investigation, the character and business responsibility of the applicant are found to be satisfactory, the Director shall endorse on the application his approval and return the application to the Police Clerk, who shall, upon payment of the prescribed license fee, deliver to the applicant his or her license within 72 hours after it has been filed by the applicant with the Police Clerk.
[Ord. 983, passed 4-1-1963]
(a) 
The license required in § 840.02 shall contain the signature of the issuing officer and shall show the name, address and photograph of the licensee, the class of license issued and the kind of goods to be sold thereunder, the amount of fee paid, the date of issuance and the expiration date, as well as the license number and other identifying description of any vehicle used in such licensed business. Each peddler, canvasser or transient merchant shall secure an individual license.
(b) 
No license shall be used at any time by any person other than the one to whom it is issued.
(c) 
The Police Clerk shall keep a permanent record of all licenses issued and those rejected and shall also issue a monthly report to Council of such applicants and of moneys received.
[Ord. 983, passed 4-1-1963; Ord. 1750, passed 6-16-1982]
(a) 
Every applicant for the license required in Section 840.02 who owns real or personal property located within the Municipality used primarily for the business for which the license application is made and which property is on the tax rolls of the Municipality, or who is an agent or representative of a person who owns property located within the Municipality used for the business for which the license application is made and which property is on the tax rolls of the Municipality, shall pay the following license fee for the use of the Municipality:
(1) 
$3 per day;
(2) 
$10 per week;
(3) 
$25 per month; and
(4) 
$100 per year.
(b) 
Every applicant for such license who does not own real or personal property located within the Municipality used primarily for the business for which the license application is made and which property is not on the tax rolls of the Municipality shall pay the following license fee:
(1) 
$5 per day;
(2) 
$20 per week;
(3) 
$50 per month; and
(4) 
$200 per year.
(c) 
Each and every additional peddler, canvasser or transient merchant employed by the applicant peddler, canvasser or transient merchant shall pay the following license fee for the use of the Municipality:
(1) 
$3 per day;
(2) 
$10 per week;
(3) 
$25 per month; and
(4) 
$100 per year.
(d) 
None of the license fees provided for in this chapter shall be so applied as to occasion an undue burden upon interstate commerce. In any case where a license fee is believed by a licensee or applicant for a license to place an undue burden upon such commerce, he or she may apply to Council for an adjustment of the fee so that it shall not be discriminatory, unreasonable or unfair as to such commerce.
[Ord. 983, passed 4-1-1963]
Every applicant for the license required in § 840.02 who is not a resident of the County or who, being such resident, represents a firm whose principal place of business is located outside the State, shall file with the Police Clerk a surety bond, payable to the Municipality, in the amount of $200 if the license is issued for less than six months, and $500 if the license is issued for six months or longer, with a surety acceptable to and approved by the Director of Police, conditioned on the applicant's full compliance with all the provisions of these Codified Ordinances and the statutes of the State regulating peddlers, canvassers, solicitors, transient merchants, itinerant merchants or itinerant vendors, as the case may be, and guaranteeing to any resident of the Municipality that all moneys paid as down payment will be accounted for and applied according to representations of the licensee and further guaranteeing to any such resident doing business with such solicitor that the property or object purchased will be delivered according to the representations of the solicitor. An action on such bond may be bought by the person aggrieved and for whose benefit, among others, the bond is given, but the surety may, by paying, pursuant to order of the court, the face amount of the bond to the clerk of court in which suit is commenced, be relieved without costs of all further liability.
[Ord. 983, passed 4-1-1963]
No licensee under the provisions of this chapter, nor any person in his behalf, shall shout, cry out, blow a horn, ring a bell or use any sound or amplifying device upon any of the streets, alleys, parks or other public places of the Municipality, or upon private premises, whereby sound of sufficient volume is emitted or produced therefrom to be capable of being plainly heard upon the streets, avenues, alleys, parks or other public places, for the purpose of attracting attention to any goods, wares or merchandise which such licensee proposes to sell.
[Ord. 1854, passed 7-2-1984]
(a) 
No licensee under the provisions of this chapter shall have any exclusive right to any location in or along the public streets or highways of the Municipality, nor shall any be permitted a stationary location thereon, nor shall any be permitted to operate in a congested area where such operation might impede or inconvenience the public use of such streets, highways or sidewalks.
(b) 
No licensee, except a licensee granted a license pursuant to § 840.05, shall solicit on Sundays, on State or Federal holidays or before 9:00 a.m. or after 9:00 p.m. on weekdays or Saturdays, prevailing time.
[Amended 2-6-2017 by Ord. No. 2017-2593]
(c) 
Licensees granted licenses pursuant to § 840.05 shall be permitted to canvass and solicit from 9:00 a.m. until 9:00 p.m., Monday through Saturday. Licensees granted licenses pursuant to § 840.05 shall not canvass or solicit on Sundays or on State or Federal holidays.
[Amended 2-6-2017 by Ord. No. 2017-2593]
[Ord. 1854, passed 7-2-1984]
(a) 
During all periods of solicitation, all licensees must have in their possession a valid license as defined in this chapter. During all periods of solicitation, all exempt members of organizations as defined in § 840.05 must have in their possession a copy of the license issued by the Police Department to the exempt organization.
(b) 
All licensees under this chapter must show either their license or a copy of the license to every person or organization prior to any solicitation.
(c) 
No licensee under the provisions of this chapter shall fail to exhibit his or her license or a copy of a license at the request of any resident of the Municipality.