For the purpose of this division, the following terms shall
have the following meanings:
The purchase and sale of goods in an attempt to make a profit.
Goods, wares, or merchandise including but not limited to
fruits, vegetables, farm products or provisions, dairy products, pets,
animals, fish, game, poultry, meat, plants, flowers, appliances, wearing
apparel, jewelry, ornaments, artwork, cosmetics and beauty aids, health
products, medicines, household or garden items or furnishings, food
of any kind, whether or not for immediate consumption, confections
or drinks. Nothing in this article shall allow the exhibiting, display
or sale of any merchandise that is indecent, profane, obscene, or
vulgar.
Soliciting, selling, or taking orders, or offering to take
orders, for any commodity or services which, at the time the order
is taken, are in or will be produced in any federal district or territory,
any commonwealth, or any state other than the state [of Texas], and
shipped or introduced into this city in the fulfillment of such orders.
Any person who exhibits, displays, sells, or offers for sale
any commodity from a stand located on public or private property or
on the streets of the city. This definition does not include:
A door-to-door “peddler” or “solicitor”
as defined in this code;
Activities authorized by a “special event permit”
issued pursuant to this code;
A “temporary use permit” pursuant to the city’s
unified development code; and
Persons selling agricultural products, which are raised or produced
by them, within the city farmers’ market.
Persons who offer food or drink or other commodities for
sale from a motor vehicle or any other conveyance in a public place.
Every motor vehicle or any other conveyance used to vend
food or drink on city streets.
Any person, firm or corporation who owns, leases, contracts,
or in any other manner operates or permits a person to operate upon
the city streets any motor vehicles for the purpose of vending as
herein defined.
The ground, or any place, showcase, table, bench, rack, handcart,
pushcart, stall, booth, vehicle or any other fixture or device or
thing that is used for the purpose of displaying, exhibiting, carrying,
transporting, storing, selling, or offering for sale any commodity.
All areas open to public use as public streets and sidewalks,
roadways, highways, parkways, alleys, and any other public way.
Offering food or drink for sale from a motor vehicle on the
city streets.
(Ordinance 22-O-04.13-01, sec. 4.03.051,
adopted 4/13/2022)
The special provisions set forth in this division shall apply
to mobile street vendors and operators as herein defined and shall
supersede any conflicting provisions found elsewhere in the city code.
(Ordinance 22-O-04.13-01, sec. 4.03.052,
adopted 4/13/2022)
(a)
Any
person who violates or fails to comply with the provisions of any
section of this division is guilty of a class C misdemeanor and upon
conviction shall be punished by a fine not greater than five hundred
dollars ($500.00).
(b)
A
peace officer may impound a vehicle used for the sale of a commodity
that is placed, parked, or maintained on a street in violation of
this division.
(Ordinance 22-O-04.13-01, sec. 4.03.053,
adopted 4/13/2022)
No itinerant vendor may conduct business activities defined
in this division, without prior invitation or appointment with the
occupant of the premises, before 9:00 a.m. and after 8:00 p.m. on
any day.
(Ordinance 22-O-04.13-01, sec. 4.03.053,
adopted 4/13/2022)
The following rules and regulations shall be complied with by
each itinerant vendor. It shall be unlawful for any itinerant vendor
to sell or attempt to sell any commodity:
(1)
By
means of any outcry, sound, speaker or amplifier, or any instrument,
or device, which can be heard for a distance greater than three hundred
feet;
(2)
In
any manner that distracts drivers, such as by displaying fluttering,
undulating, rotating, spinning, or waving devices, whether or not
such devices are for sale;
(3)
Within
1,000 feet of a hospital, college, elementary school, middle school,
or high school;
(4)
In
such a way that pedestrian or motor vehicle traffic is obstructed;
(5)
In
such a way that obstructs traffic signals or regulatory signs;
(6)
Having
signage that is not in compliance with the provisions of the unified
development code; or
(7)
In
such a place or in a way as would restrict or interfere with the ingress
or egress of the abutting property owner or tenant, create a nuisance,
increase traffic congestion or delay, constitute a hazard to traffic,
life or property, or obstruct adequate access to city vehicles, including
emergency and sanitation vehicles.
(Ordinance 22-O-04.13-01, sec. 4.03.054,
adopted 4/13/2022)
Mobile street vendors shall be required to comply, and it shall
be an offense not to comply, with any of the following special requirements:
(1)
A
person shall vend only when the motor vehicle is lawfully stopped.
