As used in this article:
(1) Commercial home solicitation
means a solicitation
at a residence for the purpose of selling or offering to sell goods,
services or realty either in-person or through the door-to-door distribution
of advertisements (other than through the United States mail).
(2) Home solicitation
means a commercial home solicitation
or a noncommercial home solicitation.
(3) Noncommercial home solicitation
means the dissemination
of, or a request for, information that is not primarily concerned
with the characteristics or costs of goods, services or realty or
that involves only the incidental, noncommercial sale of goods or
services for political or charitable purposes.
(4) Residence
means any separate living unit occupied
for residential purposes by one or more persons, contained within
any type of building or structure.
(5) Charitable purpose
means philanthropic, religious
or other nonprofit objectives, including the benefit of the poor,
needy, sick, refugee or handicapped persons; the benefit of any church
or religious society, sect, group or order; the benefit of a patriotic
or veterans’ association or organization; the benefit of any
fraternal, social or civic organization, or the benefit of any educational
institution.
(6) Commercial home distribution
means the door-to-door
distribution of advertisements (other than through the United States
mail).
(Ordinance 4749, sec. 1, adopted 2/15/94; Ordinance 5787, sec. 2, adopted 12/16/03; Ordinance 5964, sec. 2, adopted 1/10/06)
(A) No person
shall engage in a commercial home solicitation without having a valid,
current written permit issued under the provisions of this article
by the Chief of Police. A permit is not required for a noncommercial
home solicitation.
(B) A person
desiring to make a commercial home solicitation within the City shall
make written application to the Chief of Police, on a form provided
by the Chief of Police, for a permit. The application shall include
the following information:
(1) The
name, date of birth and address of the person(s) applying;
(2) The
time period within which commercial home solicitations will be made,
including the proposed beginning date and the projected date of conclusion,
and an estimate of how often the applicant will solicit during the
year;
(3) A
description of the methods and means by which the commercial home
solicitations will be accomplished;
(4) A
description of the goods or services to be sold or offered for sale;
(5) If the applicant is under 16 years of age, a copy of the parental consent form required by section 51.0145 of the Texas Labor Code and the name, address, and telephone number of all persons who will be responsible for supervising the activities of the applicant pursuant to section
26.53(C) of this article; and
(6) A
statement whether the applicant has ever been:
(a) Convicted of or pleaded nolo contendere to any felony or to a misdemeanor
involving fraud, theft, embezzlement, burglary, fraudulent conversion,
or misappropriation of property within the preceding ten years;
(b) Found liable in a civil or administrative action in which the complaint
or petition alleged fraud, theft, embezzlement, fraudulent conversion,
misappropriation of property, or the use of untrue or misleading representations
in an attempt to sell or dispose of property or to obtain money or
a thing of value from another;
(c) Found liable under any law regarding the use of unfair, unlawful,
or deceptive business practices; or
(d) Subject to an injunction or restrictive court order relating to business
activity as the result of an action brought by a federal, state, or
local public agency, including an action affecting a vocational license.
(C) The application must be signed by the applicant and shall be accompanied by a nonrefundable permit fee in the amount designated in the Master Fee and Rate Schedule, Article VII, Section
10.85, of Chapter
10, to compensate the City for the cost of administering this article. The applicant shall attach to the application a recent passport size photographic likeness of the applicant.
(D) After
review of the permit application and within ten (10) working days
of the receipt of the application, the Chief of Police shall either
issue a permit, as provided in this article, or notify the person
applying that the application does not comply with the requirements
of this article, specifying why the application is incomplete or otherwise
does not comply.
(E) It shall
be unlawful for any person to file an application for a commercial
home solicitation permit that contains any false statement of fact.
(F) It shall
be unlawful for any person to engage in a commercial home solicitation
without carrying the permit required by this article on his or her
person while so engaged or to display a permit issued in the name
of another person.
(G) Unless
sooner revoked under the provisions of this article, a commercial
home solicitation permit shall be valid only until the termination
of the solicitation period specified in the permit or one (1) year
from the date of issuance, whichever is less.
(Ordinance 4749, sec. 1, adopted 2/15/94; Ordinance 5787, sec. 2, adopted 12/16/03; Ordinance 5964, sec. 3, adopted 1/10/06; Ordinance 6243, sec. 1, adopted 8/5/08; Ordinance 6333, secs. 1–4, adopted 8/4/09; Ordinance 7363 adopted 9/6/2022)
(A) The Chief of Police shall issue the applicant a commercial home solicitation permit if the Chief of Police determines that the application has been fully and accurately completed, the permit application fee has been paid, and the applicant has answered in the negative to each of the statements required by section
26.51(B)(6); if not, the Chief of Police may deny the permit.
