[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Trustees
of the Village of Ellenville 3-14-1974 as Ch. 16 of the Code of Ordinances; amended in its entirety 9-9-2002 by L.L. No. 5-2002. Subsequent amendments noted where applicable.]
This chapter shall be known and may be cited
as the "Hawking, Peddling, and Soliciting Law of the Village of Ellenville."
This chapter is enacted for the purpose of regulating
itinerant merchandising in order that the peace, health, safety, welfare
and good order in the Village and of its inhabitants shall not be
endangered or unduly disturbed.
As used in this chapter, the following terms
shall have the meanings indicated:
A permanent building, store or depository in which or where
the person transacts business and deals in the goods, wares or commodities
he hawks or peddles in the ordinary and regular course of business.
Any person who engages in the selling or offering for sale
of any goods, wares or merchandise for immediate delivery, which the
person selling or offering for sale carries with him in traveling
or has in his possession or control, from house to house, place of
business to place of business or in any public street or public place
or by temporarily occupying a room, building or other premises therefor
within the Village of Ellenville.
The selling, bartering or trading of, or offering to sell,
barter or trade any goods. wares, commodities or services.
Includes any individual, firm, partnership, corporation,
unincorporated association, and principal or agent thereof.
The taking of contracts or orders for any goods, wares or
merchandise for future delivery, or for subscriptions or contributions,
from house to house, place of business to place of business or in
any public street or public place in the Village of Ellenville.
A store, room, building, tent, enclosure or structure of
any kind intended to be occupied for the period of time necessary
to hawk or peddle the merchandise or products therein housed initially
without the intent to replenish or restock such goods, wares and merchandise
sold therein. In all prosecutions for a violation of this chapter
the intent of the defendant to conduct an established place of business
shall be a material fact and the burden of proving such intent shall
be upon the defendant in such prosecution.
Merchandising any goods, wares, commodities
or service within the Village of Ellenville without having first obtained
a license therefor from the Clerk of the Village is hereby prohibited,
unless such merchandise is at the personal request of the person solicited.
A.
The provisions of this chapter shall not apply to
the following:
(1)
Any person soliciting at the express invitation of
the person solicited or serving an established customer.
(2)
An honorably discharged soldier, sailor or marine,
who is physically disabled as a result of injuries received while
in the naval or military service of the United States.
[Amended 7-14-2008 by L.L. No. 4-2008]
(3)
Merchants having an established place of business
within the Village, or their employees.
(4)
A wholesaler selling articles to dealers or merchants
who have an established place of business within the Village.
(5)
A truck gardener or farmer who himself or through
his employees vends, sells or disposes of products of his own farm
or garden.
(6)
A child regularly attending any public or parochial
or private school located within the Village of Ellenville or a representative
of any established church maintaining a place of worship within the
Village, or a member of a veteran's organization, provided that such
organization has and maintains a chapter, post, lodge, camp or other
group within the Village of Ellenville, or a member of a fraternal
organization or civic group, provided that such fraternal organization
or civic group maintains a chapter or local organization within the
Village of Ellenville, and further provided that any person coming
within the provisions of this exemption shall only hawk or peddle
in connection with an authorized activity of the organization of which
they are a member or the school which they attend.
(7)
Auction sales held pursuant to law by the Sheriff
or other officer authorized by law to conduct such sale.
B.
This chapter shall not apply so as to interfere unlawfully
with interstate commerce.
A.
Every applicant for a license is required to submit
to the Village Clerk a written application supplying, under oath,
the following information:
(1)
The name of the applicant.
(2)
The applicant's permanent home residence.
(3)
The name and address of the firm represented, if any.
(4)
The length of time for which the license is required.
(5)
A description of the goods, wares or commodities to
be offered for sale, together with a true invoice of their amount,
quality and value.
(6)
The applicant's number of arrests or convictions for
crimes and the nature thereof.
(7)
Proof that applicant, or the organization that the
applicant represents. holds a New York State sales tax identification
number.
(8)
If the application involves the use of a vehicle,
proof of a valid state motor vehicle registration for the vehicle
to be used.
(9)
If the application involves the use of a vehicle,
proof that the applicant holds a valid state driver's license.
(10)
If the application is for a license to handle food
in any form, the applicant shall submit a valid permit issued by the
Ulster County Health Department indicating compliance with the provisions
of the Ulster County Public Health Regulations.
(11)
Two business references located in the County of Ulster,
State of New York, or, in lieu thereof, such other available evidence
of the character and business responsibility of the applicant as will
enable an investigator to properly evaluate such character and responsibility.
