[HISTORY: Adopted by the Township Council of the Township of Willingboro as indicated in article histories. Amendments noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Business licensing — See Ch. 121.
Licensing — See Ch. 214.
Seasonal outdoor sales — See Ch. 285.
[Derived from Sec. 5-1 of the 2003 Revised General Ordinances]
When used in this article, the following terms shall have the following meanings:
NON-PROFIT-MAKING VENDOR
A person who sells goods, the proceeds of which are devoted exclusively to the purpose of a philanthropic, charitable or religious society on whose behalf the person acts as agent, with or without pay, but excluding those individuals or organizations soliciting funds or other things of value for which no merchandise, wares or services are required.[1]
PEDDLER and HAWKER
Includes any person, whether a resident of the Township of Willingboro or not, who goes from house to house, from place to place or from street to street conveying or transporting goods, wares or merchandise and offering or exposing the goods, wares or merchandise for sale or making sales and delivering articles to purchasers.
[1]
Editor's Note: The original definition of "itinerant merchant and transient vendor," which immediately preceded this definition, was repealed at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I).
A. 
This article, except as provided in § 257-13, shall not affect any non-profit-making vendor or any person duly licensed by the Commissioner of Banking and Insurance or the Real Estate Commission of the State of New Jersey.
B. 
The terms of this article shall not be held to include the acts of persons selling personal property at wholesale to dealers in such articles, and nothing contained herein shall be held to prohibit any sale required by statute or by order of any court.
C. 
This article shall not affect any person engaged in delivering wares, goods, or merchandise, or other articles or things in the regular course of business, to the premises of the person ordering or entitled to receive the wares, goods, merchandise or other articles or things.
It shall be unlawful for any hawker or peddler, as defined in this article, to engage in any such business or operations in the Township of Willingboro without having first obtained a license therefor in compliance with the provisions of this article and, in any event, only in accordance with the terms and provisions of this article and only in parts or locations of the Township of Willingboro as permitted herein.
A. 
Applicants for a license under this article must file with the Township Clerk a sworn application, in writing, which shall give the following information:
(1) 
Name and physical description of the applicant.
(2) 
Complete permanent home and local address of the applicant.
(3) 
A description of the nature of the business and the goods, services or wares to be sold.
(4) 
If employed, the name and address of the employer, together with credentials therefrom establishing the exact relationship.
(5) 
The length of time for which the right to do business is desired and the days of the week and the hours of the day within which the business will be conducted.
(6) 
The source of supply of the goods or property or services proposed to be sold; where the goods, services or products are located; and the method of delivery.
(7) 
Three recent photographs of the applicant, which shall be approximately two inches by two inches, showing the head and shoulders of the applicant in a clear and distinguishing manner.
(8) 
Appropriate evidence as to the good character and business responsibility of the applicant as will enable an investigator to properly evaluate the applicant's character and business responsibility.
(9) 
A statement as to whether or not the applicant has been convicted of any crime, misdemeanor or violation of any municipal ordinance other than traffic violations; the nature of the offense; and the punishment or penalty assessed therefor.
B. 
The applicant shall be fingerprinted, if requested by the Director of Public Safety, who shall determine whether the fingerprints are necessary for proper identification, which fingerprint records shall be immediately processed for classification and identification.
C. 
At the time of filing the application, a fee as provided in § 150-9A of the Code of the Township of Willingboro shall be paid to the Township Clerk to cover the costs of investigation of the facts stated herein.
D. 
No license shall be issued until the application shall have been approved by the Police Department, allowing adequate time for investigation of the facts stated in the application.
E. 
Applications for partners shall be signed by all partners, with the foregoing provisions of this section answered in detail as to each partner, and applications of corporations shall have attached thereto individual statements, in accordance with all of the provisions of this article relating to each and every employee, agent or servant who shall engage in any of the functions authorized by this article and signed by each agent, servant or employee, and full compliance herewith by each individual.
Each application shall be referred to the Director of Public Safety or officer in charge of the Police Department who shall immediately institute such investigation of the applicant's business and moral character as the Director or officer in charge deems necessary for the protection of the public good and shall endorse the application in the manner prescribed in this article within a reasonable period of time after it has been filed by the applicant. If, as a result of the investigation, the applicant's character or business responsibility is found to be unsatisfactory or the products or services are not free from fraud, the Director of Public Safety shall endorse on the application the Director's disapproval and the Director's reasons for the disapproval and shall return the application to the Township Clerk, who shall notify the applicant that the application is disapproved and that no license will be issued.
