The purpose of this chapter is to regulate commercial peddling
and solicitation and other transient retail business activities conducted
in the Township of Mount Pleasant; and to establish use-of-street
restrictions and hours of canvassing and soliciting for canvassers
and solicitors.
For the purposes of this chapter, the following terms shall
have the meanings set forth below, unless a different meaning clearly
appears from the text:
CANVASS
The act of going upon the property or approaching people
on property to discuss or explain issues, which shall include religious
proselytizing, exercising an individual's right to freedom of
speech, or campaigning for political votes, and which does not include
the sale of goods or products.
CANVASSER
A person who engages in canvassing.
COMMERCIAL SOLICITATION
The practice of going in and upon private residences and
appurtenant lots in the Township by salesmen, solicitors, peddlers,
hawkers, itinerant merchants or transient vendors of merchandise or
services, not having been requested or invited so to do by the owner
or owners, occupant or occupants of said private residences, for the
purpose of soliciting orders for the sale of services, goods, wares
or merchandise or of disposing of or peddling or hawking the same,
or otherwise engaging in transient retail business activities within
the Township.
MERCHANDISE OR SERVICES
Any goods or services, including but not limited to magazines,
periodicals, books and orders or contracts for services, home improvements
or alterations.
PEDDLE
The act of going on the property or approaching people on
property to sell goods, merchandise, products or services, or otherwise
engaging in transient retail business activities within the Township.
PEDDLER
A person who engages in peddling.
PERSON
Any natural person, corporation, association or organization,
partnership, trust, foundation or other entity, however styled, including
but not limited to business organizations, commercial co-venturers
and commercial solicitors.
SOLICIT
The act of going upon property or approaching people on property
to ask for, request or seek monetary contributions, donations or support.
TOWNSHIP
The Township of Mount Pleasant, Washington County, Pennsylvania.
TRANSIENT RETAIL BUSINESS
Engaging in peddling, soliciting, or taking orders, either
by sample or otherwise, for any goods, wares or merchandise upon any
street, alley, sidewalk, road, highway or public ground, or door-to-door,
within the Township; or selling, soliciting, or taking orders for
any goods, wares or merchandise from a fixed location within the Township
of Mount Pleasant on a temporary basis, which shall include, but not
be limited to, such activities conducted at the time of special occasions
or celebrations, for seasonal purposes, or for yearly holidays.
From and after the passage of this chapter, it shall not be lawful for any person or persons, partnership or corporation to be engaged or concerned in the business or employment of selling produce, wares, goods, and other merchandise and solicitations of subscriptions or money, or any of them, from house to house, upon the public streets, alleys, or highways at wholesale or retail, or otherwise engaging in transient retail business activities within the Township, without first having taken out a license as hereinafter provided. No person, except as otherwise provided herein at §
146-4, shall peddle or engage in the practice of going in and upon private residences and appurtenant lots in the Township by salesmen, solicitors, peddlers, hawkers, itinerant merchants or transient vendors of merchandise or services, not having been requested or invited so to do by the owner or owners, occupant or occupants of said private residences, for the purpose of soliciting orders for the sale of services, goods, wares or merchandise or of disposing of or peddling or hawking the same, unless such person has obtained a commercial solicitor's license as required by §§
146-5 through
146-9 of this chapter issued by the Township Police Department.
Any person desiring to procure a commercial solicitor license
as herein provided shall file with the Township Police a verified
application.
Each applicant for a commercial solicitor license shall, at
the time of applying, file with the Township Police an application,
in writing, which shall give the following information:
A. Age and physical description of applicant and each such agent and
employee.
B. Complete permanent home and local address of applicant and his agents
or employees.
C. Name and address of the organization or person for whom the commercial
solicitation is being made.
D. Description of the nature of the commercial solicitation or a description
of the purpose or causes for which the commercial solicitation is
being made.
E. The days, dates and route of the applicant's commercial solicitation
in the Township.
F. A statement as to whether or not the applicant or any of such agents
or employees have been convicted of or pleaded guilty to a felony
or misdemeanor, where and when so convicted, the nature of the offense
and the punishment or penalty, if any.
G. A current background investigation for each applicant or an authorization
allowing the release of the applicant's Pennsylvania criminal
history record information to the Township.
H. The make, model, year, color and license plate number of automobiles
used by the applicant and such agents and employees during the period
of solicitation within the Township, and the numbers of their drivers'
licenses and the states of issuance.
The Township Police shall approve or disapprove a commercial solicitor license application within five business days of submission. Approval shall not be unreasonably withheld. If the commercial solicitor license application is denied for any reason, the applicant may appeal the decision to the Township Board of Supervisors as provided in §
146-10 of this chapter.