(12)
Every applicant for a hawking and peddling license
issued pursuant to this chapter shall submit a photograph two inches
by two inches taken within 30 days of the date of the application
for such license. Such photograph shall show the head, full face and
shoulders of the applicant and shall be submitted in triplicate. One
copy of the photograph shall be attached to the license application,
one copy of the photograph to the license and the third shall be delivered
to the Chief of Police of the Village of Ellenville.
(13)
Each applicant for a hawking and peddling license
shall have a fingerprint impression of the fingers and thumbs on both
hands taken by the Police Department of the Village of Ellenville,
and the photograph delivered to the Chief of Police shall be attached
to the fingerprint identification card and remain on file in the Village
of Ellenville Police Headquarters.
B.
A letter of authorization from the firm which the
applicant purports to represent must be appended to the application.
Upon receipt of the application and of the license
fee and if reasonably satisfied with the applicant's qualifications,
the Village Clerk shall issue a license to the applicant, specifying
the particular business authorized and the location wherein it may
be conducted. This license shall be nontransferable and shall be in
the continuous possession of the licensee while engaged in the business
licensed. The license shall be produced upon the demand of any Village
official or prospective buyer.
A.
The Village Clerk shall keep a record of the applications,
the determinations thereon and of all licenses issued in accordance
with this chapter. The record shall contain the name and residence
of the person licensed, the location of the business, the amount of
the license fee paid and the date of revocation of all licenses revoked.
B.
All licenses hereunder shall expire one year from
the date of issuance, except that a license issued for a shorter period
than one year shall expire at the expiration of the period for which
it is issued.
The license fees for all licenses issued hereunder
are hereby fixed as follows: $150 per six-month period or $250 per
year.
A licensed hawker or peddler shall:
A.
Not willfully misstate the quantity or quality of
any article offered for sale.
B.
Not willfully offer for sale any article of an unwholesome
or defective nature.
C.
Not call attention to his goods by blowing a horn,
by ringing a bell other than a house doorbell, by shouting or crying
or by loud or unusual noise.
D.
Not frequent any street in an exclusive nature so
as to cause a private or public nuisance.
E.
Keep the sidewalks, roadways and other spaces adjacent
to their vending sites or locations clean and free of paper, peelings
and refuse of any kind generated from the operation of their businesses.
All trash or debris accumulating within 10 feet of any vending stand
shall be collected by the peddler and deposited in a trash container.
Persons engaged in food vending shall affix to their vending station,
vehicle pushcart or other conveyance a receptacle for litter that
shall be maintained and emptied regularly and marked as being for
litter.
F.
Keep his edible articles offered for sale well protected
from dirt, dust and insects.
G.
Not stand or permit the vehicle used by him or her
to stand in one place in any public place or street for more than
10 minutes or in front of any premises for any time if the owner of
or the lessee of the property objects.
H.
Not sell confectionery or ice cream within 250 feet
from any school between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. on school
days.
I.
Not unduly obstruct pedestrian or motor vehicle traffic
flow.
J.
Not obstruct traffic signals or regulatory signs.
Peddlers, hawkers and solicitors shall be allowed
to engage in the business of vending, peddling or soliciting only
between the hours of 7:00 a.m. and 9:00 p.m. No vending station, conveyance
or other item related to the operation of a vending or peddling business
shall be located on any municipality sidewalk or other public way
during nonvending hours; nor shall any vehicle be parked, stored or
left overnight other than in a lawful parking place.
Any organization wishing to conduct business
at a special event recognized by the Village Board shall have its
event organizer apply to the Village Clerk for a temporary vending
permit. Application for such a permit must be made at least 10 days
prior to the beginning of the event for which the permit is sought.
The permit shall be valid only for the duration of the special event.
There shall be no fee for such permit. Any organization to which a
temporary permit is granted shall be subject to the same operating
regulations as all other vendors, except where otherwise specified
or approved by the Village Board applicable to such special event.
A.
Any resident of the Village of Ellenville not wanting
to be visited or called upon by hawkers, peddlers, or solicitors for
the sale of goods, wares or merchandise may register at the office
of the Village Clerk on a list of registrants of the Village of Ellenville
who do not desire to be visited or solicited at their homes, in the
following manner:
(1)
Said resident or residents shall either personally
appear or, on forms supplied by the Village Clerk, advise that said
resident or residents do not want hawkers or peddlers to call at their
homes.
(2)
The Village Clerk shall keep on file at all times
a registration book showing the names and addresses of the residents
of the Village of Ellenville who have registered as not wanting hawkers
or peddlers to call at their homes.
