[HISTORY: Adopted by the Council of the City of Schenectady 7-24-1972 by Ord. No.
15808; amended in its entirety 6-11-2012 by Ord. No.
2012-08. Subsequent amendments noted where applicable.]
A.
The City of Schenectady recognizes that people have a right to safety
and comfort in their homes. While the City also recognizes the right
of people to sell commodities, products, and services door to door,
the government also has a substantial interest in protecting the safety
and comfort of people while they are in their homes. As door-to-door
sales bring strangers onto the property of others, and as many find
that to be an uncomfortable and/or unwanted situation, the City of
Schenectady shall require all business entities and people who take
part in door-to-door sales within City limits to apply for and receive
a permit authorizing said door-to-door sales activities and to follow
the rules set forth in this chapter, which are deemed to be the least
restrictive possible while being able to safeguard the rights of the
general public.
B.
Except as noted in Subsection C of this section, it shall be unlawful for any person, business entity, firm, organization, group, church, society, or charitable institution to solicit funds or contributions, sell or offer to sell any commodity, service, or product, either edible or inedible, by means of door-to-door canvassing or solicitation of residential properties, without first obtaining a permit in compliance with the provisions of this chapter. This chapter shall not apply to solicitation of commercial properties and enterprises in the course and scope of their professional, commercial or business activities.
C.
No permit shall be required of a religious institution soliciting
directly from its members; e.g., Bishop's Fund, etc.
Applicants for a permit under this chapter must file with the
City Clerk a sworn application, in writing, on a form to be furnished
by the Clerk.
A.
Upon receipt of an application, the Clerk shall request the Chief of Police or his or her representative to investigate the applicant's business and purpose, for the protection of the public good, which investigation shall include criminal history and references concerning the applicant and any employee of the applicant intended to solicit within the City. For this purpose, the Police Chief, or his designee, shall be authorized to require the applicant to provide identifying information and, if requested, to submit to fingerprint comparison. The reasonable costs of such investigation and any fingerprint comparison shall be paid by the applicant, in advance, in addition to the fees prescribed by § 224-4.
B.
Any applicant that is found to have a felony conviction within the
prior 10 years from the date of application, or more than one misdemeanor
conviction within the prior 10 years of the date of application, must
be denied a permit.
C.
Any applicant that is denied a permit shall not be allowed to apply
for another permit for one year.
D.
Any party to whom a permit has been granted who is convicted of any
crime during the life of the permit shall notify the City Clerk within
five days of the conviction. Any such conviction may serve as a basis
for revocation of the permit.
The permit fee charged by the City Clerk shall be an annual
fee in the sum of $500 for commercial and for-profit solicitation,
and $25 for solicitation by a religious organization or by a charity
registered pursuant to Article 7A of the New York State Executive
Law, for each soliciting period. The annual application fee shall
authorize one commercial or for-profit solicitor to operate within
the City. Commercial and for-profit applicants shall pay an additional
sum of $50 for each additional solicitor intended to solicit within
the City for and on behalf of the applicant.
Each applicant to whom a permit is granted as set forth in this
chapter shall, upon payment of the fee provided therein and satisfactory
completion of the required background investigation, receive a solicitor's
permit.
Each applicant to whom a solicitor's permit is issued shall
receive from the City Clerk, upon request, identification cards, markers
or material provided by the Clerk to identify each person doing the
actual soliciting or selling for the applicant.
A.
Applicants and persons soliciting or selling for and on behalf on
an applicant are required to exhibit the identification materials
provided by the Clerk at all times while soliciting or selling.
B.
No solicitor or vendor shall solicit door to door at a residential
property except during daylight hours.
C.
City residents who do not wish to be contacted by solicitors may
register with the City Clerk. The Clerk shall maintain a "do not solicit"
list consisting of those City residents who have registered to be
included on the "do not solicit" list. Applicants will be provided
with a copy of the list at the time their permit is issued and shall
be responsible to ensure that all solicitors in their employ have
a copy of the list when engaged in solicitation activities. No solicitor
shall contact any person who has registered with the Clerk. It shall
be the duty of the applicant to ensure compliance with this restriction.
D.
No more than two people may enter a property or be on the same property
at the same time to solicit a door-to-door sale. A trainee, aid, or
anyone else who is with a salesperson for any purpose will count towards
this limit, regardless of whether or not they have a permit to solicit
door to door or are employed by a specific company.
E.
No salesperson shall ask to enter the home of a resident.
A.
The Clerk shall maintain a record of all applications and permits
under this chapter.
B.
The Clerk shall maintain a record of the number of identification
material issued to each applicant.
C.
Records required to be maintained pursuant to this chapter shall
be retained for such period as may be prescribed by the version of
the Records Retention and Disposition Schedule MU-1 [8 NYCRR 185.11
(Appendix H)] in effect on the effective date of the this chapter
and as such protocol may be amended from time to time.
All permits and identification material shall show the date
of expiration, which will be one year from date of issuance.
Permits and identification material issued under the provisions
of this chapter must be revoked for any of the following reasons:
A.
Fraud, misrepresentation or false statement contained in the permit
application.
B.
Fraud, misrepresentation or false statement made in the course of
carrying on the selling or solicitation.
C.
Conducting the business of selling or soliciting in an unlawful manner
as to constitute a breach of the peace or to constitute a menace to
the health, safety or general welfare of the public.
D.
Any violation of this chapter.
E.
Misrepresenting the permit or identification as an endorsement of
the article, of the sale or the solicitation of, by the City of Schenectady.
F.
Any violation of the Penal Law of the State of New York or of the
Code of the City of Schenectady.
G.
When any of the situations detailed in this subsection is alleged
to have occurred, notice will be sent to the offending party via regular
and certified mail, and a hearing will be held within 10 business
days to determine whether the offense did in fact occur. The hearing
will be in Schenectady City Court, in front of a Judge. The burden
of proof will be on the City to prove, by a preponderance of the evidence,
that the alleged offense did occur. The rules of evidence shall be
applied as if this were a criminal pretrial hearing, such as a Huntley
hearing, and hearsay shall be allowed.
All applicants for a permit to solicit or sell must submit the
required application to the Clerk not less than two weeks prior to
the start of soliciting.
Each applicant's period of solicitation or selling and
the identification material shall be given to the official newspapers
to permit the public full knowledge of such solicitation or selling.
A.
Any violation of this chapter shall constitute an offense and shall
be subject, upon conviction, to a fine in the amount of $150 for a
first offense, $250 for a second offense within 24 months of the first
conviction, and $350 for each following offense within 24 months of
a previous conviction. Each act of solicitation without the required
permit shall constitute a separate and distinct offense.
B.
Soliciting after a permit has been revoked shall constitute a misdemeanor
and shall be punishable, upon conviction, by a fine of $1,000 and/or
imprisonment for up to one year.