(B) The
Chief of Police may revoke a commercial home solicitation permit if
the Chief of Police determines that reasonable cause exists to believe
that:
(1) A
statement of fact contained in the application was false or materially
misleading;
(2) The
permit holder has failed to comply with any of the provisions of this
article;
(3) Any of the conditions of section
26.51(B)(6) is or has become applicable to the permit holder; or
(4) The
permit holder has engaged in a commercial home solicitation that involves
the use of false, misleading, fraudulent, or deceptive acts.
(C) The
Chief of Police shall provide notice of the revocation by certified
mail, personal service, or courier-receipted commercial delivery sent
to the address provided on the permit holder’s application.
The permit holder may appeal the denial or revocation of a permit
to the City Manager or a designated representative of the City Manager
by filing a written notice of appeal with the Chief of Police within
ten days of delivery of notice of the denial or revocation. The City
Manager (or the designated representative) shall render a decision
on the appeal within five days of the date of the hearing. The decision
of the City Manager or the designated representative shall be final.
A revocation shall remain in effect for a period of 18 months, during
which time the permit holder may not be issued another commercial
home solicitation permit.
(Ordinance 4749, sec. 1, adopted 2/15/94; Ordinance 5787, sec. 4, adopted 12/16/03; Ordinance 6243, sec. 2, adopted 8/5/08; Ordinance 6333, sec. 5, adopted 8/4/09)
(A) A person
who desires to prohibit all home solicitations (including commercial
home solicitations, noncommercial home solicitations, and commercial
home distributions) at the person’s residence may exhibit in
a conspicuous place upon or near the main entrance to the residence
a weatherproof card, not less than three inches by four inches (3"
x 4") in size, containing the words “No Solicitors” or
“No Solicitation” or “No Solicitations” in
letters of not less than two-thirds of an inch (2/3") in height.
(B) Unless an occupant of the residence expressly requests the home solicitation or commercial home distribution in advance, it shall be unlawful to engage in a home solicitation or commercial home distribution at a residence if the residence displays a notice posted in accordance with subsection
(A).
(C) It shall
be unlawful for any person to employ, use or otherwise put into service
a child who is fifteen years of age or less to engage in a home solicitation
or commercial home distribution unless the child is soliciting or
distributing with 1,000 feet of the child’s home or the child
is actively supervised by an adult at least eighteen years of age
who is within one hundred feet of the child or who has written consent
from a parent or legal guardian for a charitable purpose.
(D) It shall
be unlawful for any person to engage in a home solicitation or commercial
home distribution at an unreasonable time. For home solicitations,
a time is presumptively unreasonable if it occurs more than thirty
minutes before sunrise and more than thirty minutes before sunset.
For commercial home distributions, a time is presumptively unreasonable
if it occurs before 7:00 a.m. or after 7:00 p.m. The presumption may
be rebutted by showing that a reasonable person would not, considering
the circumstances then presented, be on notice that a home solicitation
or commercial home distribution would unduly disturb an occupant of
the residence.
(E) If the
person to whom a home solicitation is made expresses a clear and affirmative
unwillingness to listen, the person or persons presenting the home
solicitation shall immediately end the home solicitation and promptly
depart from the residence.
(F) Notwithstanding
any other provision of this article, the following persons shall be
ineligible for a permit or registration under this article:
(1) A
registered sex offender;
(2) A
person who has been convicted of or pleaded nolo contendere to the
offense of burglary of a residence within the past five (5) years;
(3) A
person who has been convicted of or pleaded nolo contendere to the
offense of theft, criminal trespass or criminal mischief within the
past two (2) years.
(G) No person
shall leave any unsolicited circular, unsolicited newspaper, unsolicited
pamphlet, unsolicited brochure, unsolicited flyer, unsolicited package,
unsolicited printed advertisement or other unsolicited printed material
at a residence at a place further than five (5) feet from the front
door of the residence.
(H) The
provisions of this section do not apply to anything lawfully delivered
through the United States mail.
