[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town Board of the Town of Bedford 6-21-1983; amended in its entirety 3-7-2006 by L.L. No. 1-2006. Subsequent amendments noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Christmas tree sales — See Ch. 46.
Trespassing — See Ch. 113.
A. 
It is the intent of the Town of Bedford to assure that peddling and soliciting in the Town is conducted in a safe and peaceful manner without inconvenience to Town residents.
B. 
This chapter is enacted pursuant to the police power of the Town, Subdivision 8 of § 32 of the General Business Law of the state and any and all other applicable laws, rules and regulations of the state. Nothing contained herein shall be deemed to conflict with any such laws, rules or regulations.
As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the meanings indicated:
COMPANY
Any association of individuals, partnerships, firms, corporations, societies or any other organization.
ESTABLISHED PLACE OF BUSINESS
A permanent building, store or depository in which or where the person transacts business and deals in goods, wares, merchandise or services in the ordinary and regular course of business.
PEDDLE
To go from house to house, from store to store, from place to place or from street to street, or to deal out, distribute or dispense, to sell and make immediate delivery or to offer for sale and deliver any goods, wares, merchandise or provisions, including books or periodicals, in possession of the seller or any combination thereof at any place within the Town of Bedford other than from a fixed place of business.
PEDDLER
Any individual, firm, partnership, corporation, unincorporated association and any principal or agent thereof who, in any street or public place or by going from house to house or from place to place or any combination thereof, on foot or from any vehicle, sells, barters, offers for sale or barter or carries or displays for sale or barter, any goods, wares, merchandise or services. For the purposes of this chapter, the entity which engages a person as their agent for the purposes of peddling is also considered a peddler within the meaning of this section and is subject to the provisions of this chapter. The words "peddler," "hawker" and "huckster" are considered synonymous terms.
PUBLIC PLACE
Any street, sidewalk, alley or other public way and public park, square, space or grounds or any publicly owned or leased land or buildings.
SOLICIT
To go from house to house, from store to store, from place to place or from street to street to sell or take orders for goods, wares, merchandise or provisions, including books or periodicals, for future delivery, or for services to be performed at any place within the Town of Bedford, or to distribute advertising matter.
SOLICITOR
Any person, either principal or agent, traveling either by foot or by any conveyance from place to place, from house to house or from street to street or any combination thereof, who takes or offers to take orders for the sale of any goods, wares or merchandise, for present or future delivery or for the performance of future services, whether or not he or she collects advance payments for such sale or service. For the purposes of this chapter, the entity which engages a person or his or her agent for the purpose of soliciting, is also considered a solicitor within the meaning of this section and is subject to the provisions of this chapter.
STATIONARY LOCATION
Includes any point or distance within 0.3 of a mile in all directions of a stationary location.
VEHICLE
Any motor vehicle as defined in the Vehicle and Traffic Law of New York.
VEND
To peddle, hawk, sell, barter or lease, or to offer to sell, barter or lease, or to display for sale, barter or lease any goods, wares, merchandise or services in a public place.
A. 
It is prohibited to engage in itinerant trading, hawking and peddling or making a sale by sample and taking orders for future delivery of goods, produce, wares, books, magazines and periodicals or merchandise of any description, in or upon the public highways or public places of the Town or upon private property, by calls from house to house, without obtaining a license as herein provided.
B. 
A license must be obtained by each individual who peddles or solicits, regardless of whether or not he or she is affiliated with a company, firm, partnership, corporation, unincorporated association or is a principal or agent thereof of any entity which engages a person as their agent for the purposes of peddling.
Such prohibition shall not apply to:
A. 
The peddling of meats, fish, fruit and farm produce by farmers and persons who produce such commodities, nor does it apply to any person, firm or corporation who operates a regularly established place of business within the Town of Bedford to which orders may be given through a delivery man, nor does it apply to any charitable, educational, fraternal or religious organization.
B. 
A sale conducted pursuant to an order of any court.
C. 
A child 18 years of age or under who resides within the Town of Bedford and who solicits or peddles on behalf of a charitable, religious, athletic, social, educational or civic organization, including but not limited to the Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, Cub Scouts or Brownie Scouts or clubs, classes or organizations sponsored by a public or private school.
D. 
A not-for-profit-organization's sale of food ancillary to a fundraising event, such as a picnic or carnival, that lasts no longer than five consecutive days. This exemption shall not apply to any door-to-door peddling or soliciting.
A. 
Trucks and conveyances.
(1) 
The license fee payable by each peddler for each unit, truck or any conveyance carrying wares shall be $100 per year.
(2) 
The license is to be displayed in the vehicle at all times while soliciting in the Town of Bedford.
B. 
The license fee for each solicitor or peddler going from door to door shall be $75 per year.
C. 
Any license issued hereunder shall expire on December 31 of each year.
A. 
Every applicant for a license is required to file with the Town Clerk a written application supplying the following information:
(1) 
The particular business, trade or occupation for which the license is required.
(2) 
The manner or means of conveyance in which the business, trade or occupation is to be conducted.
(3) 
The name and address and age of the applicant and the name of the person, firm or corporation he represents.
(4) 
Evidence of compliance with Town of Bedford Planning Board and/or Building Department requirements.
B. 
Criminal history.
(1) 
It is hereby mandated that a criminal history check will be made for each applicant.
(2) 
Any felony conviction record will preclude an applicant from licensure.
