As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the
meanings indicated:
TRANSIENT MERCHANT
A.
Means and includes all persons who engage in itinerant business
in the Town or selling, or offering for sale, any goods, printed matter
or merchandise, including photographs or portraits, or exhibiting
the same for sale or exhibiting the same for the purpose of taking
orders for the sale thereof.
B.
The term "transient merchant" shall not include a farmer or
gardener selling the produce of his own farm or garden; salesmen selling
goods to retail or wholesale establishments within the Town for resale;
vendors at fairs of the Town of Fairfield or Board of Education property
or vendors operating under a valid lease with the Board of Parks and
Recreation at Town parks or beaches; persons requested or invited
to call upon private residences by any owner or occupant thereof;
a person using a roadside or outside stand or booth located on the
same site as an established business owned and operated by the same
person; any person under 18 years old (and any adult chaperone for
that youth) who is selling on behalf of or under the authority of
a 501c3 nonprofit or selling his or her own goods (such as lemonade).
All transient merchants shall be prohibited from conducting business within the Town without first obtaining a license. The Chief of Police for the Fairfield Police Department shall issue any transient merchant a license authorizing such transient merchant to sell, exhibit for sale, or exhibit for the purpose of taking orders for the sale thereof, in the Town, his goods or merchandise only after such transient merchant has fully complied with §
99-3 below and made payment in accordance with the schedule of fees as enumerated in §
99-5.
Except as hereinafter provided, the following fees shall be
charged for transient merchants' licenses:
A. Nonresident.
(1) For a one-year transient merchants' license, a fee of $350.
(2) For a temporary transient merchants' license, a fee of $200.
B. Resident.
(1) For a one-year transient merchant's license, a fee shall be
charged based on the cost of processing said license. The fee, however,
shall be no less than $75 or no more than $100.
(2) For a temporary transient merchant's license, a fee shall be
charged based on the cost of processing said license. The fee, however,
shall be no less than $50 or no more than $75.
(3) For any person under the age of 16, no fee.
(4) Any resident of the Town of Fairfield who has reached his or her 62nd birthday at the time the license is applied for shall if he or she otherwise qualifies for a license be issued said license without fee. All other provisions of this Chapter
99 shall be complied with.
C. Exemptions:
(1) Pursuant to Section 21-30 of the Connecticut General Statutes, United
States military veterans shall be licensed under this chapter without
paying a license fee, provided that the veteran:
(a)
Has resided in the state for two years preceding the date of
application for such license;
(b)
Served in time of war as defined by Section 27-103 of the Connecticut
General Statutes; and
(c)
Was honorably discharged from military service. The veteran
shall produce his/her certificate of honorable discharge from military
service or a copy thereof certified by the City/Town Clerk from the
records of the City/Town where such certificate of discharge is recorded
as provided in Section 12-93 of the Connecticut General Statutes,
for inspection, together with a certificate from the City/Town Clerk
that the applicant is a resident of the state.
(2) Any person who is seeking to sell under the auspices of a 501c3 nonprofit
organization recognized by the Internal Revenue Service as a 501c3
may apply for a license under this chapter at no fee.
D. Any person who makes a false representation for the purpose of obtaining
a license under this section shall be fined not more than $250, and
said license shall be automatically revoked.
E. Fingerprinting fees are separate from the transient merchant fees:
(1) An amount in accordance with the current State of Connecticut fingerprinting
fee payable to the Treasurer of the State of Connecticut.
(2) An amount in accordance with the current Town of Fairfield fingerprinting
fee payable to the Fairfield Police Department.
(3) Fingerprinting is mandatory every year.
Any person operating in the Town as a transient merchant, whether
or not exempt from the licensing provisions of this chapter, shall
conform to the following regulations:
A. The
transient merchant shall conduct himself/herself at all times in an
orderly and lawful manner.
B. The
transient merchant shall immediately identify himself/herself by means
of a firm or corporate identification card and/or a valid state motor
vehicle driver's license.
C. The
transient merchant shall, prior to a solicitation of a sale at the
residence of a buyer or prospective buyer, clearly, affirmatively
and expressly reveal at the time the seller initially contacts the
buyer or prospective buyer and before making any other statement or
asking the buyer any question, that the purpose of the contract is
to effect a sale, stating in general terms the goods or services the
seller has to offer.
D. The
transient merchant shall give a written receipt to the purchaser for
all orders taken within the Town where a down payment is received,
which receipt shall be signed by the solicitor and shall set forth
a brief description of the goods, wares, merchandise or services ordered,
the total purchase price thereof, and the amount of the down payment
received by the solicitor from the purchaser.
E. No
solicitation shall be conducted door to door during the period prior
to 10:00 a.m. or after 5:00 p.m. On all solicitations to sell, whether
made in person, by telephone or otherwise, the licensee shall state
his name, his principal's name and his permit number upon request.
The permit is valid only between the hours of 10:00 a.m. and 5:00
p.m.
F. No solicitation will be conducted in a manner as it obstructs or
prevents the free and convenient use of any street or sidewalk within
the Town.
G. Transient merchants are prohibited from selling or offering for sale
upon any public street, sidewalk, or other place, any of the following
articles or similar articles: spray string, stink bombs, and substantially
similar devices.
Any person violating any of the provisions of this chapter or
making any false statements or misrepresentation of the facts for
the purpose of obtaining permission to conduct himself or herself
as a transient merchant in the Town shall be subject to a fine not
to exceed $500, for each solicitation or sale which occurred. Penalties
may be imposed in addition to violation of any and all violation of
law.