[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:
CANVASSER or SOLICITOR
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.
DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC SAFETY
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.
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.