Every applicant for a license under this article shall pay a license fee as provided in § 150-9A of the Code of the Township of Willingboro.
Prior to the issuance of any license or permit to any licensee, the prospective licensee shall file with the Township Clerk a bond to the Township in the amount of $1,000, which bond shall be executed by the proposed licensee, as principal, and a surety company licensed to do business in the State of New Jersey. The bond shall be in accordance with and for the purposes provided in N.J.S.A. 45:24-5, and the bond shall remain in force for the term of the license to be issued and shall be conditioned as follows:
A. 
To indemnify and pay the Township of Willingboro any penalties or costs incurred in the enforcement of any of the provisions of this article and to indemnify or reimburse any purchaser of personal property from the licensee in a sum equal to at least the amount of any payment the purchaser may have been induced to make through the misrepresentation as to the kind, quality or value of the personal property, whether the misrepresentations were made by the licensee or the licensee's agents, servants, or employees either at the time of making the sale or through any advertisement printed or circulated with reference to the personal property or any part thereof.
B. 
The bond shall be declared forfeited upon proof of falsification in the application for a license.
C. 
The bond shall be deemed forfeited upon proof of the violation of any of the provisions of this article by the licensee or the licensee's agents, servants or employees.
A. 
All licensees who shall offer to sell, display for sale or sell or deliver fruits and vegetables and farm products from any vehicles which are wholly or in part open on any of the sides thereof shall, at all times, keep all fruits, vegetables and produce of any kind and nature completely screened and covered with satisfactory materials in order to avoid and eliminate the accumulation of flies or any other insects from alighting around or upon any and all the merchandise.
B. 
All licensees offering for sale, displaying for sale, selling or delivering seafood, meats, poultry or dairy products shall transport the same solely in refrigerated vehicles, and all the products shall remain in the refrigerated portion of the vehicle at all times to the time of sale or delivery, and the refrigerated portion, during the uses thereof in accordance herewith, shall be maintained at a properly low temperature to completely safeguard all of the products from a health and sanitary standpoint to the fullest reasonable extent possible for safety and welfare of the public.
C. 
No licensee shall at any time permit any waste materials or parts of produce or any other merchandise to remain in or upon any street, roadway, curb, or walk, and the licensee shall at all times remove any debris that may have fallen from the vehicle, so that the same is immediately placed in the metal containers, as hereinabove provided.
D. 
All sales of merchandise by any licensee shall, at the time of the sale, be placed in bags or other like suitable containers when the same shall be handed to customers of the licensee.
A. 
No licensee shall at any time permit any debris, waste material, rotting produce or merchandise of any kind or any unfit product to remain in or upon the vehicle, unless the same is contained in a metal leakproof container having a metal properly fitted cover on the container.
B. 
No licensee shall sell or attempt to sell any article to pedestrian or vehicular traffic, other than when the licensee's vehicle shall be properly parked immediately adjacent to the curb of a public street in a permitted locality, and the licensee shall at no time double park when dealing with any of the licensee's trade and in no event shall transact business operations other than on the curb side of the licensee's vehicle.
C. 
The licensee shall prohibit, as reasonably as possible, the eating of any merchandise directly from the licensee's vehicle.
D. 
Before a licensee shall use a vehicle or mode of transportation in furtherance of the permitted business, the licensee shall submit the vehicle to the Township of Willingboro Director of Health for inspection and approval relative to compliance with this article and shall, whenever requested during the term of the license, submit the vehicle for reasonable reinspections for that purpose. No vehicle or mode of transportation shall be used by any licensee unless it has been approved for use by the Director of Health, and the written approval shall remain in and upon the vehicle at all times and shall be shown by the operator thereof to any member of the Township of Willingboro Police Department, any official of the Township of Willingboro, or any member of the public who may request to be shown the same.
A. 
No person subject to the provisions of this article shall sell or attempt to sell in accordance with the terms of this article except as set forth in the preceding sections before 8:00 a.m. and not after 9:00 p.m., Mondays through Saturdays, except where expressly invited in the home of the occupant thereof, and except as further provided in Subsection B below.
B. 
No peddler or hawker shall sell or attempt to sell any manufactured, ready-to-eat food products such as ice cream or custard on days when public school is in session, except between the hours of 3:30 p.m. to 9:00 p.m., and on other days, between the hours of 10:00 a.m. and 9:00 p.m., prevailing time, subject to all other restrictions, and except as provided in § 257-12 herein. This section shall be strictly construed.
Every person to whom a license is issued under the terms of this article shall be governed by the following rules and regulations:
A. 
All circulars, samples or other matter shall be handed to an occupant of the property or left in a secure place located on the premises.