(2)
A
person shall vend only from the side of the motor vehicle away from
moving traffic and as near as possible to the curb or side of the
street.
(3)
A
person shall not vend to a person standing in the roadway.
(4)
A
person shall not stop on the left side of a one-way street to vend.
(5)
A
person shall not stop in a congested area where vending might impede
or inconvenience the public.
(6)
A
person shall not vend in a street adjacent to a public school.
(7)
A
person shall not stop a motor vehicle for purposes of vending within
one hundred (100) feet of a street intersection.
(8)
No
mobile street vendor shall be in operation, doing business, or going
from place to place before 7:00 a.m. or after 8:00 p.m. A violation
of this subsection shall be a misdemeanor offense.
(9)
A
mobile food vendor shall not use any outcry, sound, speaker or amplifier,
or any instrument or device which can be heard for a distance greater
than three hundred feet.
(Ordinance 22-O-04.13-01, sec. 4.03.055,
adopted 4/13/2022)
For purposes of this division, the judgment of a police officer
exercised in good faith shall be deemed conclusive as to whether the
area is congested or the public impeded or inconvenienced or a stop
is for a temporary or stationary period of time.
(Ordinance 22-O-04.13-01, sec. 4.03.056,
adopted 4/13/2022)
It shall be unlawful for any itinerant vendor or mobile street
vendor to engage in business [as defined] in this division within
the incorporated city limits without first obtaining a permit from
the city.
(Ordinance 22-O-04.13-01, sec. 4.03.057,
adopted 4/13/2022)
Any person desiring to engage in activities as an itinerant
vendor or mobile street vendor within the city must file a written
application for a permit with the city manager or his/her designee
at least twenty-one (21) days prior to the initial contemplated sale
or exhibit. Each applicant shall provide the following information:
(1)
Full
name and address of the itinerant vendor, including current telephone
number;
(2)
Proof
of identity, including date of birth, a copy of a current driver’s
license or identification card, and a recent photographic likeness
of the applicant’s face;
(3)
The
location of the applicant’s principal office and place of business;
(4)
If
the applicant is employed by another, the name, date of birth, and
addresses of the person, firm, association, organization, company,
or corporation;
(5)
A
complete department of public safety (DPS) criminal history, issued
within ninety (90) days of the date of application, for the applicant
and each individual involved and/or the owners of the entity making
the application, as well as for all workers, helpers, employees, assistants,
agents, or other persons who will be on the site;
(6)
If
a motor vehicle is to be used, a description of the vehicle together
with the vehicle identification number and license plate number;
(7)
If
the vending is to occur on private property, written proof of the
property owner’s permission must accompany the application,
and must include a statement from the owner as to the exact dates
and times that the applicant is allowed to conduct itinerant vendor
activities on the owner’s property;
(8)
A
statement detailing the type and character of the commodity to be
sold, offered for sale, or exhibited. Nothing in this article shall
allow the exhibiting, display, or sale of any merchandise that is
indecent, profane, obscene, or vulgar;
(9)
A
copy of the applicant’s state limited sales and use tax permit;
and
(10)
If the commodity being vended is food or drink, a copy of the Williamson
County and Cities Health District permit.
(Ordinance 22-O-04.13-01, sec. 4.03.058,
adopted 4/13/2022; Ordinance adopting
2023 Code)
The provisions of this division concerning permit requirements
shall not apply to a person who come within any of the following classifications:
(1)
Persons
engaged in a business or activity which the state or federal government
has exclusive authority to regulate.
(2)
Persons
living in the city that hold a garage sale.
(3)
Persons
engaged in business activity at the express invitation of the occupant
or owner of such house or business.
(4)
Individuals
who are engaged in, belong to, or are a member of an entity of the
Liberty Hill Independent School District, a qualified civic organization,
a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, or a religious organization, as
determined by the chief of police, for the express purpose of fundraising,
when no other permits are required. The determination of the chief
of police may be appealed to the city council if written notice is
filed with the city secretary within ten (10) days of said determination.
(5)
Governmental
entities.
(6)
Lemonade
stands and similar activities conducted and operated entirely by children
under the age of sixteen (16) years and upon the private residential
premises of such children.
(Ordinance 22-O-04.13-01, sec. 4.03.059,
adopted 4/13/2022)
(a)
Established.
The permit application shall be accompanied by fees for each vehicle or stand used in vending in accordance with the fee schedule in appendix A of this code.
