[HISTORY: Adopted by the Common Council of the City of Bayfield 4-1-1992 (§§ 7-4-1 through 7-4-8 of the 1992 Code of Ordinances); amended in its entirety 9-13-2016 by Ord. No. 382.[1] Subsequent amendments noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Door-to-door sellers — See Ch. 201.
Licenses and permits — See Ch. 268.
Pawnbrokers and secondhand dealers — See Ch. 302.
Streets, sidewalks and public areas — See Ch. 349.
[1]
Editor's Note: This ordinance originally provided for the renumbering of this chapter as Ch. 201, but the current chapter number was retained for organizational purposes.
It shall be unlawful for any direct seller to engage in direct sales within the City of Bayfield without first receiving a permit for that purpose as provided herein.
In this chapter, the following terms shall have the meanings indicated:
CHARITABLE ORGANIZATION
Includes any benevolent, philanthropic, patriotic or eleemosynary person, partnership, association or corporation, or one purporting to be such, but shall not include religious organizations.
CLERK
The City of Bayfield Clerk.
DIRECT SELLER
Any individual who, for him/herself, or for a partnership, association or corporation, sells goods or services, or takes sales orders for the later delivery of goods or services, at any location, whether temporary or permanent within the City of Bayfield, other than the permanent business place or residence of said individual, partnership, association or corporation, and shall include, but not be limited to, peddlers, solicitors and transient merchants. A direct seller does not include door-to-door sellers as defined in Chapter 201. The sale of goods includes donations required by the direct seller for the retention of goods by a donor or prospective customer.
GOODS
Includes personal property of any kind and shall include goods provided incidental to services offered or sold.
PERSON
All humans of any age or sex, partnerships, corporations, associations, groups, organizations and any other description of a collection of human beings working in concert or for the same purpose or objective.
The following shall be exempt from all provisions of this chapter:
A. 
Any person holding a sale required by statute or by order of any court and any person conducting a bona fide auction sale pursuant to law;
B. 
Any person validly participating in the Bayfield Farmer's Market as a vendor;
C. 
Any farmer selling produce raised by that person.
A. 
Permit information. Applicants for permit must complete and return to the City Clerk a permit application form furnished by the Clerk which shall require the following information:
(1) 
Name, permanent address and telephone number, and temporary address, if any;
(2) 
Height, weight, color of hair and eyes, and date of birth;
(3) 
Name, address and telephone number of the person, firm, association or corporation that the direct seller represents or is employed by, or whose merchandise is being sold;
(4) 
Temporary address and telephone number from which business will be conducted, if any;
(5) 
Nature of business to be conducted and a brief description of the goods offered and any services offered;
(6) 
Proposed method of delivery of goods, if applicable;
(7) 
Make, model and license number of any vehicle to be used by applicant in the conduct of his business;
(8) 
Last cities, villages, towns, not to exceed three, where applicant conducted similar business just prior to making this registration.
(9) 
Place where applicant can be contacted for at least seven days after leaving this City;
(10) 
Statement as to whether applicant has been convicted of any crime or ordinance violation related to applicant's transient merchant business within the last five years, the nature of the offence and the place of conviction;
(11) 
Location where applicant proposes to conduct the business of direct seller;
(12) 
Dates and specific hours of the day that applicant proposes to conduct the business of direct seller at that location;
(13) 
Photos of proposed vending cart, booth, signage, etc.;
(14) 
Name, address and phone of any insurance or bonding company and amount of bond or liability insurance;
(15) 
If selling food, the direct seller must provide proper health certificates to the City as part of its application.
B. 
Identification and certification. Applicants shall present to the City Clerk for examination:
(1) 
A driver's license or some other proof of identity as may be reasonably required;
(2) 
A state certificate of examination and approval from the sealer of weights and measures where applicant's business requires use of weighing and measuring devices approved by state authorities;
(3) 
A state health officer's certificate where applicant's business involves the handling of food or clothing and is required to be certified under state law; such certificate to state that applicant is apparently free from any contagious or infectious disease, dated not more than 90 days prior to the date the application for a permit is made.
C. 
Permit fee.
(1) 
At the time of filing applications, a fee per year as set by the Common Council shall be paid to the City Clerk.
(2) 
The applicant shall sign a statement appointing the City Clerk his agent to accept service of process in any civil action brought against the applicant arising out of any sale or service performed by the applicant in connection with the direct sales activities of the applicant, in the event the applicant cannot, after reasonable effort, be served personally.
A. 
Upon receipt of each completed and signed application and the required fee, the City Clerk shall refer it immediately to the Police Department for an investigation of the statements made in such application, said investigation to be completed within five days from the time of referral.
B. 
If it is determined, pursuant to the investigation above, that: the application contains any material omission or materially inaccurate statement; complaints of a material nature have been received against the applicant by authorities in the last cities, villages and towns, not exceeding three, in which the applicant conducted similar business; the applicant was convicted of a crime, statutory violation or ordinance violation within the last five years, the nature of which is directly related to the applicant's fitness to engage in direct selling; or the applicant failed to comply with any applicable provision of § 200-4B above, the City Clerk shall deny the application and send it back to the applicant with an explanation as to the reasons for denial.
C. 
If the application is not denied, the City Clerk shall forward it to the Common Council for consideration.
