[HISTORY: Adopted by the Borough Council of the Borough of Brookville at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I). Amendments noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Streets and sidewalks — See Ch. 193.
It is the purpose of this chapter to regulate peddlers, solicitors, and canvassers, transient merchants and itinerant vendors who come into the Borough of Brookville to sell or attempt to sell, to take orders or attempt to take orders, or to solicit contributions, pledges, or subscriptions or attempt to solicit contributions, pledges or subscriptions, such regulations being in the interest and for the protection of the residents of the Borough of Brookville, and further requiring license fees to offset the cost of regulation and administration of this chapter.
It shall be unlawful for any person to engage in the business of peddler, solicitor, canvasser, transient merchant or itinerant vendor as defined in § 152-3 of this chapter within the Borough of Brookville without first obtaining a license therefor as provided in this chapter.
When used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the following meanings:
BOROUGH STAFF
Any member of Borough staff designated by the Borough.
CANVASSER
See "solicitor."
CHIEF OF POLICE
The Chief of Police of the Borough of Brookville Police Department or its successor.
DEPARTMENT
The Borough of Brookville Police Department or its successor.
ITINERANT MERCHANT
See "transient merchant."
PEDDLER
Any person, whether a resident of the Borough of Brookville or not, traveling by foot, wagon, automotive vehicle or any other type of conveyance from place to place, from house to house or from street to street, carrying, conveying or transporting goods, wares, merchandise, fish, vegetables, meat, or fruits and offering and exposing the same for sale or making sales and delivering articles to purchasers, or who, without traveling from place to place, shall sell or offer the same for sale from a wagon, automotive vehicle, railroad car or other vehicle or conveyance, and further provided that one who solicits orders and as a separate transaction makes delivery to purchasers as part of a 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 include "hawker" and "huckster."
SOLICITOR or CANVASSER
Any person, whether a resident of the Borough of Brookville or not, traveling by foot, wagon, automobile, motor truck or other type of conveyance from place to place, person to person, house to house or from street to street, taking or attempting to take orders for the sale of goods, wares and merchandise or personal property of any nature whatsoever for future delivery or for services to be furnished or performed in the future or for subscriptions, contributions, or any other kind of support, whether or not such individual has or carries or exposes for sale a sample of the subject of such sale or whether such person is collecting advance payments on such sale or not, provided that such definition shall include any person, who, for himself or for another person, firm or corporation, hires, leases, uses or occupies any building, structure, room, apartment, shop or any other place within the Borough of Brookville for the sole purpose of exhibiting samples and taking orders for future delivery, and further provided that such definition shall include any person who, without necessarily having the intention of making a direct sale, distributes literature, pamphlets, handbills, samples and the like for the purpose of information, advertising or for other purposes such as the furtherance of public, economic, or social beliefs, doctrines, systems or projects.
TRANSIENT MERCHANT or ITINERANT VENDOR
Any person, whether as an owner, agent, consignee or employee, whether a resident of the Borough of Brookville or not, who engages in a temporary business of selling and delivering goods, wares and merchandise within the Borough of Brookville and who, in furtherance of such purpose, hires, leases, uses or occupies any building, structure, room, apartment, shop or any other place within the Borough of Brookville for the exhibition and sale of such goods, wares, or merchandise, either privately or at public auction. The person so engaged shall not be relieved from compliance with the provisions of this chapter merely by reason of associating temporarily with any local dealer, trader, merchant or auctioneer or by conducting such transient business in connection with, as a part of, or in the name of, any local dealer, trader, merchant or auctioneer.
The terms of this chapter, as defined in § 152-3, shall not be held to include any of the following:
A. 
Sales conducted pursuant to statute.
B. 
Sales conducted pursuant to order by any court.
C. 
Any person selling personal property at wholesale to dealers of such articles.
D. 
The farmer or truck gardener who shall sell or dispose of products of farm or garden occupied and cultivated by him from the premises occupied by him to any manufacturer or producer in the sale of bread or bakery products or milk and milk products.
E. 
Any person selling personal property at a garage sale held at his residence.
F. 
The sale of newspapers.
G. 
Any merchant having an established place of business within the Borough of Brookville.
A. 
Applicants for a license under this chapter must file with the Borough staff a sworn application, in writing, on a form to be furnished, which shall give the following information:
(1) 
Name and physical description of the applicant.
(2) 
Complete permanent home and full local address of the applicant and, in the case of transient merchants and itinerant vendors, the local address from which proposed sales will be made.
(3) 
A brief description of the nature of the business and the goods to be sold.
(4) 
If employed, the name and address of the employer and the name and address of the employee's immediate supervisor, together with credentials establishing the exact employment relationship.
(5) 
The length of time for which the right to do business is desired.
(6) 
If a vehicle is to be used, a description of the same, together with the license number or other means of identification.
(7) 
The source of supply of the goods or property proposed to be sold or orders taken for the sale thereof and the proposed method of delivery.
(8) 
Two photographs of the applicant which shall be approximately one inch by one inch, showing the head and shoulders of the applicant in a clear and distinguishing manner.
(9) 
A statement as to whether or not the applicant has been convicted of any crime or violation of any municipal ordinance, the nature of the offense and the punishment or penalty assessed therefor.
B. 
At the time of filing the application, a fee as set from time to time by resolution of the Borough Council shall be paid to cover the cost to process the application(s).
A. 
Upon receipt of such application, the Borough of Brookville shall obtain copies of an Act 34 clearance from the Pennsylvania State Police. If as a result of the investigation the applicant's character or business responsibility is found to be unsatisfactory, the Borough staff will indicate disapproval and the reasons therefor and return said application and notify the applicant of such disapproval and that no such license shall be issued.