B. 
No person subject to the terms of this article shall enter or attempt to enter the house of any resident in the Township of Willingboro without an express invitation from the occupant of the house.
C. 
No person subject to this article shall behave in a manner so as to become objectionable to or annoy an occupant of any house.
D. 
No licensee or any person in the licensee's behalf shall shout, cry out, blow a horn, ring a bell or use any sound-making or amplifying device upon any of the streets, parks or other public places of the Township or upon private premises where sound of sufficient volume is emitted or produced therefrom to be capable of being plainly heard upon the streets, avenues, parks or other public places for the purpose of attracting attention to any goods, wares, merchandise or services which the licensee proposes to sell, with the exception that such sound shall be permitted as may attract attention but which will not disturb the peace, quiet and comfort of the inhabitants, providing the sound is produced or caused to be produced only between the hours of 9:00 a.m. and 12:00 noon and between 2:00 p.m. and 9:00 p.m., prevailing time, in the months of April through September, inclusive, and between the hours of 9:00 a.m. and 12:00 noon and between 2:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m., prevailing time, in the months of October through March, inclusive.
E. 
All licensees and their respective vehicles or modes of transportation in carrying on their permitted business shall at all times fully comply with all of the terms, covenants and conditions of this article and all other applicable municipal ordinances and all other applicable state laws, regulations or provisions pertaining thereto and particularly, but not in limitation thereof, that may deal with provisions of health, safety and general welfare.
No licensee shall have any exclusive right to any location in the public streets, nor shall any licensee be permitted a stationary location thereon, except as hereinafter provided, nor shall any be permitted to operate in a congested area where the operation might impede or inconvenience the public use of the streets. For the purpose of this article, the judgment of a police officer, exercised in good faith, shall be deemed conclusive as to whether the area is congested and the public impeded or inconvenienced. For special events to which the public is generally invited, stationary sales will be permitted, subject to all other restrictions, for the hours commencing 1/2 hour before the start of the public event and terminating 1/2 hour after the conclusion of the public event.
A. 
Any non-profit-making vendor shall be exempt from §§ 257-4, 257-5, 257-6 and 257-14, provided there is filed with the Township Clerk or Director of Public Safety a sworn application which shall give the following information:
(1) 
Name and purpose of the cause for which the permit is sought.
(2) 
Names and addresses of the officers of the organization.
(3) 
Names and addresses of the agents or representatives who will sell goods in the Township.
B. 
Upon being satisfied that the person is a non-profit-making vendor, the Township Clerk or Director of Public Safety shall endorse the approval on the application. Each representative or agent of the non-profit-making vendor shall carry proper identification or credentials indicating the name of the organization and the name and address of the representative and shall display same upon request.
A. 
Any veteran who holds a special state license issued under the laws of the State of New Jersey shall be exempt from securing a license as provided herein for hawking and peddling, but shall be required to comply with all other applicable sections of this article and shall be required to produce from the Township Clerk a special veterans permit, which shall be issued by the Township Clerk upon proper identification.
B. 
Any person to whom a valid mercantile license shall have been issued under provision of laws other than this article shall be exempt from securing a license as provided in this article, but the person or persons' employees, agents or servants shall be required to procure from the Township Clerk a permit, upon proper identification and compliance herewith.
Licensees are required to exhibit their certificate of license at the request of any citizen or member of the Police Department.
The Director of Public Safety shall report to the Township Clerk all convictions for violation of this article, and the Township Clerk shall maintain a record for each license issued and shall record the reports of violation therein.
Before any license shall be issued, the prospective licensee shall file with the Township Clerk a certificate of insurance issued by an insurance company licensed to do business in the State of New Jersey, showing insurance for liability arising out of the operation of any motor vehicle to be utilized by the prospective licensee in the conduct of the licensed business in an amount of at least $100,000 to $300,000, with the notation on the certificate that the policy of insurance shall not be canceled or otherwise changed without at least 30 days' prior notice thereof to the Township Clerk.
[Added 3-5-2013 by Ord. No. 2013-1]
Any person violating the provisions of this article shall, upon conviction, be punishable as provided in Chapter 1, Article II, General Penalty.
[Derived from Sec. 5-2 of the 2003 Revised General Ordinances]
As used in this article, the following terms shall have the meanings indicated:
CANVASSER or SOLICITOR
A person who goes from house to house or place to place selling goods, wares and merchandise by sample or taking orders for future delivery, with or without accepting an advance payment for the goods or offering to purchase any real property or any interest in real property either on their own behalf or as an agent or broker on behalf of any third party. The provisions of this article shall apply to the person who comes in personal contact with the buyer through the delivery of the goods or the acceptance of any money in payment thereof. For purposes of this article, a canvasser or solicitor shall also be deemed to be anyone who is not in the business of selling goods, but rather makes surveys, research analyses, opinion polls, rating data and any similar work, the nature of which involves a door-to-door or place-to-place activity.
