The intent of this article is to regulate and license the movement, location, business practices, and hours of operation of peddlers and solicitors in the Village of Shelby; to protect against misrepresentation, fraud and crime; to allow residents to determine their level of comfort with privacy; and to protect and health, safety and welfare of the residents of the Village.
[HISTORY: Adopted by the Village Council of Shelby as indicated in article histories. Amendments noted where applicable.]
[Adopted 11-12-2024 by Ord. No. 02-24]
This article shall be known and may be cited a the "Village of Shelby Solicitation Ordinance."
As used in this article, the following terms shall have the meanings indicated:
Any person who engages in peddling, and includes, but is not limited to, the words "hawker" or "street merchant."
Travelling by foot, vehicle or any other means, carrying goods for sale, including food products, goods, and wares, or attempting to take orders for the sale of food, goods, wares, books or magazines, or personal property, or for services to be furnished or performed presently or in the future, or whether the subject is collecting advanced payments on any sales, products, or services.
Any individual, firm, corporation, company, association, church, religious sect, society, organization, or league, and includes any agent or representative.
Requesting money, credit, financial assistance, or any other value, or offering for sale any goods, wares, merchandise, or service, by personal interview.
Except for those activities listed below, no person shall engage in peddling or soliciting without first obtaining a permit authorized by the Village Clerk/Treasurer, as provided in this article.
The following activities are exempt from this article:
A.
Solicitations made to a group in attendance at one location by invitation of a person or organization inviting attendance;
B.
Any solicitation pursuant to a political candidacy or ballot issue;
C.
Any peddler travelling on an established route at the express request of their customers;
D.
Salespersons calling on business establishments;
E.
The distribution of handbills or leaflets where the person distributing them does not provide estimates, accept payments, orders, or contributions.
Applications for a permit shall be completed and submitted to the Village Clerk/Treasurer, with the following information:
A.
Name of the person(s) who will engage in peddling within the Village, including current address, business address, telephone numbers, valid email address, driver's license or state ID numbers.
B.
A brief description of the activity to be conducted, including methods to be used and types of goods and products to be sold.
C.
Dates and hours for which the right to engage in peddling is sought.
D.
A statement as to whether the applicant or peddler has ever been convicted of a felony and/or any sexual offense and, if so, the date and location of conviction or offense, including a brief description of the offense.
E.
A current photograph of the person(s) who will be engaged in the peddling. Solicitors shall carry picture identification, such as a driver's license or state identification, along with the Village-issued permit and shall furnish those documentations upon request by any resident.
A.
Vehicular traffic. No peddler or solicitor shall block, obstruct, impede, or interfere with the normal flow of vehicular traffic within the Village unless authorized.
B.
"No soliciting" signs. No solicitor or peddler shall enter or remain on property that is posted "no solicitors," nor remain on any property after being requested to leave by the occupants.
C.
Threatening or harassing behavior. No solicitor or peddler shall threaten or harass any person in the course of their activities or cause a nuisance or pose a threat to the health and safety of another.
D.
Limitations. Solicitors and peddlers are limited to the sale or promotion of products and services specified on their application. Applications can be amended for a fee established by the Village Council and amended from time to time.
E.
Abusive activity. No person shall engage in abusive peddling or solicitation. Abusive activity shall include, but is not limited to, coming closer than three feet to the person being offered goods or services; blocking or impeding the passage of the person being solicited; repeated peddling after the person indicates objection to the sale; threatening a person with a gesture or physical harm; verbally abusing a person after rejection of a sale; touching the person being peddled without consent; or spraying any product without consent around the home in efforts to obligate the person being offered goods or services.
F.
Requests to leave doorway. No peddler or solicitor shall request a person to retrieve something from inside his/her home which requires them to leave the front door.
G.
Requests to enter home. No peddler or solicitor shall request a person being peddled to allow him/her access to the person's residence.
H.
Time limitations. Peddling or soliciting in the Village is permitted only from the hours of 11:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.
I.
Permit visibility. All persons shall, while engaging in solicitation and/or peddling within the Village limits, or while traveling within the Village for the purposes of soliciting and/or peddling, display their Village-issued solicitation permit conspicuously on their person in such a way that any resident or other person may readily, accurately, and definitively identify the person and determine the contents of the permit.