(Ordinance 4749, sec. 1, adopted 2/15/94; Ordinance 5787, sec. 2, adopted 12/16/03; Ordinance 5964, sec. 4, adopted 1/10/06; Ordinance 6275, secs. 1, 2, adopted 10/7/08; Ordinance 6333, sec. 6, adopted 8/4/09)
(A) No person
shall engage in a commercial home distribution without first having
registered with the Chief of Police.
(B) A person
desiring to make a commercial home distribution within the City shall
make application to the Chief of Police for a registration on a form
provided by the Chief of Police. The registration application shall
include the following information:
(1) The
name, date of birth, and address of the person applying for the registration
and, in the case of a group registration as provided by subsection
(C), the names of each person who will be engaging in commercial home
distributions under the group registration;
(2) If the registrant or a person to be included in a group registration is under 16 years of age, a copy of the parental consent form required by section 51.0145 of the Texas Labor Code and the name, address, and telephone number of all persons who will be responsible for supervising the activities of the registrant pursuant to section
26.53(C) of this article; and
(3) A statement whether the person or persons being registered is or are qualified to obtain a registration under section
26.53(F) of this article.
The application must be signed by the applicant and shall be accompanied by a nonrefundable permit fee in the amount designated in the Master Fee and Rate Schedule, Article VII, Section 10.85, of Chapter 10, to compensate the City for the cost of administering this article. The applicant shall attach to the application a recent passport size photographic likeness of the applicant.
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(C) A person may apply for a group registration applicable to two or more persons who desire to engage in commercial home distributions. The registration application shall contain all of the information required by subsection
(B) for each person who will be engaging in commercial home distributions under the group registration. The application must be signed by a person responsible for the group application and shall be accompanied by a nonrefundable registration fee in the amount designated in the Master Fee and Rate Schedule, Article VII, Section
10.85, of Chapter
10, for each person to be included under the group application. The applicant for a group registration shall provide each person distributing under the applicant’s registration an identification badge which shall be worn and displayed while the person is engaging in a commercial home distribution.
(D) After
review of the registration application and within ten (10) working
days of the receipt of the application, the Chief of Police shall
either register the applicant on a registry to be maintained by the
Chief of Police and issue to the registrant a certificate of registration,
or notify the person applying that the application does not comply
with the requirements of this article, specifying why the application
is incomplete or otherwise does not comply. If the applicant is applying
for a group registration, the Chief of Police shall immediately issue
the registration certificate if the application is complete and the
application contains a verification signed under oath by the responsible
applicant.
(E) It shall
be unlawful for any person to file an application for a commercial
home distribution registration that contains any false statement of
fact.
(F) Except for a person engaging in a commercial home distribution under a group registration pursuant to subsection
(C), it shall be unlawful for any person to engage in a commercial home distribution without carrying the registration certificate issued by the Chief of Police on his or her person while so engaged or to display a registration certificate issued in the name of another person.
(G) Unless
sooner revoked under the provisions of this article, a commercial
home distribution registration shall be valid for one (1) year from
the date of issuance.
(H) The
Chief of Police may revoke a commercial home distribution registration
if the Chief of Police determines that reasonable cause exists to
believe that:
(1) A
statement of fact contained in the application was false or materially
misleading;
(2) The
registrant has failed to comply with any of the provisions of this
article; or
(3) Three
or more cumulative violations of any of the provisions of this article
have been committed by a person distributing under a registrant’s
group registration. The violations must have occurred in a consecutive
period of 12 months, and the registrant:
(a) Knowingly allowed such violations to occur;
(b) Did not make a reasonable effort to prevent the occurrence of such
violations; or
(c) Should have known that such violations were occurring or did occur.
The Chief of Police shall provide notice of the revocation by
certified mail, personal service, or courier-receipted commercial
delivery sent to the address provided on the registrant’s application.
The registrant may appeal the denial or revocation of a registration
certificate to the City Manager or a designated representative of
the City Manager by filing a written notice of appeal with the Chief
of Police within ten days of receipt of notice of the denial or revocation.
The City Manager (or the designated representative) shall render a
decision on the appeal within five days of the date of the hearing.
The decision of the City Manager or the designated representative
shall be final. A revocation shall remain in effect for a period of
18 months, during which time the registrant may not be issued another
commercial home solicitation registration.
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(Ordinance 4749, sec. 1, adopted 2/15/94; Ordinance 5964, adopted 1/10/06; Ordinance
6243, sec. 3, adopted 8/5/08; Ordinance 6333, sec. 7, adopted 8/4/09; Ordinance 7363 adopted 9/6/2022)