[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town Board of the
Town of Liberty 9-12-1991 by L.L. No. 2-1991. Amendments noted where
applicable.]
The purpose of this chapter is to preserve and
care for the safety, health, comfort and general welfare of the inhabitants
of the Town of Liberty or visitors thereto by the regulation of peddling,
hawking, vending and soliciting orders from new customers by going
from house to house and acting as a transient merchant or transient
merchant-peddler, as hereinafter defined.
As used in this chapter, the following terms
shall have the meanings indicated:
The Supervisor and the Town Board of the Town of Liberty.
A person, commonly referred to either as a "peddler" or a
"hawker," who goes from place to place by traveling on the street
or from house to house and carries with him or her goods, wares, merchandise,
foods and food products for the purpose of selling and delivering
them to consumers.
An individual, firm, partnership, corporation, voluntary
association or incorporated association, or agent or employee thereof.
The act of going from house to house to solicit orders from
new customers, and shall be applicable only to goods which originate
within the State of New York.
A person, commonly referred to as a "transient merchant"
or an "itinerant vendor," who engages or proposes to engage temporarily
in merchandising business in this municipality and occupies a room,
business, tent, lot, stand or other premises for the purpose of selling
goods, wares and merchandise.
A person who engages in business in the manner defined by
"transient merchant" and, in pursuance thereof, becomes a peddler
or hires a peddler as defined by "peddler."
No person or persons shall hereafter upon the
public highways within the Town of Liberty, New York, with intent
to solicit or interest another in the rental or sale of any apartment,
room, hotel, house, bungalow, business or enterprise, commit any of
the following acts:
It shall be unlawful for any peddler, transient
merchant and transient merchant-peddler to sell or dispose of or to
offer to sell or dispose of any goods, wares or merchandise within
the Town of Liberty without first obtaining a license and having paid
the license fee hereinafter prescribed.[1]
A.
The requirements of this chapter shall be held not
to include the following persons who are expressly exempt from its
application:
(1)
The peddling of meats, fish, fruit and farm products
by farmers and persons who produce such commodities.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: Former Subsection A(2), dealing
with honorably discharged members of the armed forces, which immediately
followed this subsection, was repealed 7-8-1996 by L.L. No. 4-1996.
(2)
The holder of a license granted pursuant to § 32
of the General Business Law.
(3)
Nonprofit and charitable organizations, including
their representatives, agents and employees.
(4)
Any person soliciting at the express invitation of
the person solicited or serving an established customer.
(5)
A wholesaler selling articles to dealers or merchants
who have an established place of business within the Town.
(6)
Auction sales held pursuant to law by a Sheriff or
other officer authorized by law to conduct such sale.
(7)
Garage sales or similar sales by homeowners of their
own property sold on their home premises for a period of not more
than two days.
B.
This chapter shall hot apply so as to interfere unlawfully
with interstate commerce.
Any person desiring a license shall file with
the Town Clerk an application blank, separate blanks being provided
for each of the three classes of licenses. The blanks shall contain
the following information and must be under oath:
A.
For all license classes:
(1)
The name of the applicant
(2)
The permanent home residence of the applicant.
(3)
The name and address of the firm represented and the
names and addresses of the persons from whom goods making up the stock
were or are to be purchased.
(4)
Three business references.
(5)
The place or places of residence of the applicant
for the preceding three years.
(6)
The length of time for which the license is desired.
(7)
A description of the wares to be offered for sale.
(8)
The number either of arrests or convictions for misdemeanors
or crimes and the nature of the offenses for which arrested or convicted.
(9)
Appended to the application, a letter from the firm
for which the applicant purports to work, authorizing the applicant
to act as its representative, and a copy of the New York State sales
tax vendor's authorizations.
B.
For transient merchant licenses, in addition to the
foregoing items, the application shall show:
C.
For transient merchant-peddler licenses, in addition
to the foregoing information, the application must show:
A.
Following the filing of the application, the Town
Clerk or the Code Enforcement Officer shall verify the information
respecting the applicant and shall signify his or her approval or
rejection on the reverse side of the form. Upon verification of the
application and payment of the prescribed fee, the license shall be
issued by the Town Clerk.
B.
For all license classes, the license issued shall
not authorize any person, except the designated person named in said
license, to engage in business thereunder. Said license shall not
be transferable from the person to whom issued to any other person.
C.
A separate license must be obtained by a licensed
peddler for every agent or employee working for the peddler. A separate
license must be obtained by a licensed transient merchant for each
branch or separate place of business in the Town of Liberty in which
the transient merchant's business in conducted, and each license shall
authorize the person to conduct business only at the location which
is indicated therein.
A.
All licenses shall be issued on forms drawn in accordance
with this chapter. They shall be printed in book form, with corresponding
stubs, and shall be consecutively numbered. The license shall contain
suitable blank spaces for writing in the name, the class of license
granted, the location of the business and the amount of fee paid.
B.