Any Village official or police officer may require any person seen soliciting or peddling to show proof of a Village-issued permit and identification. Permits may be denied or revoked for violation of any provision of this article. The Village Clerk/Treasurer shall provide a written notice of revocation, clearly stating the grounds for revocation, and mailed to the address listed on the permit. The solicitor or peddler revoked may file a written request to the Clerk/Treasurer's office for a hearing to appeal the revocation within 15 days from the date of revocation. The hearing shall be held by the Village President at a regularly scheduled Village Council meeting.
A permit obtained under this article shall not relieve a person of the responsibility for obtaining any other permit, license, or authorization required by any other ordinance, statute, or law.
Any person who violates, disobeys, omits, neglects, or refuses to comply with or resists the enforcement of this article shall be responsible for a municipal civil infraction, subject to § 1-2. Increased civil fines may be imposed for repeated violations, which means a second or subsequent municipal civil infraction violation committed by a person within any twenty-four-month period and for which a person admits responsibility or is determined to be responsible. The increased civil fine for repeat violations is set forth in § 1-2.
[Adopted 1-27-2025 by Ord. No. 03-24]
For the purposes of this article, the following words and phrases shall have the meanings respectively ascribed to them by this section:
Includes any person, firm, association, corporation, limited-liability company, partnership or two or more persons having a joint or common interest.
A truck, camper, trailer, tent, stand or similar mobile structure used to sell food, merchandise, goods, wares or services from a fixed location.
A.
A person shall not engage in business as a vendor truck without having first obtained a vendor truck license from the Village Clerk. A vendor truck license shall be obtained under the provisions of this article. A person, being a vendor truck operator, shall not peddle or engage in business in any manner in which a license is required in this chapter, unless the person is also licensed in accordance with the requirements of that article.
B.
The provisions of this section shall not apply to a person who has a regularly established place of business within the Village of Shelby and who is on the Village tax rolls.
Applications for a vendor truck license under the provisions of this article shall include the following information and other information that the Village Clerk may require:
A.
The full name and mailing address of the applicant at the time of the filing of the application.
B.
The full name and mailing address of the business or organization, if any, that will be engaged in the vendor truck business.
C.
If the business of the applicant shall require the use of weighing or measuring devices, then the application shall be accompanied by a certificate from the sealer of weights and measures stating that such devices have been examined and approved.
D.
The anticipated locations and dates where the vendor truck will be set up and operating for the licensing year.
E.
If the vendor truck will be selling food, a copy of the current and valid annual food service license issued by the local, County or State Health Department shall be submitted with the application.
F.
A description of the operation including:
(1)
Operating hours;
(2)
Merchandise, food, wares or services being sold;
(3)
Electricity or power requirements and how it will be supplied;
(4)
Water and sewer requirements and how they will be provided;
(5)
Garbage requirements and how it will be provided;
(6)
Bathroom facilities and how they will be provided.
For each vendor truck license issued under the provisions of this article, the licensee shall pay the fee established by a resolution adopted by Village Council. A licensee who sells goods, wares, merchandise or services for a religious organization, educational institution, other nonprofit or licensee who only operates under a contract with the Village of Shelby may be exempt from payment of an annual vendor truck license. A licensee who only gives away (no sales) prepackaged food may be exempt from payment of an annual vendor truck license.
No licensee under the provisions of this article shall do or perform any of the following things or acts:
A.
Posting license. Fail to post the license issued under the terms of this article in a conspicuous location at the place where his or her business is conducted, where it shall remain in plain sight during the entire time during which such business is carried on.
B.
Zoning. Conduct his or her business in any zone district besides commercial and industrial zoning districts.
C.
Building entrance or exit. Place or operate his or her business in the entrance or exit areas of any building or parking area so as to hinder ingress or egress to the building or property.
D.
Compliance with Code, etc. Violate any provision of this Code or any state or federal law relating to the business in which he or she is engaged, or any regulation which is promulgated and operative under any such law.
E.
Nuisance. Create a nuisance or violate any of the Village of Shelby ordinances.
The Village Administrator or any Village employee or officer designated by him or her shall be the enforcing officer of this article. Exceptions The standards above shall not apply to food trucks that do business, under a special event permit approved by the Village Council, for travelling on public rights-of-way from neighborhood to neighborhood, such as ice cream trucks. Such vendor trucks shall not be regulated by this article.
A person who violates a provision of this article is guilty of a Class II municipal civil infraction.