[HISTORY: Adopted by the Township Council of the Township of Bristol 1-6-1992 by Ord. No. 92-1. Amendments noted where applicable.]
This chapter shall be known and may be cited as the "Bristol Township Peddlers and Solicitors Licensing Ordinance."
[Amended 10-20-1992 by Ord. No. 92-17; added 8-15-1995 by Ord. No. 95-7]
A. 
As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the meanings indicated:
OFFICE OF LICENSES, ZONING AND INSPECTIONS
The Bristol Township Office of Licenses, Zoning and Inspections.
PEDDLER
Any person who shall engage in-peddling as hereinbelow defined.
PEDDLING AND SOLICITING
(1) 
PEDDLING
The selling or offering for sale of any goods, wares, services or merchandise for immediate delivery which the person selling or offering for sale carries with him in traveling or has in his possession or control upon any of the streets or sidewalks or from house to house or by visitation to private residences or by entering in or upon private property within the Township of Bristol.
(2) 
SOLICITING
The seeking or taking of contracts or orders for any goods, wares, services or merchandise for future delivery, or for subscriptions or contributions, upon any of the streets or sidewalks or from house to house or by visitation to private residences or by entering in or upon private property within the Township of Bristol, and further, the seeking or taking of contracts or orders for home or other building repairs, improvement and alterations, and also orders or contracts for any mechanical, electrical, plumbing or heating device or equipment for house or other building improvements or repairs upon or from the places aforesaid within the said Township.
(3) 
The words "peddling" and "soliciting" shall not apply to:
(a) 
Farmers seeking or taking orders for the sale of their own products.
(b) 
The seeking or taking of orders by any manufacturer or producer for the sale of bread and bakery products, meat and meat products or milk or milk products.
(c) 
The sale of goods, wares and merchandise donated by the owners thereof, the proceeds whereof are to be applied to any charitable or philanthropic purpose.
(d) 
Any honorably discharged soldier, sailor or marine of the military service who complies with the Act of Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania of 1867, April 8, P.L. 50, as amended,[1] and who procures from the Prothonotary of the proper county a certificate in pursuance of the said Act of Assembly.
(e) 
The seeking or taking of orders for insurance by insurance agents or brokers licensed under the insurance laws of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
(f) 
Any person taking orders for merchandise from dealers or merchants for resale to an ultimate consumer.
(g) 
The sale of goods, wares and merchandise, the proceeds of which are to be applied to or on behalf of any entity organized for charitable, religious, educational, philanthropic or civic service purposes and which sell goods solely from a location owned either by the charitable, religious, educational, philanthropic or civic service organization or its sponsoring organization; for example, a Boy Scout Troop sponsored by a church will not be deemed to be peddling if it is vending goods solely from the property of the church itself.
PERSON
Any natural person, association, partnership, firm, organization or corporation.
SOLICITOR
Any person who shall engage in soliciting as hereinabove defined.
[1]
Editor's Note: See 60 P.S. § 61, which was repealed Nov. 24, 1992 by P.L. 717, No. 108, § 3.
B. 
Word usage. In this chapter, the singular shall include the plural, and the masculine shall include the feminine and the neuter.
[Amended 10-20-1992 by Ord. No. 92-17]
From the effective date of this chapter, it shall be a violation of this chapter for any person, persons, partnership, firm, organization or corporation to perform any soliciting or peddling in a public place or places or by entering in or upon private property within the boundaries of Bristol Township, Bucks County, Pennsylvania, without first having obtained a license from the Bristol Township Office of Licenses, Zoning and Inspections.
[Amended 10-20-1992 by Ord. No. 92-17; 6-17-2021 by Ord. No. 2021-10]
A. 
Every person desiring to engage in soliciting or peddling in the Township of Bristol shall first make application to the Director of the Office of Licenses, Zoning and Inspections for a license, and if such person shall also be required to obtain a license from any county officer, he shall, on making such application, exhibit a valid county license. The said application shall be upon a blank provided by the Director of the Office of Licenses, Zoning and Inspections and shall contain at least the following information, verified by oath or affirmation:
(1) 
The full name of the applicant and local address, if any.