There shall be kept in the office of the Town Clerk
the necessary books for recording the time the application for a license
is received, showing its class, whether new or renewal, the name of
the licensee, the regular number of the blank form, when the application
was approved by the Town Clerk or Code Enforcement Officer, the amount
of fee received therefor and the date when the license was issued.
C.
The Town Clerk shall monthly file a report with the
Board showing the number of licenses granted by classes and the amount
of fees received therefor. Each report shall state the number and
class of licenses suspended or revoked. The monthly report shall be
cumulative during the course of the year so that each report summarizes
the action of all preceding months of the current year.
A.
Every person holding a license under this chapter
shall be required to carry the license with him or her at his or her
business premises while engaged in the business licensed. The person
must produce the license at the request of any official of the Town
and of any person of the Town with whom he or she wishes to conduct
his or her said business.
B.
To every peddler granted a license, the Town Clerk
shall issue a decal bearing the words "Licensed Peddler, Town of Liberty,"
together with the number of the license and the year for which it
is issued. All automobiles, wagons, carts or other vehicles used for
peddling shall have affixed thereon said decal. A transient merchant
and a transient merchant-peddler must post a license certificate in
a prominent place in his or her business premises.
A licensed peddler, transient merchant or transient
merchant-peddler shall not:
A.
Resort to deceptive acts or practices, physical abuse,
threats, intimidation or harassment in the course of conducting his
or her business or offer for sale any provision, food or merchandise
that is unwholesome, unfit, deleterious or harmful to the user or
consumer thereof.
B.
Peddle at or solicit on private property which has
displayed a sign bearing the words "No Peddling or Soliciting" or
words of like intent nor shall any licensee remain on the premises
after the owner or occupant thereof shall have requested his or her
departure therefrom.
C.
Keep the vehicles and receptacles used by him or her
in an unclean and unsanitary condition nor the foodstuffs and edibles
offered for sale uncovered and unprotected from dirt, dust, insects,
contamination or spoilage or as otherwise required by any competent
municipal health authority.
D.
Stand or permit the vehicles and receptacles used
by him or her to stand in one place in any public place or street
for more than 10 minutes or in front of any premises for any time
if the owner of occupant of the premises objects. However, in no case
shall the holder of any license issued hereunder remain in any one
fixed location and vend his or her goods, wares and merchandise continuously
for a period in excess of 30 minutes, nor shall said licensee resume
operations during the same business day from a new location within
1/4 mile of said former site of operation.
E.
Sell any confectionery or ice cream within 250 feet
of any school between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. on school
days.
F.
Permit any vehicles and receptacles used by him or
her to stop or remain on any crosswalk.
G.
Create, erect or maintain any booth or stand or place
any barrels, boxes, crates or other obstructions upon any street or
public place for the purpose of selling or exposing for sale any goods,
wares or merchandise.
H.
Blow a horn, ring a bell or use any other noisy device
to attract public attention to his or her wares or shout or cry out
his or her wares.
I.
Assign or transfer his or her license to any other
person, and any transfer to or use of such license by any other person
shall be a violation and shall automatically thereupon terminate such
license.
J.
Obstruct any street, driveway or other public or private
right-of-way.
[Amended 7-8-1996 by L.L. No. 4-1996]
License fees shall be as set forth by the Town
Board from time to time.[1] Honorably discharged members of the armed forces of the
United States, although required to apply for a license, shall not
be required to pay license fees.
A.
Licenses issued under provisions of this chapter may
be revoked by the Town Clerk of the Town of Liberty, after notice
and hearing, for any of the following causes:
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 the hearing. Such notice shall
be mailed, postage prepaid, to the licensee at the licensee's last
known address at least five days prior to the date set for hearing.
C.
The Town Clerk, upon receiving information giving
him or her reasonable cause to believe that the holder of any license
issued hereunder has violated any provisions of this chapter or has
been convicted of any violation referred to in this section, may forthwith
temporarily suspend such license until a hearing is held by the Town
Clerk, as provided herein, and the Town Clerk shall have issued his
or her determination thereon.
D.
If the licensee has one or more employees, the revocation
hereunder shall apply to the licensee and all employees if either
the licensee or any one or more of the licensee's employees are determined
to be in violation of this chapter.
Any person aggrieved by the action of the Town Clerk in the denial of any application for a license as provided in § 111-6 of this chapter or in the decision of the Town Clerk with reference to the revocation of a license as provided in § 111-12 of this chapter shall have the right to appeal to the Town Board of the Town of Liberty. Such appeal shall be taken by filing, within 14 days after such notice of the action complained of has been mailed to such person's last known address, a written statement setting forth fully the grounds for the appeal. The Town Board shall set a time and place for a hearing on such appeal, and notice of such hearing shall be mailed to the applicant at the applicant's last known address at least five days prior to the date set for the hearing. The decision and order of the Town Board on such appeal shall be final and conclusive.
[Amended 7-8-1996 by L.L. No. 4-1996]
Any person violating any of the provisions of
any of the sections of this chapter shall be subject to a fine of
not more than $250 or to an imprisonment term of not more than 15
days, or both.