[Amended 3-5-2013 by Ord. No. 2013-1; 2-6-2024 by Ord. No. 2024-1]
A. 
This article shall not apply to anyone who solicits any votes or support of a bona fide political candidate seeking public office.
B. 
This article shall not affect any person engaged in delivering wares, goods, or merchandise, or other articles or things in the regular course of business, to the premises of the person ordering or entitled to receive the same.
No person except as in this article provided shall canvass, solicit, distribute circulars or other matter or call from house to house in the Township of Willingboro without first having reported to and received a written license from the Township Clerk or Director of Public Safety.
A. 
Applicants for a license under this article must file with the Township Clerk or Director of Public Safety a sworn application, in writing, which shall give the following information:
(1) 
Name and physical description of the applicant.
(2) 
Complete permanent home and local address of the applicant.
(3) 
A description of the nature of the business and the goods, services or wares to be sold.
(4) 
If employed, the name and address of the employer, together with credentials therefrom establishing the exact relationship.
(5) 
The length of time for which the right to do business is desired and the days of the week and the hours of the day within which the business will be conducted.
(6) 
The source of supply of the goods or property or services proposed to be sold; where the goods, services or products are located; and the method of delivery.
(7) 
Three recent photographs of the applicant, which shall be approximately two inches by two inches, showing the head and shoulders of the applicant in a clear and distinguishing manner.
(8) 
Appropriate evidence as to the good character and business responsibility of the applicant as will enable an investigator to properly evaluate the character and business responsibility.
(9) 
A statement as to whether or not the applicant has been convicted of any crime, misdemeanor or violation of any municipal ordinance other than traffic violations; the nature of the offense; and the punishment or penalty assessed therefor.
B. 
The applicant shall be fingerprinted, if requested by the Director of Public Safety, who shall determine whether the fingerprints are necessary for proper identification, which fingerprint records shall be immediately processed for classification and identification.
C. 
No license shall be issued until the application shall have been approved by the Police Department, allowing adequate time for investigation of the facts set forth in the application.
D. 
Applications for partners shall be signed by all partners, with the foregoing provisions of this section answered in detail as to each partner, and applications for corporations shall have attached thereto individual statements, in accordance with all of the provisions of this section relating to each and every employee, agent or servant who shall engage in any of the functions authorized by this article and signed by each agent, servant or employee, and full compliance herewith by each individual.
License fees are listed in § 150-9A(4) of the Code of the Township of Willingboro. License fees are per person licensed and acting as solicitors within the Township. Application is required; however, license fees do not apply to nonprofit canvassers or solicitors or political canvassers.
[1]
Editor's Note: Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I).
Every person to whom a license is issued under the terms of this article shall be governed by the following rules and regulations:
A. 
All circulars, samples or other matter shall be handed to an occupant of the property or left in a secure place on the premises.
B. 
No person subject to the provisions of this article shall canvass, solicit or distribute circulars or other matter except during the hours of 9:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m., Monday through Saturday.
C. 
No person subject to the terms of this article shall enter or attempt to enter the house of any resident in the Township of Willingboro without an express invitation from the occupant of the house.
D. 
No person subject to this article shall behave in a manner so as to become objectionable to or annoy an occupant of any house.
E. 
No licensee shall canvass or solicit orders for any articles from pedestrians or vehicular traffic other than when the vehicle is properly parked immediately adjacent to the curb of a public street in a permitted location, and the licensee shall at no time double park when dealing with any of the trade and in no event shall transact business other than on the curb side of the vehicle.
F. 
All licensees and their respective vehicles or modes of transportation shall comply with all terms, covenants and conditions of this article and all other applicable municipal ordinances and all applicable state statutes, laws and regulations pertaining thereto and particularly, but not in limitation thereof, that may deal with provisions of health, safety and general welfare.
No licensee shall have any exclusive right to any location in the public street, nor shall any licensee be permitted a stationary location therein, nor shall any be permitted to operate in a congested area where such an operation might impede or inconvenience the public use of the streets. The discretion of a police officer shall be deemed conclusive as to whether the area is congested and the public impeded or inconvenienced.
[Amended 2-6-2024 by Ord. No. 2024-1]
A. 