Each licensee shall carry the commercial solicitor license at
all times when in the Township and shall exhibit it to any citizen
or Township official upon request. At the conclusion of the period
for which the commercial solicitor license was issued, said solicitor's
license shall be surrendered to the Township Police for cancellation.
In the event that an application for a commercial solicitor
license is disapproved by the Township Police, or the Township Police
upholds the suspension or confiscation of a solicitor's license
for a violation of this chapter, the applicant may, within five days
of the denial, appeal the decision to the Township Board of Supervisors,
which shall set a time and place for hearing. This hearing shall be
held within 45 days after the appeal is taken by the applicant, at
which hearing the applicant will be given opportunity to present reasons
why the commercial solicitor license should be issued. The decision
of the Board of Supervisors shall be made within 10 days of the appeal
hearing.
No person who has obtained a commercial solicitor license or
any salesperson, solicitors, peddlers, hawkers, itinerant merchants
or transient vendors of merchandise or services (not having been requested
or invited to do so by the owner or owners, occupant or occupants
of said private residences for the purpose of soliciting orders for
the sale of services, goods, wares or merchandise or of disposing
of or peddling or hawking the same) shall solicit in the Township
without first obtaining from the Township Police a list of all persons,
and their addresses, who have specifically requested that canvassers
and solicitors not solicit such persons at any time. The Township
shall maintain and make the list of registered owners available to
canvassers in the Township electronically without charge.
No person shall canvass, solicit, distribute circulars or other
matter or call from house to house or place to place in the Township
of any person who has specifically requested that canvassers and solicitors
not solicit such persons at any time.
Solicitation and canvassing in the Township are subject to the
following additional requirements:
A. No canvasser or solicitor shall have an exclusive right to any location
in the streets or other public passages of the Township, be permitted
a stationary location thereon, or be permitted to obstruct such streets
and public passages thereby rendering such street or public passage
impassable without unnecessary inconvenience or hazard.
B. No commercial peddling, solicitation, or other transient business
activity shall be permitted on Sunday; on any legal holiday (i.e.,
any holiday on which the Washington County Courts are closed); or
on any day before 9:00 a.m. or after 9:00 p.m. EST.
C. Any licensee or person, whether as an individual, representative,
principal, agent, employer or employee, obtaining a solicitor's
license shall:
(1) Not falsely or fraudulently misrepresent the quantity, character
or quality of any article offered for sale or offer for sale any tainted
or damaged provisions or merchandise;
(2) Not engage in peddling or soliciting upon any premises or residence
located thereon if such premises or residence is posted against solicitation
by means of a notice, upon which is printed a "no solicitors" or a
"no trespassing" sign;
(3) Not engage in peddling or soliciting after being asked to leave the
premises or residence by the owner or occupant;
(4) Not peddle or solicit home improvement services without being compliant
with the Pennsylvania Home Improvement Consumer Protection Act.
D. No registrant shall be permitted to solicit or canvass on any holiday
on which the Washington County Courts are closed.
No commercial solicitor license issued under the provisions
of this chapter shall be used at any time by any person other than
the one to whom it was issued.
A police officer observing a violation of this chapter may take
one or more of the following actions:
A. The officer may issue a verbal or written warning to the violator
to cease and desist the activity that is in violation of this chapter.
B. If the person is in possession of a solicitor's license, the
officer may confiscate the license and return it to the Township Police
Department within 24 hours with a written explanation of the violation.
In the event a solicitor's license is returned to the Township
Police after confiscation, the commercial solicitor whose solicitor's
license has been confiscated shall have three working days in which
to request an administrative review of the suspension by the Township
Police. If the request for administrative review is not made within
three working days, the solicitor's license is revoked.
C. The officer may issue the violator a nontraffic citation for a violation of this chapter pursuant to the Pennsylvania Rules of Criminal Procedure, during which proceedings the Magisterial District Judge may revoke the commercial solicitor license pursuant to §
146-16 hereof.
Any person, firm or corporation who shall violate any provision
of this chapter, upon conviction thereof in an action brought before
a Magisterial District Judge in the manner provided for the enforcement
of summary offenses under the Pennsylvania Rules of Criminal Procedure,
shall be sentenced to pay a fine of not more than $1,000 plus costs
and, in default of payment of said fine and costs, to a term of imprisonment
not to exceed 90 days. Each day that a violation of this chapter continues
or each section of this chapter which shall be found to have been
violated shall constitute a separate offense.