[Adopted 12-18-1979 by Ord. No. 79-111 as Ch. 9, Art. 5, of the 1979 Revised General Ordinances of Paterson]
As used in this article, the following terms
shall have the meanings indicated:
A person who goes from place to place, house to house or
person to person, selling or taking orders for or offering to sell
or take orders for goods, wares, merchandise or any article for future
delivery or for services to be performed in the future or for the
making, manufacturing or repairing of any article or thing whatsoever
for future delivery or for the solicitation of money for any purposes
whatsoever or to deliver circulars. "Canvasser" or "solicitor" also
means a person who makes surveys for research purposes, analyses,
opinion polls, rating data and any similar work by which of its nature
involves a door-to-door, place-to-place or person-to-person activity
and includes a person who goes from door to door, place to place or
person to person for the purpose of seeking contributions, donations
or alms for any organization of a charitable, religious, patriotic,
philanthropic or community nature.
The Director of the Department of Public Safety or his designee.
The purpose of this article is to prevent fraud,
crime and unethical or dishonest business practices and for the general
protection, health and welfare of the residents of the City.
No person shall engage in the activity of a
canvasser or solicitor in the City without first registering with
the Director of Public Safety or, in his absence, the Chief of Police.
Each applicant for registration shall file with
the Director of Public Safety:
A.
An application, in writing, containing the following
information:
(1)
The name and address of the organization or person
for whom the solicitation or canvassing is being made.
(2)
If the organization is a corporation, the names and
addresses of all stockholders who own directly or indirectly 10% or
more of the outstanding stock, and the names and addresses of all
officers and directors and the address of the corporation.
(3)
The names, ages and physical descriptions of all persons
who will actually solicit or canvass within the City.
(4)
A description of the nature of the business and the
goods, wares, merchandise or services to be sold or the nature of
the surveys, opinion polls, etc., to be sold.
(5)
The date, days and route of his business in the City.
(6)
A statement as to whether or not the applicant or
any person engaged in soliciting or canvassing has been convicted
of a crime, misdemeanor or disorderly persons offense, when or where
so convicted, nature of the offense and the penalty, if any.
(7)
The make, model, year, color and license plate numbers
of all automobiles to be used by the registrant during the period
of canvassing and soliciting within the City, and the number of each
driver's license and date of issuance.
B.
Together with the application, two photographs of
each person who will actually solicit or canvass, which photographs
to be approximately two inches by two inches in size showing the heads
and shoulders of the persons, front view, in a clear and distinguishing
manner.
The registration certificate shall be worn and
displayed at all times on the outside portion of the clothing worn
by the registrants.
A.
The hours of operation for canvassers and solicitors
shall be limited to the hours of 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Monday through
Saturday.
B.
The Director of Public Safety shall determine the
period of time during which the canvassing and soliciting can take
place.
C.
The issued registration certificate shall be valid
for a period not exceeding 30 days.
A.
The Director of Public Safety may disapprove the application
for the following reasons:
(1)
Reported unethical business practices.
(2)
Previous conviction of crime.
(3)
Applicant's character or business responsibility is
found unsatisfactory as the result of an investigation of the applicant's
business and moral character, and the Director of Public Safety further
determines that the denial of the application is necessary for the
protection of the public good.
B.
The applicant may appeal any denial to the Council,
which shall then schedule a hearing within 15 days after the appeal
is taken. The applicant will be given an opportunity to present his
reasons why the registration certificate should be issued. The decision
of the Council shall be final.
A.
Any charitable, religious, patriotic or philanthropic organization desiring to solicit or canvass in its name shall be exempt from the provisions of §§ 367-4 and 367-5B of this article, provided that there is filed with the Director of Public Safety the following information:
(1)
The names of solicitors or canvassers and the purpose
or cause for which the solicitation or canvassing is being made.
(2)
The names and addresses of the officers of the organization.
(3)
The names and addresses of the agents or representatives
who will solicit or canvass or distribute literature.
(4)
The make, model, year, color and license plate numbers
of all automobiles to be used during said soliciting or canvassing.
(5)
A statement as to whether or not the applicant or
any person engaged in soliciting or canvassing has been convicted
of a crime, misdemeanor or disorderly persons offense, when and where
so convicted, nature of the offense and the penalty, if any.
B.
The Director of Public Safety shall have the right
to limit the time period during which such solicitation or canvassing
shall take place.
C.
Each solicitor or canvasser for such organizations
shall carry proper identification and shall display the same on request.
D.
Each solicitor or canvasser for such organizations
shall wear and display on his outer clothing the registration certificate
issued by the Director of Public Safety.
E.
Notwithstanding the provisions hereinabove set forth,
students attending Paterson schools shall be exempted entirely from
the provisions of this article, provided that any solicitation or
canvassing undertaken by said students shall be in connection with
school funding drives only.
F.
Notwithstanding the provisions herein set forth above, all non-profit-making organizations whose purpose is to service the youth of the City shall be exempted from the provisions of this article, provided that the leaders of the particular organizations involved shall comply with Subsection A of this section.
[Amended 12-19-1995 by Ord. No. 95-068]
Any person who violates any provision of this
article shall, upon conviction thereof, be punished by a fine not
exceeding $1,000, by imprisonment for a term not exceeding 90 days
or by a period of community service for not more than 90 days, or
any combination thereof. A separate offense shall be deemed committed
on each day during or on which a violation occurs or continues.