Any charitable, religious, patriotic, community service or philanthropic organization, society or association desiring to solicit or have solicited in its name money, donations of money or property or financial assistance, for which no merchandise, wares or services are offered, or desiring to distribute literature for which a fee is charged or solicited from persons or members of such organizations for shall be exempt from §§ 257-22, 257-23, 257-27 and 257-28, provided there is filed a sworn application in writing with the Township Clerk which gives the following information:
(1) 
Name and purpose of the cause for which the license is sought.
(2) 
A copy of the duly issued New Jersey nonprofit registration for the charitable, religious, patriotic, community service or philanthropic entity.
(3) 
Names and addresses of the officers of the organization.
(4) 
Names and addresses of the agents or representatives who will solicit, canvass or distribute literature in the Township.
B. 
Upon being satisfied that the purpose of the organization, society or association is charitable, religious, patriotic, community service or philanthropic in nature, the Township Clerk or Director of Public Safety shall endorse approval on the application.
C. 
Each representative or agent of such charitable, religious, patriotic, community service or philanthropic entity shall carry proper identification indicating the name of the organization and the name and address of the representative and shall display same upon request.
[Amended 2-6-2024 by Ord. No. 2024-1]
Any veteran who holds a special state veterans license/permit issued under the laws of the State of New Jersey shall be exempt from securing a municipal license as provided herein but shall be required to comply with all other applicable sections of this article and shall be required to deliver to the Township Clerk a copy of the special veterans permit.
Each application shall be referred to the Director of Public Safety or officer in charge of the Police Department, who shall immediately institute such investigation of the applicant's business and moral character as the Director or officer in charge deems necessary for the protection of the public good and shall endorse the application in the manner prescribed in this article within a reasonable period of time after it has been filed by the applicant. If, as a result of the investigation, the applicant's character or business responsibility is found to be unsatisfactory or the products or services are fraudulent, the Director of Public Safety shall endorse on the application the Director's disapproval and reasons for the same and shall return the application to the Township Clerk, who shall notify the applicant that the application is disapproved and that no license will be issued.
Licensees are required to exhibit the license certificate at the request of any citizen or member of the Police Department.
[Added 2-6-2024 by Ord. No. 2024-1[1]]
A. 
To protect residents from unwanted and potentially criminal activities and safeguard their privacy, there is hereby established a No-Knock Registry of properties where canvassing and soliciting are prohibited. The Township Clerk shall maintain the No-Knock Registry.
B. 
The Township Clerk shall prepare a list of addresses of those premises whose owners or occupants have notified the Clerk that canvassing or soliciting are not permitted on their premises. Notification shall be accomplished by filling out and filing the form available online, or at the Clerk's Office during regular business hours. The premises shall remain on the Registry unless the owners or occupants notify the Township Clerk in writing that they wish the property to be removed from the Registry. The inclusion of a premises on the Registry shall be deemed a revocation of any privilege of any licensee or other person to enter or attempt to enter the property to canvass or solicit as regulated by the article.
C. 
Owners or occupants who have requested to be listed on the Willingboro Township No-Knock Registry, pursuant to Subsection A herein, may procure from the Clerk's office a notice for display on the premises indicating the enlistment on the Township's No-Knock Registry. The notice shall indicate which solicitors may contact residents and shall read substantially as follows:
"These premises are listed on the Township of Willingboro's 'No-Knock Registry' (Township of Willingboro Code Sec. § 257-30). You may not enter or attempt to enter these premises for the purpose of canvassing or soliciting, which includes offering to purchase real estate on behalf of any person or organization. Charitable, political, and religious organizations are exempt from this law. Any person found in violation of Township of Willingboro Code Sec. § 257-30 shall, upon conviction, be punished as provided in Chapter 1, Article II, General Penalty."
D. 
The Township Clerk shall distribute the current Willingboro Township No-Knock Registry to a licensed canvasser or solicitor at the time of license issuance.
E. 
The Township shall post a No-Knock Registry application form on the Township webpage, provide copies of the application to the public and undertake reasonable efforts in education and distribution, to further public awareness of the No-Knock Registry.
[1]
Editor's Note: This ordinance also renumbered former §§ 257-30 and 257-31 as §§ 257-31 and 257-32, respectively.
The Director of Public Safety shall report to the Township Clerk all convictions for violation of this article, and the Township Clerk shall maintain a record for each license issued and shall record the reports of violation therein.
[Added 3-5-2013 by Ord. No. 2013-1]
Any person violating the provisions of this article shall, upon conviction, be punishable as provided in Chapter 1, Article II, General Penalty.