When considering whether to grant a direct seller permit and what restrictions or requirements to place on such permit, the Common Council shall apply the following standards:
A. 
Direct sellers shall only be permitted to operate in the Commercial District.
B. 
Direct sellers shall not block or obstruct a fire hydrant.
C. 
Direct sellers shall not block or obstruct a curb cut.
D. 
Direct sellers shall not block or obstruct public walkways.
E. 
Sales shall be allowed between the hours of 9:00 a.m. and 7:00 only.
F. 
There shall be no sound devices, bubbles, flashing lights, banners, flags, or other similar noisemaking or moving devices or other related equipment allowed.
G. 
A direct seller's vending site must be neat and orderly, and the site may be reviewed and evaluated by the City.
H. 
A direct seller permit shall state the specific dates and location for which it is valid.
I. 
A direct seller permit shall be valid for no more than seven days within a thirty-day period.
J. 
No individual, partnership, association, limited liability company, corporation, or other entity may receive more than one direct seller permit within any thirty-day period.
K. 
If a direct seller proposes to set up on private property, he or she must provide the written consent of the property owner.
L. 
Only three direct seller permits will be issued at one time within the City.
M. 
Direct sellers shall not drive stakes or other similar devices into streets or sidewalks, or to any structure (building, light pole, signs, benches, etc.) without written permission of the City.
N. 
Signage shall be reviewed and must be consistent with Chapter 500, Article VIII.
O. 
Direct sellers shall not be allowed to be located within 500 feet of a permanent business dealing in the same or similar goods or services.
P. 
Direct sellers shall have adequate liability insurance as defined in § 349-18C(2).
Any person denied a permit may appeal the denial through the appeal procedure provided by ordinance or resolution of the Common Council or, if none has been adopted, under the provisions of §§ 68.01 through 68.16, Wis. Stats.
A. 
Prohibited practices.
(1) 
A direct seller shall not misrepresent or make false, deceptive or misleading statements concerning the quality, quantity or character of any goods offered for sale, the purpose of his visit, his identity or the identity of the organization he represents. A charitable organization direct seller shall specifically disclose what portion of the sale price of goods being offered will actually be used for the charitable purpose for which the organization is soliciting. Said portion shall be expressed as a percentage of the sale price of the goods.
(2) 
No direct seller shall impede the free use of sidewalks and streets by pedestrians and vehicles. Where sales are made from vehicles, all traffic and parking regulations shall be observed.
(3) 
No direct seller shall make any loud noises or use any sound-amplifying device to attract customers if the noise produced is capable of being plainly heard outside a one-hundred-foot radius of the source. All direct sellers shall comply with the noise ordinances in Chapter 284.
(4) 
No direct seller shall allow rubbish or litter to accumulate in or around the area in which he is conducting business.
B. 
Disclosure requirements.
(1) 
After the initial greeting and before any other statement is made to a prospective customer, a direct seller shall expressly disclose his name, the name of the company or organization he is affiliated with, if any, and the identity of goods or services he offers to sell.
(2) 
If any sale of goods or services is made by a direct seller or any sales order for the later delivery of goods or services is taken by the seller, the buyer shall have the right to cancel said transaction if it involves the extension of credit or is a cash transaction of more than $25, in accordance with the procedure as set forth in § 423.203, Wis. Stats.; the seller shall give the buyer two copies of a typed or printed notice of that fact. Such notice shall conform to the requirements of § 423.203(1)(a)(b) and (c), (2) and (3), Wis. Stats.
(3) 
If the direct seller takes a sales order for the later delivery of goods or services, he shall, at the time the order is taken, provide the buyer with a written statement containing the terms of the agreement, the amount paid in advance, whether full, partial or no advance payment is made, the name, address and telephone number of the seller, the delivery or performance date and whether a guarantee or warranty is provided and, if so, the terms thereof.
C. 
Apple festival provisions. Direct sales and soliciting activities permitted by permit under this chapter shall not be conducted during the Bayfield Apple Festival, except as provided in § 349-18 of Chapter 349, Streets, Sidewalks and Public Areas, of the Code of the City of Bayfield.
A. 
If the permitee made any material omission or materially inaccurate statement in the application for permit, made any fraudulent, false, deceptive or misleading statement or representation in the course of engaging in direct sales, violated any provision of this chapter or was convicted of any crime or ordinance or statutory violation which is directly related to the registrant's fitness to engage in direct selling, the Common Council may revoke the permit after notice and hearing.
B. 
Written notice of the hearing shall be served personally on the permitee at least 72 hours prior to the time set for the hearing; such notice shall contain the time and place of hearing and a statement of the acts upon which the hearing will be based.
C. 
If the Common Council votes to revoke a permit, or upholds a revocation under Subsection D, the permitee shall not be eligible for another permit under this chapter for at least 12 months.
D. 
If the Chief of Police, Fire Chief, Public Works Director or Building Inspector determines that a permittee is causing a public nuisance as defined by Chapter 289, the permittee's permit may be revoked immediately. The permitee shall have a right to appeal this decision pursuant to Section § 200-6. If the Common Council overturns the revocation, the permitee will be immediately eligible to apply for a new permit. If the Common Council upholds the revocation, Subsection C applies.