(3) 
It is necessary to scrutinize the background of all license applicants, as they may become privileged to knowledge of homes that are unoccupied during certain hours.
(4) 
All applicants must be fingerprinted by a third-party agency under contract with the New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services [DCJS]. Applicants shall be responsible for the fingerprinting fee, the processing fee and all other associated fingerprinting fees. The third-party agency will then submit the fingerprints to the DCJS for a criminal background investigation.
[Amended 7-17-2018 by L.L. No. 10-2018]
(5) 
The Town of Bedford Police Chief and/or his or her designee shall be responsible from reviewing the criminal history record information (CHRI) disseminated by DCJS. All applicants are responsible for ensuring that their background check and any CHRI, including but not limited to any information provided by DCJS, is provided to and reviewed by the Police Chief and/or his or her designee prior to any application being determined to the Town Clerk.
[Amended 7-17-2018 by L.L. No. 10-2018]
C. 
Each applicant must file with his/her application two unmounted, unretouched photographs of himself/herself, 1 1/4 inches by 1 1/2 inches in size, taken within 30 days preceding the filing of the application. One photo shall be attached to the license when issued, the other shall be affixed to the application.
D. 
Any decision regarding a prospective applicant's fitness for a permit based upon a conviction contained in the criminal history background information obtained from the DCJS must be made upon consideration of New York State Correction Law §§ 701 through 703-b and §§ 751 through 753.
[Added 7-17-2018 by L.L. No. 10-2018[1]]
[1]
Editor's Note: This local law also redesignated former Subsection D as Subsection E.
E. 
The peddler or solicitor shall keep his/her license with him/her at all times while soliciting in the Town of Bedford and exhibit it upon the request of any person.
Any honorably discharged member of the Armed Forces of the United States, holding a license pursuant to § 32 of the General Business Law, must file a further application with the Town Clerk for the issuance of a local license under the same conditions as any other peddler. No fee shall be required of any such veteran of the Armed Forces of the United States, except that conveyances not owned by such veteran shall be licensed at the usual fee.
A. 
No licensed hawker, peddler or solicitor shall permit any cart, wagon or vehicle owned or operated or controlled by him to stand stationary or remain stationary, nor shall he sell or offer for sale therefrom or from any pack or container any goods, wares or merchandise of any kind within the lines of any street, highway or sidewalk in the Town of Bedford, within 300 feet of any schoolhouse or school grounds or within 1,500 feet of any public market or store engaged in the business of selling the same goods, wares and merchandise offered by the licensee, or in front of any premises if the owner or any lessee thereof objects thereto.
B. 
No peddler or solicitor shall have any exclusive right to any location in any street or on any public property, nor shall any peddler or solicitor be permitted to occupy any stationary location in any street or on any public property. No person may peddle or solicit in any congested place or area when or where such activity may impede or inconvenience the public or add to the congestion of such place or area. For the purpose of this subsection, the judgment of any peace officer or police officer, exercised in good faith, shall be deemed conclusive as to the existence of congestion and as to whether the public is impeded or inconvenienced.
Any violation of this chapter shall be a misdemeanor and may be punishable by a fine not exceeding $250 or by imprisonment not exceeding 30 days, or by both such fine and imprisonment.
A. 
Unless otherwise authorized by the Town Clerk, no person shall peddle or solicit in the Town except during the hours from 10:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. on Monday through Saturday of each week, other than legal holidays. This limitation on days and hours shall be set forth on each license issued pursuant to this chapter.
B. 
No person shall solicit or peddle in the Town parks during the hours of operation of the concession stands as posted at the entrance of the pool facilities, day camps and concession stands without the prior written approval of the Superintendent of Recreation and Parks.
[Added 7-17-2018 by L.L. No. 10-2018]
A. 
Any owner and/or occupant of a residential property located in the Town who wishes to prohibit soliciting and peddling on their property or premises shall complete a form available in the Town Clerk's office and on the Town's website and submit it to the Town Clerk as required. The completion of the form will allow the owner/occupant's premises to be included on a list of properties that do not permit solicitation or peddling (herein referred to as the "do-not-knock registry" or "registry").
B. 
In order to be removed from the registry, the owner and/or occupant must complete a form indicating that he/she no longer wants his/her property to be included on the registry.
C. 
Any owner and/or occupant who has requested placement on the do-not-knock registry pursuant to this chapter shall be able to purchase from the Town, for a nominal fee, a sticker or sign for display indicating enlistment on the do-not-knock registry.
D. 
All solicitors and peddlers shall be required to obtain the current do-not-knock registry at the time of issuance of a permit or at the time of registration to solicit pursuant to the provisions of this chapter.
E. 
Peddlers and solicitors shall not peddle or solicit at any property or premises identified on the then-current do-not-knock registry.
F. 
It shall be the responsibility of the peddler and/or solicitor to obtain updated copies of the registry and to check each property or premises for the presence of signage identifying that the property or premises is on the do-not-knock registry.
G. 
Solicitation in connection with political, educational, charitable, religious or other noncommercial purposes shall not be subject to the provisions of this section regarding the do-not-knock registry.
H. 
It shall constitute a violation of this chapter punishable under § 88-10 for any registered peddler or solicitor to go upon any property or premises for the purpose of engaging in soliciting or peddling where the property or premises is included on the do-not-knock registry.
Such licenses shall not be transferable and shall not be valid for the use by any agent or employee of the licensee.