(2) 
The permanent address of the applicant.
(3) 
The name of the applicant’s employer or a statement that such applicant is self-employed.
(4) 
The nature of the goods, wares, services or merchandise offered for sale, or in the case of an application for the solicitation of contributions, the name and address of the person, persons, firm, organization or corporation on behalf of whom the contributions are being solicited and the purpose to which the contributions are being applied.
(5) 
A statement as to whether or not the applicant has ever been convicted of any crime, and if the answer is in the affirmative, the nature of the offense or offenses and the punishment or punishments imposed thereon.
(6) 
The type of vehicle to be used, if any.
B. 
Where a person makes application for himself and one or more helpers, all applicable personal information specified above shall be given for each helper and verified or affirmed by oath or affirmation by him, and an individual license shall be required for each helper. No license under this chapter shall be transferable from one person to another.
C. 
The Director of the Office of Licenses, Zoning and Inspections shall have 30 days to review the application. Upon completion of the review, the Director of the Office of Licenses, Zoning and Inspections shall either approve the application and issue the license or deny the application. In the event the Director of the Office of Licenses, Zoning and Inspections does not make a determination on the application within 30 days, the application shall be deemed approved. The Director of the Office of Licenses, Zoning and Inspections may deny the application for any of the following reasons:
(1) 
The application does not contain all the required information contained in subsection A of this section;
(2) 
The applicant has been found to be in violation of any part of this chapter within the past 12 months; or
(3) 
After a background check, the applicant is found to have a felony conviction for assault, rape, arson, burglary, other violent crime, or any crime involving falsehood, including, but not limited to, fraud, perjury or theft by deception.
[Amended 10-20-1992 by Ord. No. 92-17]
A. 
No license shall be issued under this chapter unless the prescribed fee shall be paid to the Office of Licenses, Zoning and Inspections. A separate application and separate license fee shall be required for each solicitor or peddler employed or engaged in the soliciting for or peddling of a person’s goods, wares, merchandise, services or for the soliciting of contributions.
B. 
License fees for solicitors or peddlers shall be as set from time to time by resolution or ordinance of the Township Council.[1]
[1]
Editor’s Note: See Ch. 101, Fees.
C. 
It shall be unlawful to continue to solicit or peddle within Bristol Township after the expiration of a license; a new application form must be submitted with the required fee to obtain a renewal license.
Such license, when issued, shall state, inter alia, the products to be sold or services to be rendered by the licensee. Every solicitor or peddler shall at all times, when engaged in soliciting or peddling in the Township of Bristol, carry such license upon his person and shall exhibit it upon request to all police officers, Township officials and citizens. No solicitor or peddler shall engage in selling any product or service or seek any contribution not mentioned on such license.
No person licensed as a solicitor or peddler under this chapter shall park any vehicle upon any of the streets, highways or alleys of the Township in order to sort, rearrange or clean any of the goods, wares, services or merchandise; nor shall any such person place or deposit any refuse on any such streets, highways or alleys; nor shall any such person maintain or keep a street or curbstone market by parking any vehicle upon any street or alley in the Township for longer than necessary in order to, from such vehicle, sell to or seek contributions from persons residing in the immediate vicinity.
A. 
No person licensed as a solicitor or peddler under this chapter shall occupy any fixed location upon any of the streets, highways, alleys or sidewalks of the Township for the purpose of soliciting or peddling, with or without any stand or counter, except as provided below.
B. 
No license shall be issued to any person, persons, partnership, firm, organization or corporation for the purposes of selling or offering for sale on a temporary basis from a roadside stand, vacant lot or temporary structure unless the applicant shall comply with the provisions of Chapter 205, Zoning.
It shall be unlawful for any solicitor or peddler to engage in false, misleading or fraudulent selling, soliciting or peddling or to harass, annoy or badger any resident within the Township of Bristol, subject to the fines and penalties set forth in this chapter.