(3)
Said residents, in addition, shall be furnished a
sticker by the Village Clerk, which may be affixed to the front door
of the resident's principal residence advising that no soliciting
and peddling can be done.
B.
Every applicant shall personally read said list of
residents of the Village of Ellenville who are registered as not wanting
to be approached or contacted for the sale of goods, wares or merchandise
and will sign an affidavit that said list has been reviewed by the
applicant, and the applicant shall obtain from the Village Clerk a
photostatic copy of said list.
A license may be summarily revoked by the Village
Clerk by reason of a violation of the terms of the license, the violation
of any municipal ordinance or state or federal statute, conviction
for any crime or misdemeanor involving moral turpitude, falsification
in applying for a license, or any violation of this chapter. Written
notice of such revocation, stating the terms thereof, shall be personally
served upon the licensee or mailed to the address given in the application.
Upon the filing of such notice of revocation in the Village Clerk's
office, with affidavit of service by mailing, such license shall be
revoked and a hearing upon the revocation of the license shall be
granted the licensee if said licensee shall request such a hearing
as hereinafter provided.
A.
No person hawking, peddling or soliciting the sale
of magazines or other periodicals shall visit a private residence
for the purpose of hawking, peddling or soliciting except after procuring
a license hereunder, unless such person has been personally invited
to such private residence by the owner or occupant thereof.
B.
The license issued to a person hawking, peddling or
soliciting the sale of magazines or other periodicals shall, in addition
to the other requirements hereby imposed, have the photograph of the
licensee affixed thereto and to the application. Such photograph shall
have been taken within 30 days next preceding the application for
such license.
C.
Before a license is issued to a person for the purpose
of hawking, peddling or soliciting the sale of magazines or other
periodicals shall be valid, it shall be countersigned by the chief
of Police of the Village of Ellenville. Prior to countersigning such
license, said Chief of Police shall require that the applicant's employer
file with the Village of Ellenville Police Department a duplicate
photograph of the applicant taken at the same time as the photograph
annexed to the license application and license, and in addition thereto
a statement as to the character of the applicant verified by the employer.
D.
The Chief of Police of the Village of Ellenville is
hereby empowered to refuse to countersign any license issued pursuant
to the provisions of this section if in his opinion the applicant's
character does not justify the issuance thereof or the issuance of
a license to the applicant would not be in the best interest of the
peace, health, safety, welfare and good order of the Village and its
inhabitants.
In the event of the revocation of license pursuant to the provision of § 168-14 hereof, or in the event of the denial of a license to any applicant by the Clerk or the refusal of the Chief of Police to countersign a license, the applicant may request a hearing within a period of 30 days after such revocation, refusal and denial. Such request shall be in writing and shall be made to the Village Board of the Village of Ellenville and filed with the Village Clerk within the period provided herein. The Village Board shall hear such applicant's request for a review of the determination of the Village Clerk or the Chief of Police at the next regularly scheduled meeting of said Village Board following the filing of the application for review with the Village Clerk. The Village Board may grant a license to the applicant if it should determine that the refusal on the part of the Clerk or the Chief of Police was arbitrary or otherwise in error. If the Village Board, after such hearing, shall determine that the decision of the Village Clerk or Chief of Police was not arbitrary and was justified under the circumstances, the Board shall refuse such license. The decision on any hearing shall be rendered by the Village Board in writing within 45 days after the hearing thereof and shall be entered in the minutes of the Village Board.
Any person who shall act as a hawker, peddler
or solicitor as herein defined, without a license, or who shall violate
any of the provisions of this chapter, or who shall continue to act
as a hawker, peddler or solicitor subsequent to the revocation of
his license, shall be guilty of disorderly conduct and shall be deemed
a disorderly person. Any such person, upon conviction thereof, shall
be subject to a fine not to exceed $250 and/or imprisonment for a
term not to exceed 15 days, or both, per each day on which such violation
occurs.
All ordinances or parts thereof inconsistent
with this chapter are hereby repealed, except that any license issued
prior to the effective date of these amendments shall remain in full
force and effect until the expiration of the period for which it was
issued.
This chapter shall take effect immediately upon
enactment, publication and posting required by law.
[Added 6-25-2012 by L.L. No. 4-2012[1]]
Prior nonconforming persons, peddlers and hawkers conducting
sales covered by this chapter shall be exempt from complying with
this chapter. Such exemption shall not be transferable and shall terminate
upon failure to continue said activity for a period of 12 months.
If any portion of this chapter shall be declared
invalid for any reason, the remainder thereof shall not by that reason
be deemed invalid and shall continue in full force and effect.
