For the purpose of this article, the following definitions shall
apply, unless the context clearly indicates or requires a different
meaning:
Business.
The business carried on by any person who is an itinerant
merchant, peddler, or solicitor as defined in this section.
Goods.
Merchandise of any description whatsoever, and includes,
but is not restricted to, wares and foodstuffs.
Itinerant merchant.
Any person, whether as owner, agent, or consignee, who engages
in a temporary business of selling goods within the city and who,
in the furtherance of such business, uses any building, structure,
vehicle, or any place within the city.
Peddler.
Any person, not an itinerant merchant, who:
(1)
Travels from place to place by any means carrying goods for
sale, or making sales, or making deliveries; or
(2)
Without traveling from place to place, sells or offers goods
for sale from any public place within the city.
Solicitor.
Any person who travels by any means from place to place,
taking or attempting to take orders for sale of goods to be delivered
in the future or for services to be performed in the future. A person
who is a solicitor is not a peddler.
(2004 Code, sec. 114.01)
(a) Policy.
It is hereby declared to be the policy of the
city that the occupants of the residences in the city shall make the
determination of whether solicitors shall be, or shall not be, invited
to their respective residences.
(b) Posting of notice.
(1) Notice of the refusal of invitation to solicitors to any residence
shall be given on a weatherproof card, approximately three inches
by four inches in size, exhibited upon or near the main entrance door
to the residence, indicating the determination by the occupant, containing
the applicable words as follows: “NO SOLICITORS INVITED.”
(2) The letters shall be at least 1/3 inch in height. For the purpose
of uniformity, the cards shall be provided by the chief of police
to persons requesting, at the cost thereof.
(3) The card so exhibited shall constitute sufficient notice to any solicitor
of the determination by the occupant of the residence of the information
contained thereon.
(c) Obedience to notice; duty to leave premises upon request.
(1) It shall be the duty of every solicitor upon going onto any premises in the city upon which a residence is located to first examine the notice provided for in subsection
(b) of this section, if any is attached, and be governed by the statement contained on the notice. If the notice states “no solicitors invited,” then the solicitor, whether registered or not, shall immediately and peacefully depart from the premises.
(2) Any solicitor who has gained entrance to any residence, whether invited
or not, shall immediately and peacefully depart from the premises
when requested to do so by the occupant.
(d) Prohibited acts.
It is hereby declared to be unlawful and shall constitute a nuisance for any person to go upon any premises and ring the doorbell upon or near any door, or create any sound in any manner calculated to attract the attention of the occupant of such residence, for the purpose of securing an audience with the occupant thereof and engage in soliciting in defiance of the notice exhibited at the residence in accordance with the provisions of subsection
(b) of this section.
(2004 Code, secs. 114.09–114.12)
(a) Solicitation of persons in vehicles.
Except as permitted
by state law, it shall be unlawful for any person to peddle, sell,
offer, or exhibit for sale any merchandise or service, whether for
profit, for a charitable purpose or otherwise to any person in a motor
vehicle, truck, motorcycle, or other vehicle (collectively hereafter
“vehicle”) while the vehicle is located within a public
right-of-way.
(b) Solicitation in a public right-of-way.
Except as permitted
by state law, it shall be unlawful for any person to solicit funds,
donations, contributions, employment, business or a ride, whether
for profit, for a charitable purpose or otherwise, upon any public
street, street right-of-way, median, traffic island, parkway, or other
public right-of-way, excluding sidewalks designed for pedestrian use,
within the city.
(c) Acknowledgement of state law.
The city acknowledges
that the state legislature has adopted V.T.C.A., Transportation Code,
section 552.0071, which became effective on May 3, 2005.
(d) Selling or attempting to sell on sidewalk/right-of-way.
It shall be unlawful for any person to peddle, sell, offer, or exhibit
for sale any merchandise or service, whether for profit, for a charitable
purpose or otherwise on a public sidewalk or road without previous
permission granted by the city manager, or his/her designee.
(Ordinance 2011-28 adopted 8/11/11)
Any license or permit granted under this article may be revoked by the clerk after notice and hearing, pursuant to the standards in section
4.05.035. Notice of hearing for revocation shall be given in writing, setting forth specifically the grounds of the complaint and the time and place of the hearing. Such notice shall be mailed to the licensee at his or her last known address, at least ten days prior to the date set for the hearing.
(2004 Code, sec. 114.05)
A license granted under this article may be revoked for any
of the following reasons:
(1) Any
fraud or misrepresentation contained in the license application;
(2) Any
fraud, misrepresentation, or false statement made in connection with
the business being conducted under the license;
(3) Any
violation of this article;
(4) Conviction
of the licensee of any felony, or conviction of the licensee of any
misdemeanor involving moral turpitude; or
(5) Conducting
the business licensed in an unlawful manner or in such a way as to
constitute a menace to the health, safety, morals, or general welfare
of the public.
(2004 Code, sec. 114.06)