No person engaged in soliciting or peddling shall hawk or cry goods, wares, merchandise, offers, contracts or services upon any of the streets or sidewalks of the Township, nor shall he use any loudspeakers or horn or any other device for announcing his presence. An exception to this section will be ice cream trucks during the summer season and lunch trucks that go from business to business. Permits shall be required for the same.
[Amended 6-17-2021 by Ord. No. 2021-10]
No person licensed under this chapter shall enter upon or remain on the property of a private residence or place of business in the Township for the purpose of peddling or soliciting as defined in Section 144-2 if:
A. 
Access to the property was granted under false pretenses;
B. 
The owner or occupant thereof requests the person to leave;
C. 
The owner or occupant has displayed a “No Soliciting” sign on the premises; or
D. 
The owner or occupant has registered his/her property with the Director of the Office of Licenses, Zoning and Inspections as a property that does not wish to receive solicitations.
The Director of the Office of Licenses, Zoning and Inspections shall provide the registry to all persons licensed under this chapter either in hard copy or through electronic access.
[Amended 6-17-2021 by Ord. No. 2021-10]
No person licensed as a solicitor or peddler under this chapter shall engage in soliciting or peddling on any day of the week before 9:00 a.m. or after 9:00 p.m., prevailing time.
[Amended 10-20-1992 by Ord. No. 92-17]
The Office of Licenses, Zoning and Inspections shall keep a record of all licenses issued under this chapter, and said Office shall supervise the activities of all holders of such licenses.
[Amended 10-20-1992 by Ord. No. 92-17]
Any license issued under this chapter may be suspended or revoked at any time by the Director of the Office of Licenses, Zoning and Inspections upon proof being furnished to it of any of the following causes:
A. 
The application for the license contained false or misleading information.
B. 
The applicant or licensee was convicted of a crime involving fraud, misappropriation of funds or property or moral turpitude after the issuance of the license.
C. 
The applicant or licensee engaged in any false, misleading or fraudulent selling, soliciting or peddling during the term of such license.
D. 
The applicant or licensee harassed, annoyed or badgered the residents and inhabitants of the Township of Bristol during the term of such license.
E. 
The licensee was convicted of disorderly conduct or disturbing the peace under any law of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania or any ordinance of the Township of Bristol.
[Amended 8-15-1995 by Ord. No. 95-7]
A. 
Persons engaged in peddling or soliciting in violation of this chapter shall first be advised by either the Township Code Enforcement Department or the Township Police Department that the peddling or soliciting in question is in violation of this chapter. Such person shall be given one hour to cease and desist his violation of this chapter. Persons so instructed to comply with the law who fail to either comply with the law or vacate Bristol Township and thereby cease violating this chapter within one hour of notification shall be subject to having their merchandise seized and impounded by the Township. Impounded merchandise shall be stored by the Township at the violator’s expense and held as security for the appearance of the violator in court and his payment of any fine levied in accordance with this chapter. Upon a violator paying any fine levied against him, as well as payment of any reasonable storage charges assessed by the Township, the seized merchandise shall be returned to the violator.
B. 
A list shall be made of all persons ordered to move for violation of this chapter. Such persons shall be advised that the first notice to vacate shall be a warning only, and if said person ceases violating this chapter within one hour of receiving notice to do so, no further enforcement proceedings shall be taken for said violation. Should a person who had received such an official warning reappear in the Township and violate this chapter a second time, such second violation shall be deemed a violation of this chapter and the violator may be immediately cited for violation of this chapter and his goods seized as security in accordance with § 144-15A of this chapter.
C. 
Any person who shall violate any of the provisions of this chapter shall, upon conviction thereof before a District Justice, be sentenced to pay a fine not in excess of $1,000, along with the costs of prosecution and any other relief the District Justice deems appropriate. Each day of violation of any of the provisions of this chapter shall constitute a separate and distinct violation.