AN ORDINANCE RELATING TO THE LICENSING OF PEDDLERS, SOLICITORS, AND TRANSIENT MERCHANTS AND PROVIDING FOR PENALTIES FOR VIOLATIONS THEREOF
The City Council of the City of Wabasso ordains:
Section 1. Definitions
- “Peddler” means any person, whether a resident of the city of Wabasso or not, who goes from house to house, from place to place, or from street to street, conveying or transporting goods, wares or merchandise or offering or exposing the same for sale, or making sales and delivering articles to purchasers. It does not include vendors of milk, bakery products, groceries or ice who distribute their products to regular customers on established routes.
- “Solicitor” means any person, whether a resident of the City of Wabasso or not, who goes from house to house, place to place or street to street, soliciting or taking or attempting to take orders for the sale of goods, wares or merchandise, including magazines, books, periodicals or personal property of any nature whatsoever for future delivery, or for service to be performed in the future, whether or not such individual has, carries or exposes for sale a sample of the subject of such order or whether or not he is collecting advance payments on such orders. Such definition includes any person who, for himself, or for another person or firm, firm or corporation, hires, leases, uses or occupies any building, motor vehicle, trailer, structure, tent, railroad boxcar, boat, hotel room, lodging house, apartment, shop, or other place within the City for the primary purpose of exhibiting samples and taking orders for future delivery.
- “Transient Merchant” includes any person, firm or corporation, whether as owner, agent, consignee, or employee, whether a resident of the City of Wabasso or not, who engages in a temporary business of selling and delivering goods, wares and merchandise within the city, and who, in furtherance of such purpose, hires, leases, uses or occupies any building, structure, motor vehicle, trailer, tent, railroad boxcar, boat, public room in hotels, lodging house, apartments, shops, or any street, alley, or other place within the city, for the exhibition and sale of such goods, wares and merchandise, either privately or at public auction, provided that such definition does not include any person, firm or corporation who while occupying such temporary location, does not sell from stock, but exhibits samples for the purpose of securing order for future delivery only. The person, firm or corporation so engaged is relieved from complying with the provisions of this ordinance merely by reason of associating temporarily with any local dealer, trader, merchant, or auctioneer.
Section 2. Permit Required. It is unlawful for any peddler, solicitor or transient merchant to engage in any such business within the City of Wabasso without first obtaining a permit therefore in compliance with the provisions of this ordinance.
Section 3. Exemptions. The terms of this ordinance do not include acts of persons selling personal property at wholesale to dealers in such articles, nor to newsboys, nor to the acts of merchants or their employees in delivering goods in the regular course of business. Nothing contained in the ordinance prohibits any sale required by statute, or by order of any court, or prevents any person conducting a bona fide auction sale pursuant to law.
Section 4. Application. Applicants for a permit under this ordinance shall file with the City Clerk a sworn application in writing on a form to be furnished by the city Clerk. The application shall give the following information:
- Name and physical description of applicant;
- Complete permanent home and local address of the applicant and in the case of transient merchants, the local address from which the proposed sales will be made;
- A brief description of the nature of the business and the goods to be sold;
- The name and address of the employer, principal or supplier of the applicant, together with credentials therefrom e=stablishing the exact relationship;
- The length of time for which the right to do business is desired;
- The source of supply of the goods or property proposed to be sold, or orders taken for the sale thereof, where such goods or products are located at the time said application is filed, and the proposed method of delivery;
- The last municipalities, not to exceed three, where applicant carried on business immediately the preceding date of application and the addresses from which such business was conducted in those municipalities;
Upon approval of the application, the City Clerk shall deliver to the applicant a permit, Such permit shall contain the signature of the issuing officer and shall show the name , address and photograph of said permittee, the class of permit issued and the kinds of goods to be sold thereunder, the date of issuance and the length of time, not to exceed one year from issuance that the same shall operative, as well as the permit number and other identifying description of any vehicle used in such licensed business. Each, peddler, solicitor or transient merchant must secure a personal permit. No permit shall be used at any time by any person other than the one to whom it was issued. The City Clerk shall keep a permanent record of all permits issued.
