Township of Lower Merion, PA Chapter 113 Peddling and Soliciting

[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Commissioners of the Township of Lower Merion as indicated in article histories. Amendments noted where applicable.]

GENERAL REFERENCES

Junk dealers — See Ch. 95.

Handbill distribution — See Ch. 99, Art. II.

Transient retail businesses — See Ch. 141.

Article I Canvassing and Soliciting

[Adopted 4-15-1964 as Ord. No. 1450]

§ 113-1 Definitions.

A. Word usage. The singular number includes the plural, and the masculine includes the feminine and the neuter.

B. Terms defined. The following words shall be construed to have the meanings set forth below:

CANVASSING AND SOLICITING

[Amended 10-21-2009 by Ord. No. 3895; 1-20-2016 by Ord. No. 4078]

(1) The sale of goods, services, wares or merchandise, including, but not limited to, subscriptions for magazines or other printed matter, or the obtaining of contracts for home and/or building devices, repairs, improvements or services, upon a residential premises, or upon any street, sidewalk or publicly owned property in the Township.

(2) Exclusions. This term shall not apply to:

(a) Such activities when undertaken:

[1] On behalf of any religious or political cause or group (including both partisan and nonpartisan political activities); or

[2] On behalf of an organization that is exempt from registration under the Pennsylvania Solicitation of Funds for Charitable Purposes Act, presently codified at 10 P.S. § 162.6 (as may be subsequently codified or amended), or on behalf of an organization which is registered under such Act, when acting in compliance with such registration; or

[3] By any person under 19 years of age who takes orders for and delivers newspapers, greeting cards, candy and the like for schools or school-related associations or scholarships, or who represents a nonprofit community organization and takes orders for and delivers a product similar to the above for that organization's fund-raising purposes; or

[4] By the proprietor of a commercial enterprise adjacent to a public sidewalk, such as a "sidewalk sale"; or

[5] In furtherance of an agreement with the Township for the operation of a marketplace on public property.

(b) Any person engaging in snow removal or yard work, including, but not limited to, the raking of leaves or cutting of grass, except that this exclusion shall not apply to persons soliciting to provide the above services on more than one occasion by written contract.

PERSON

Any natural person, association, partnership, firm or corporation.

§ 113-2 Registration and identification card required.

[Amended 1-20-2016 by Ord. No. 4078]

No person shall engage in canvassing and soliciting, as defined above, in the Township without first having registered and obtained an identification card from the Police Department.

§ 113-3 Application procedure; issuance of identification card; conditions of issuance.

[Amended 10-21-2009 by Ord. No. 3895; 1-20-2016 by Ord. No. 4078]

A. Any person desiring to engage in canvassing and soliciting, and who is not subject to one of the exclusions described herein, shall submit a written application to the Police Department on a form to be furnished by the Township, accompanied by two photographs of himself, 2 1/2 inches by three inches in size, taken within six months prior to the date of the application.

B. The applicant shall state his name, age, gender, home address, business address, name and address of employer, if any, what activity he desires to canvass and solicit for, the length of time he wishes to engage in this activity, the make and type of vehicle, if any, he will use, its registration number and whether he has ever been convicted of a crime of any kind described in Subsection D of this section.

C. The Police Department will issue to the applicant, within five business days from the date of filing of the application, an identification card to which one of the applicant's photographs will be affixed.

D. An identification card will not be issued to any person who has been convicted of a crime of any kind involving fraud or false statements, burglary, robbery, acts of physical violence, or a sexual contact offense, and such person shall not be allowed to engage in canvassing and soliciting in the Township; provided, however, that this restriction shall not apply after the expiration of three years from the latest of the date of such conviction, the date of the termination of probation imposed on account of such conviction, or the release of the applicant from incarceration imposed on account of such conviction, nor shall this restriction apply if the conviction has been vacated, reversed, expunged, or pardoned.

E. An identification card will be valid for one year from the date it is issued. Such card is valid for use only by the person to whom it is issued.

§ 113-4 Standards of conduct.

[Amended 10-21-2009 by Ord. No. 3895; 1-20-2016 by Ord. No. 4078]

Every person to whom an identification card has been issued shall, in the conduct of his activities governed by this article, comply with the following standards:

A. He shall visibly carry his identification card at all times on a neck lanyard or pinned to his outer clothing and exhibit it, upon request, to any police officer or to any person on whom he shall call or with whom he shall talk.

B. He shall promptly report the loss or theft of his identification card to the Police Department. He shall not cause or permit his identification card to be altered or defaced in any way.

C. He shall not enter or attempt to enter any dwelling without the invitation or permission of the occupant, and shall immediately leave any premises upon request of the occupant.

D. He shall not engage in canvassing and soliciting after sunset.

E. He shall not engage in any false pretense or misrepresentation, and, particularly, he shall not represent his identification card to be an endorsement of himself, his goods or services or the goods or services of his employer by the Township or any other authority or entity.

F. He shall immediately surrender his identification card to the Police Department upon revocation thereof.

G. He shall not enter or attempt to enter upon any premises where the owner or occupant has requested that solicitation not occur by conspicuously posting the premises with a sign or other notice stating: "No Soliciting," "Do not solicit," or the like.

§ 113-5 Revocation of identification card.

[Amended 10-21-2009 by Ord. No. 3895]

Any identification card may be revoked by the Police Department if the holder fails to comply with the standards of conduct contained in § 113-4 hereof, or any of them, or upon ascertainment by the Police Department that the holder has made a false statement in his application.

§ 113-6 Promotion of causes or ideas.

[Added 1-20-2016 by Ord. No. 4078[1]]

No person may go uninvited upon a residential property for the purpose of promoting, or engaging others on behalf of, a cause or idea between the hours of 9:00 p.m. and 9:00 a.m., or if the property is posted to prohibit solicitation.

[1] Editor's Note: This ordinance also repealed former § 113-6, Exemptions, as amended.

§ 113-7 Violations and penalties.

[Amended 9-21-1977 by Ord. No. 1802; 8-3-1988 by Ord. No. 3104; 10-21-2009 by Ord. No. 3895; 1-20-2016 by Ord. No. 4078]

Any person who shall engage in canvassing and soliciting without registering with the Police Department or without having a valid identification card, or who shall violate any other provisions of this chapter, shall be subject to revocation of such person's identification card, and, upon conviction thereof before a District Justice, be subject to a fine of not more than $600. Such fine and costs shall be collected as like fines and costs are now by law collected.[1]

[1] Editor's Note: Former Art. II, Sale of Merchandise on Streets, adopted 5-19-1976 by Ord. No. 1769, as amended, which immediately followed this section, was repealed 10-21-2009 by Ord. No. 3895.