B. 
If as a result of such investigation the character or business responsibility of the applicant are found to be satisfactory, the Borough staff shall, upon payment of the prescribed fee, execute and deliver to the applicant the license for the carrying on of the business applied for.
C. 
Such license shall contain a signature of a Borough staff member, show the company's name, company address and a photograph of the licensee and the kind of goods to be sold thereunder, date of issuance and the length of time the permit shall be operative.
D. 
The Borough staff shall keep a permanent record of all licenses issued and those rejected.
A. 
Any religious, charitable, patriotic, political, philanthropic, public interest or community service organization, society, association or corporation desiring to solicit or have solicited in its name money, donations of money or property, or financial assistance of any kind or desiring to sell or distribute any item of literature, various types of tokens or merchandise for which a fee is charged or solicited from persons other than members of such organization, upon the streets, in office buildings, by house-to-house canvas or in public places, for a religious, charitable, patriotic, political, philanthropic, public interest or community purpose shall be exempt from the provisions of § 152-8 of this chapter.
B. 
The applicants under this heading must also receive Act 34 clearance, in the same manner as described by § 152-6. The application fee, however, is waived for applicants who fall within this section.
A. 
The nonrefundable fee for each license application pursuant to this chapter shall be as set from time to time by resolution of the Borough Council.
B. 
Licenses shall be issued on an annual basis and shall expire on December 31 of the year of issuance.
C. 
These fees are in addition to the earlier referenced application fee.
D. 
None of these license fees provided for by this chapter shall be applied to occasion any undue burden upon interstate commerce. In any case, where a license fee is believed by a licensee or applicant for a license to place an undue burden upon such commerce, he may apply to the governing body of the Borough of Brookville for an adjustment of the fee so that it shall not be discriminatory or unreasonable or unfair as to such commerce.
No licensee, nor any person in his behalf, shall shout, cry out, blow a horn, ring a bell, or use any sound or amplifying device upon any of the streets, alleys, parts or other public places of the Borough of Brookville or upon private premises where sound of sufficient volume is emitted or produced therefrom to be capable of being plainly heard upon the streets, avenues, alleys, parks or other public places, for the purposes of attracting attention to any goods, wares or merchandise which such licensee proposes to sell.
No license issued under the provisions of this chapter shall be used at any time by any person other than the one to whom it was issued.
A. 
No licensee shall have the exclusive right to any location in the public streets or sidewalks, nor shall any licensee be permitted to a stationary location thereof, nor shall any licensee be permitted to operate in a congested area where such operations might impede or inconvenience the public use of such streets or sidewalks, nor shall any licensee be permitted to stand at or in intersections or roadways (reference Section 3545 of the Pennsylvania Vehicle Code [1]).
[1]
Editor's Note: See 75 Pa.C.S.A. § 3545.
B. 
Licensees shall be prohibited from operating on Sundays and holidays. Licensees are permitted to operate between the hours of 9:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m., Monday through Saturday.
C. 
No licensee shall engage in the business of peddling, soliciting or canvassing upon any premises displaying a sign prohibiting such activity.
It shall be the duty of any peddler, solicitor, canvasser, transient merchant or itinerant vendor to produce his license upon the request of any resident of the Borough of Brookville with whom he does or proposes to do business.
It shall be the duty of any peddler, solicitor, canvasser, transient merchant or itinerant vendor to produce his license upon the request of any police officer of the Department.
The Borough staff shall maintain a record for each license issued and a record of the reports of violations.
A. 
Licenses issued under the provisions of this chapter may be revoked by the Chief of Police after notice and hearing for any of the following causes:
(1) 
Fraud, misrepresentation, or false statement contained in the application for license;
(2) 
Fraud, misrepresentation or false statement made in the course of carrying on his business as solicitor, peddler, canvasser or transient merchant or itinerant vendor;
(3) 
Any violation of this chapter;
(4) 
Conviction of any crime involving moral turpitude; or
(5) 
Conducting his business in an unlawful manner or in such a manner as to constitute a breach of the peace or to constitute a menace to the health, safety or general welfare of the general public.
B. 
Notice of the hearing for revocation of a license shall be given in writing, setting forth specifically the grounds of complaint and the time and place of hearing. Such notices shall be transmitted by certified mail, postage prepaid, to the licensee at his last known address at least seven days prior to the date set for hearing.
Any person aggrieved by the action of the Borough staff in the denial of a license as provided in § 152-6 of this chapter, or in the revocation of a license as provided in § 152-15, shall have a right to appeal to the governing body of the Borough of Brookville. Such appeal shall be taken by filing with the governing body of the Borough of Brookville, within 14 days after notice of the action complained of has been mailed to such person's last known address, a written statement setting forth the grounds for the appeal. The governing body of the Borough of Brookville shall set a time and place for hearing on such appeal, and notice of hearing shall be given to the person aggrieved in the name manner as provided in § 152-15 of this chapter for notice of hearing on revocation.
All licenses issued under the provisions of this chapter shall expire on the date specified in the license.
Any person, firm or corporation that shall violate any of the provisions of this chapter shall, upon conviction thereof, be punished by a fine for each and every separate offense in the sum of not more than $600, plus costs of prosecution, and, in default of payment of such fine and costs, by imprisonment for a term not exceeding 30 days. Each day any person, firm or corporation engages in the business of a peddler, solicitor, canvasser, transient merchant or itinerant vendor in violation of this chapter shall constitute a separate offense.