Section 5. Religious and Charitable Organizations Exemption. Any organization, society, association or corporation desiring to solicit or to 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 or merchandise for which a fee is charged or solicited from persons other than members of such organizations upon the streets, in office or business buildings, by house-to house canvass or in public places for a charitable, religious patriotic or philanthropic purpose
Shall be exempt from the provisions of Section 4 of this ordinance provided there is filed a sworn application in writing on a form to be furnished by the City Clerk which shall give the following information:
- Name and purpose of the cause for which permit is sought;
- Names and addresses of the officers and directors of the organization;
- Period during which solicitation is to be carried on;
- Whether or not any commission, fee, wages, or emoluments are to be expended in connection with such solicitation and the amount thereof.
Upon being satisfied that such organization, association or corporation is a religious, charitable, patriotic or philanthropic organization, the City Clerk shall issue a permit without charge to such organization, association or corporation to solicit in the city. Such organization, association or corporation shall furnish all of its members, agents or representatives conducting solicitation credentials in writing stating the name of the organization, name of agent and purpose of solicitation.
Section 6. Solicitation Prohibited. Any resident of the city who wishes to exclude peddlers or solicitors from premises occupied by him may place upon or near the usual entrance to such premises a printed placard or sign bearing the following notice “Peddlers and Solicitors Prohibited” or “No Soliciting”.
Section 7. Loud Noises and Speaking Devices. No permittee, nor any person in his behalf, shall shout, cry out, blow a horn, ring a bell, or use any amplifying devices upon any of the streets, alleys, parks or other public places of the city 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 purpose of attracting attention to any goods, wares or merchandise which such licensee proposes to sell.
Section 8. Use of Streets. No permittee shall have any exclusive right to any location in the public streets, nor shall any be permitted a stationary location thereon, nor shall any be permitted to operate in a congested area where such operation might impede or inconvenience the public use of such streets. For the purpose of this ordinance the judgement of a police officer, exercised in good faith, shall be deemed conclusive as to whether this area is congested and the public impeded or inconvenienced.
Section 9. Exhibition of Permit. Permittees are required to exhibit their permit at the request of any citizen.
Section 10. Duty of Police to enforce. It shall be the duty of the police of the City of Wabasso to require any person seen peddling, soliciting or canvasing and who is not known by such officer to have obtained a permit hereunder to produce his permit and to enforce the provisions of this ordinance against any person found to be violating the same.
Section 11. Records. The Chief of Police shall report to the City Clerk all convictions for violation of this ordinance and the City Clerk shall maintain a record for each permit issued and record the reports of violation therein.
Section 12. Revocation of License.
- Permits issued under the provisions of this ordinance may be revoked by the City Council of the City of Wabasso after notice and hearing for any of the following causes:
- Fraud, misrepresentation, or incorrect statement contained in the application for permit;
- Fraud, misrepresentation of incorrect statement made in the course of carrying on his business as solicitor, canvasser, peddler, transient merchant, itinerant merchant or itinerant vendor;
- Any violation of this ordinance;
- Conviction of any crime or misdemeanor;
- Conducting the business of peddler, canvasser, solicitor, transient merchant, itinerant merchant or itinerant vendor in such a manner as to constitute a menace to health, safety or general welfare of the public.
- Notice of the hearing for revocation of a permit shall be given by the City Clerk in writing, setting forth specifically the grounds of the complaint and the time and place of the hearing. Such notice shall be mailed, postage prepaid, to the permittee at his last known address at least five days prior to the date set for hearing, or shall be delivered by a police officer in the same manner as a summons at least three days prior to the date set for hearing.
Section 13. Appeal. Any such person aggrieved by the action of the City Clerk in the denial of a permit as provided in Section 4. Of this ordinance may appeal to the City Council. Such appeal shall be taken by filing with the City Council within fourteen days after notice of the action complained of, a written statement setting forth fully the grounds for the appeal. The City Council shall set a time and place for a hearing on such appeal, and notice of such hearing being given to the appellant in the same manner as provided in Section 12 of this ordinance for notice of hearing on revocation.
Section 14. Reapplication. No permittee whose permit has been revoked shall make further application until at least six months have elapsed since the last previous revocation.
Section 15. Expiration of Permit. All annual permits issued under the provisions of this ordinance shall expire at midnight the 31st day of December in the year when issued. Other than annual licenses shall expire at midnight on the date specified in the license.
Section 17. Effective Date. This ordinance takes effect from and after its adoption and published according to law. Passed and Adopted by the City Council this 8th day of November 1993.
Doug Strand, Mayor
Attest:
Marilyn J Davis, City Clerk