Two of the purposes of this chapter which regulates and restricts solicitation
by charitable and noncharitable organizations within the Village of Ridgewood
are to protect homeowner privacy and to prevent crime within the Village.
The registration requirements of this chapter serve the purpose of providing
the public with information relative to the solicitation, and the identification
requirements protect the residents of the Village from being confronted with
unidentified and possible criminally minded persons at the doors of their
residences. Whereas the Village's interest in crime prevention increases at
night when serious crimes occur more frequently, this chapter's limitation
on the hours of solicitation of Village residents on their residential property
is intended to further the Village's interest in crime prevention. It is the
judgment of the Village Council that the daylight ordinance advances the Village's
crime prevention interest by reducing the number of people on the streets
after dark.
As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the meanings
indicated:
CANVASSER or SOLICITOR
Any person traveling from house to house or from street to street
taking or attempting to take orders for the sale of goods, wares or merchandise,
subscriptions or personal property of any nature whatsoever for future delivery
or for services to be furnished or performed in the future, whether or not
the individual has, carries or exposes for sale a sample of such or whether
he is collecting advance payment on such sales or not; any person engaged
in soliciting information and going from house to house or from street to
street for the purpose of conducting a poll, survey or similar activity for
any purpose; any person conducting a solicitation, as defined herein, or requesting
contributions of any kind and going from house to house or from street to
street on the public streets.
CHARITABLE ORGANIZATIONS
Any person which is or holds itself out to be organized or operated
for any charitable purpose.
CHARITABLE PURPOSE
Any benevolent, humane, philanthropic, religious, patriotic, eleemosynary
or other nonprofit purpose, including the purposes of influencing legislation
or influencing the actions of any public official or instigating, prosecuting
or intervening in litigation. The term "charitable purpose" shall not be construed
to include the direct benefit of the individual making the solicitation.
CONTRIBUTION
The promise, payment or grant of any money or property of any kind
or value or the pledge of a future donation.
PEDDLER
Any person traveling from house to house or from street to street
carrying, conveying or transporting goods, wares and merchandise, offering
and exposing the same for sale or making sales of food by traveling from house
to house or who shall sell or offer the same for sale from a wagon, automotive
vehicle, motor truck, railroad car or other vehicle or conveyance, and further
provided that one who solicits orders and, as a separate transaction, makes
deliveries to purchasers a part of his scheme or design to evade the provisions
of this chapter shall be deemed a "peddler," subject to the provisions of
this chapter. The word "peddler" shall often include the words "hawker" and
"huckster."
PERSON
Any individual, organization, trust, foundation, association, partnership,
corporation, society or other group or combination acting as a unit.
SOLICIT and SOLICITATION
The request, directly or indirectly, for the donation of money, property,
any thing of value or financial assistance of any kind, and shall include
the selling or offering for sale of any property, real or personal, tangible
or intangible, whether of value or not, including but not limited to goods,
books, tags, service emblems, tickets, publications or subscriptions to publications
or brochures, and conducted from house to house or on the public streets.
A "solicitation" is complete when the solicitation is communicated to any
individual then located within the corporate limits of the Village.
The Department of Police shall review the registration statement to
determine its compliance with the terms of this chapter. Such review shall
be completed in a prompt manner. Thereafter, the registration statement endorsed
by the Police Department shall be forwarded to the Village Clerk who is directed,
upon payment of the prescribed fee or in the event of an applicant who is
not required to pay a fee, to either issue a certificate of registration within
48 hours after receipt of the same or to notify the person registering that
the registration statement does not comply with the requirements of this chapter
and to specifically point out the information that has not been furnished
and that is required before a certificate of registration can be issued. The
Village Clerk shall attend to this function within 48 hours after receipt
of the registration statement. In the event that the applicant is aggrieved
by the failure to issue a certificate of registration, the applicant shall
have the right, within five days of denial by the Village Clerk, to appeal
the denial to the Village Manager. The Village Manager shall conduct an informal
hearing and issue a determination within five days of the filing of an appeal
to the Village Manager. In the event that the applicant is aggrieved by the
determination of the Village Manager, the applicant shall be entitled to apply
for summary relief in the Superior Court of New Jersey, and the Village consents
to summary jurisdiction of the issues involved.
[Amended 8-8-2007 by Ord. No. 3075]
The license fee to defray the cost to the Village of processing, verifying and supervising the application information shall be as set forth in Chapter
145, Fees.
The following persons are exempt from the registration requirement of
this chapter:
A. Any person whose activities are regulated exclusively
by the state.
B. Any person selling subscriptions for the delivery of
newspapers to the door of a residence or business on a regular daily or weekly
schedule.
C. Anything otherwise contained in this chapter to the contrary notwithstanding, any person may travel from house to house, or from street to street, solely for the purpose of communicating information or seeking views or polling for noncommercial purposes, for example, political or charitable or religious conversation, without the requirement of registering hereunder. This chapter shall not be utilized to regulate the free exchange of ideas of a political or religious or charitable nature, unless the free exchange of ideas is accompanied by an attempt to sell or to solicit, as is defined in §
218-2, Definitions, of this chapter.
D. Any persons desiring to solicit, peddle or canvass within the
Village for charitable or other nonprofit purposes and religious and political
organizations shall be exempt from satisfying the requirements of this chapter.
Persons desiring to solicit, peddle or canvass for charitable or nonprofit
purposes shall notify the Village Clerk's office of such intent or desire
in person prior to any such solicitation, peddling or canvassing and provide
proof of charitable or nonprofit purpose and, in the case of a charitable
organization, proof of the qualifications as such under the Internal Revenue
Code.
[Added 8-8-2007 by Ord. No. 3075]