(b)
Exemptions.
No fee shall be charged to any bona fide
certified charitable, religious, educational, or philanthropic organization,
or persons engaged in interstate commerce.
(Ordinance 22-O-04.13-01, sec. 4.03.060,
adopted 4/13/2022; Ordinance adopting
2023 Code)
Upon receipt of a completed application and fees, the city manager
or his/her designee shall review the application and consider the
issuance of a permit authorizing the sale, exhibit for sale, offer
for sale, or exhibit for the purpose of taking orders for the sale
thereof in the city for a period not to exceed one hundred and eighty
(180) days. The permit is not transferable or assignable. The itinerant
vendor permit or mobile street vendor permit must be conspicuously
displayed at all times during the operation of the vending business.
A person commits an offense under this division if the person fails
to display the itinerant vendor permit or mobile street vendor permit
to a peace officer or code enforcement officer during the time the
person is operating at the permitted location.
(Ordinance 22-O-04.13-01, sec. 4.03.061,
adopted 4/13/2022)
The city manager or his/her designee may not issue a permit
under this division unless the city’s director of planning (or
his/her designee) has reviewed the request for a permit and determines
that the proposed location:
(1)
Has
been approved by the state department of transportation engineer if
the location involves a right-of-way covered by a state-city maintenance
agreement;
(2)
Has
[not] been the site of more than three motor vehicle accidents during
the 12-month period immediately preceding the date of the application;
(3)
Has
a turnout, curbside parking, or other parking space available that
may be used to transact a sale;
(4)
Is
not expected to cause excessive vehicle delays, vehicle surges, or
lane changes;
(5)
Has
customary street traffic volumes that do not significantly impede
the flow of vehicular traffic;
(6)
Complies
with the provisions of section 552.007 (solicitation by pedestrians)
of the Texas Transportation Code and section 42.03 (obstructing highway
or other passageway) of the Texas Penal Code;
(7)
Is
not expected to cause or significantly contribute to street congestion
or make access to abutting public or private property unreasonably
inconvenient or hazardous;
(8)
Is
not expected to impede the flow of street traffic to make the use
of the street unreasonably inconvenient or hazardous; or
(9)
If
other permits are issued for that location for the same time period(s),
and whether the applicant has failed to pay any outstanding debts,
fines, or fees owed to the city or a consumer.
(Ordinance 22-O-04.13-01, sec. 4.03.062,
adopted 4/13/2022; Ordinance adopting
2023 Code)
A permit may be renewed, provided an application for renewal
and permit fees are received by the city no later than the expiration
date of the current permit. Any application received after that date
shall be processed as a new application. The city manager or his/her
designee shall review each application for renewal, and upon determining
that the applicant is in full compliance with the provisions of this
division, shall issue a new permit.
(Ordinance 22-O-04.13-01, sec. 4.03.063,
adopted 4/13/2022; Ordinance adopting
2023 Code)
(a)
In
addition to the penalties contained herein, any permit issued under
this division may be suspended or revoked for any of the following
reasons:
(1)
Fraud, misrepresentation or knowingly making a false statement in
the application for the permit;
(2)
Fraud, misrepresentation or knowingly making a false statement in
the course of carrying on the business of vending;
(3)
Refusing to fully reimburse a consumer if provided with timely notice
of the consumer’s intent to cancel the transaction and return
of the commodity;
(4)
Conducting the business of vending in any manner contrary to the
conditions of the permit or this division;
(5)
Conducting the business of vending in such a manner as to create
a public nuisance, cause a breach of peace, constitute a danger to
the public health, safety, welfare, or morals, or interfere with the
rights of abutting property owners; or
(6)
Violating any other applicable city code provision.
(b)
The
city manager or his/her designee shall provide written notice of the
suspension or revocation in a brief statement setting forth the complaint,
the grounds for suspension or revocation, and notifying the permitted
itinerant vendor or mobile street vendor permittee of the right to
appeal. Such notice shall be mailed to the address on the itinerant
vendor application by certified mail, return receipt requested, or
presented in person or via hand delivery to the itinerant vendor.
(c)
If
the city revokes an itinerant vendor permit or mobile street vendor
permit, the fee already paid shall be forfeited. A person whose permit
has been revoked under this division may not apply for a new permit
for a period of one year from the date that the revocation took effect.
(Ordinance 22-O-04.13-01, sec. 4.03.064,
adopted 4/13/2022; Ordinance adopting
2023 Code)
