It shall be unlawful for any solicitor or canvasser as defined in this bylaw to engage in such business within the Town of Dudley without first obtaining a license therefor in compliance with the provisions of this bylaw. The provisions of this bylaw shall not apply to any person engaged in the pursuit of soliciting for charitable, benevolent, fraternal, religious or political activities, or for any other noncommercial purposes, nor to any person exempted by any other general law, nor shall this bylaw be construed to prevent persons having established customers to whom they make periodic deliveries from calling upon such prospective customers to solicit an order for future periodic deliveries.
[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town Meeting of the Town of Dudley 5-20-2024 by Art. 16. Amendments noted where applicable.]
A solicitor or canvasser is defined as any person, who, for himself, or for another person, firm or corporation, travels by foot, automobile or any other type of conveyance from place to place, from house to house, taking or attempting to take orders for the sale or lease of goods, wares, merchandise or services, or taking or attempting to take contributions for any purpose, including, without limiting, the selling, distributing, exposing for sale or soliciting orders for magazines, books, periodicals or other articles of a commercial nature, the contracting of all home improvements, or for services to be performed in the future whether or not such individual has, carries or exposes for retail sale a sample of the subject of such sale, whether or not he is collecting advance payment on such retail sales.
Applicants for a license shall file with the Chief of Police, on a form issued by him, a written application signed under the penalties of perjury, containing the following information:
A.
Name of applicant.
B.
Address of applicant (local and permanent address).
C.
Applicant's height, eye and hair color.
D.
Applicant's social security number.
E.
The length of time for which the right to do business is desired.
F.
A brief description of the nature of the business and the goods to be sold.
G.
The name and home office address of the applicant's employer. If self-employed, it shall so state.
H.
A photograph of the applicant, which picture shall be submitted by the applicant via print or digital copy.
I.
A statement as to whether the applicant has been convicted of any crime or misdemeanor within 10 years of the date of application, except violations of the motor vehicle law, and nature of the offense.
J.
If operating a motor vehicle: the year, make, color, model, license plate number, registration number, state of registration, vehicle's owner and address.
K.
At the time of filing the application, each applicant shall pay the necessary fee to the Town of Dudley via check or money order payable to the Town of Dudley. The fee for the application is $10 and should be valid for one year.
A.
Upon receipt of the application, the Chief of Police shall investigate the applicant's reputation and whether the applicant may present any threat or risk to public safety.
B.
After an investigation of the applicant's morals and integrity, the Chief of Police shall, not later than 14 days from the submission of a completed application, approve or disapprove the application and notify the applicant of his decision. In the event that the application is approved, a license shall be issued. Any applicant shall have the right to appeal to the Town Manager. An applicant requesting a renewal of a license must apply in person for such license renewal, and provide such material as required by the Chief of Police.
Such license, when issued, shall contain the signature of the issuing officer and shall show the name, address and photograph of said licensee, the date of issuance and the length of time the same shall be operative, as well as the license number. The Chief of Police shall keep a record of all licenses issued for a period of six years. Solicitors and canvassers shall be issued an identifying form which they are required to possess at all times while engaging business in the Town of Dudley.
A.
The police officers of the Town of Dudley shall enforce this bylaw. No license shall be transferred.
B.
The Chief of Police may revoke or suspend a license issued under this section as set forth in § 245-10.
C.
Each license issued under the provisions of this bylaw shall continue in force for six months from the date of its issue, or for such lesser period of time as may be set forth in such license, unless sooner revoked.
D.
An applicant requesting a renewal of a license must apply in person for such license renewal, and provide such material as required by the Chief of Police.
[Amended 10-21-2024 by Art. 12]
It shall be unlawful for any person to peddle or solicit before the hour of 8:30 a.m. of any day, or after the hour of 9:00 p.m. of any day except by appointment.
A.
It shall be unlawful for any peddler or solicitor or any person pretending to be a peddler or solicitor for the purpose of peddling or soliciting or pretending to peddle or solicit to ring a bell or knock at any building whereon there is painted, affixed or otherwise displayed to public view any sign containing any or all of the following words, to wit: "NO PEDDLERS," "NO SOLICITORS" or "NO AGENTS" or which purports to prohibit peddling or soliciting on the premises.
B.
It shall be unlawful for any peddler or solicitor to represent by words, writing or action that he is some other peddler or solicitor, that he is a partner, employee or agent of any peddler or solicitor when in fact he is not the partner, agent or employee of such peddler or solicitor, or that he is the employee, representative, agent or partner of any person, when in fact he is not the employee, representative, agent or partner of such person.
The provisions of this bylaw shall not apply to salesmen or agents for wholesale houses, or firms who solicit orders from or sell to, retail dealers for resale, or to manufacturers for manufacturing purposes, or to bidders for public works or supplies or to any person engaged in solicitation for charitable, religious, fraternal, service and civic, or other non-commercial purposes.
Permits issued pursuant to this bylaw may be revoked by the Chief of Police of the Town of Dudley, after notice and hearing, for any of the following causes:
A.
Fraud, misrepresentation, or any false statements made to the Police Department in furnishing the information required in § 245-3 of this By-law.
B.
Any violation of this bylaw.
C.
Conviction of the permit holder of any felony or crime involving morals, embezzlement and crimes of this nature.
D.
Conducting the soliciting or peddling in an unlawful manner or in such a manner as to constitute a breach of the peace or to be a menace to the health, safety or general welfare of the people of the Town of Dudley.
[Amended 10-21-2024 by Art. 12]
Every person violating any provision of this bylaw shall be punished by a fine. Every violator of any provision of this bylaw shall be guilty of a separate offense for every day such violation shall continue and shall be subject to the penalty imposed by this chapter for each and every separate offense. This bylaw may be enforced through noncriminal disposition in accordance with MGL c. 40, § 21D, and § 245-10 of the bylaws.