Unless the context clearly indicates otherwise, the words below
are defined for the purpose of this chapter as follows:
LICENSEE
An individual, partnership, corporation or association licensed
within the City under this chapter and includes a person who is or
will be conducting the regulated activity on behalf of the licensee.
MOBILE FOOD UNIT
A food and beverage service establishment that is a vehicle-mounted
unit or freestanding food stand.
NONCOMMERCIAL DOOR-TO-DOOR ADVOCATE
A person who goes door-to-door for the primary purpose of
disseminating religious, political, social or other ideological beliefs.
For the purpose of this chapter, the term "door-to-door advocate"
shall fall under the term "solicitor" and include door-to-door canvassing
and pamphleteering and is intended for noncommercial purposes.
OCCUPANT
A person living, staying, or working at a residence, including
a guest.
PEDDLER
Includes a person who goes from place to place exhibiting
merchandise for sale, making sales, and delivering articles to purchasers.
PERSON
A natural person, a firm, partnership, corporation, any other
association of people, and includes the manager or agent of that person
or organization.
REGULATED ACTIVITY
The activity of a peddler, transient merchant, solicitor
or mobile food unit as defined in this chapter. The term only includes
activities that involve the sale of a product or service. It does
not include activities that involve only statements of opinion or
belief or that request only a donation.
SOLICITOR
Includes a person who goes from place to place soliciting
orders for the sale of merchandise or personal services for future
delivery or future performance, whether or not the person has a sample
of the merchandise or is collecting advance payments for the orders.
The word also includes activity that has as its ultimate purpose the
obtaining of orders even though it may not initially purport to do
so. For the purposes of this chapter, the term "solicitor" shall have
the same meaning as the term "canvasser."
TRANSIENT MERCHANT
A person who temporarily sets up business out of a vehicle,
trailer, tent or other portable shelter or empty storefront in a commercial
district where retail sales are a permitted or conditional use for
the purpose of exposing or displaying for sale, selling or attempting
to sell and delivering goods, wares, products, merchandise or other
personal property and who does not remain or intend to remain in any
location for more than 14 consecutive days.
A person engaging in a regulated activity within the City must
first obtain a license from the City Clerk or designee.
A person engaging in the following activities is not required
to obtain a license and an identification card from the City:
A. Selling personal property at garage sales, rummage sales, or estate
sales. This includes persons participating in an organized multi-person
bazaar or flea market.
B. Selling newspapers, newsletters, or other similar publications on
an established customer delivery route, when attempting to establish
a regular delivery route, or when publications are delivered to the
community at large.
C. Selling products of the farm or garden grown or raised by the seller,
including meat, but such activities must comply with applicable health
regulations.
D. Selling at an auction conducted by a licensed auctioneer, or any
officers of the court conducting a court-ordered sale.
E. Calling upon residents in connection with a regular route service
for the sale and delivery of perishable food and dairy products. This
includes initial contacts to establish a customer delivery route.
This exception does not relieve that person of the duty to comply
with other applicable City requirements.
F. Sales or offers for sales by peddlers or solicitors who appear at
the customer's home or place of business by an appointment which
was made prior to such appearance are exempt from the provisions of
this chapter.
G. Noncommercial door-to-door advocates. No license or registration
shall be required of any person going from house to house, door to
door, business to business, street to street or any other type of
place to place when the activity is for the purpose of exercising
that person's state or federal constitutional rights, such as
the freedom of speech, press, religion and the like, except that this
exemption does not apply if the person's exercise of constitutional
rights is merely incidental to a commercial activity.
H. Any person selling or attempting to sell at wholesale any goods,
wares, products, merchandise, or other personal property to a commercial
retail seller of the items being sold by the wholesaler.
I. Disseminating religious, political, social or ideological beliefs,
including pamphleteering and canvassing for noncommercial purposes,
or soliciting for, or selling, merchandise on behalf of tax-exempt
and nonprofit organizations.
[Amended 7-20-2021 by Ord. No. 763]
The following people are not eligible for a license from the
City:
A. A person whose license for a regulated activity was revoked by the
City or another governmental body within three years before the application
date;
B. A person who has been denied a license for regulated activity by
the City or another governmental body because of circumstances that
occurred within three years before the application date;
C. A person who has violated, or whose representative has violated,
a provision of this chapter within three years before the application
date, or who violates a provision of this chapter during the application
period pending issuance of the license;
D. A person who has been convicted within three years before the application
date of a crime that adversely reflects on the person's ability
to honestly, safely, or lawfully conduct the regulated activities,
unless the individual can show sufficient evidence of rehabilitation
as defined in Minn. Stat. § 364.03, Subd. 3, as it may be
amended from time to time;
E. A person who has falsified information, or omitted material information,
required by this chapter, or
F. A person who produces documentation of identification that is torn,
pasted, peeled, or otherwise damaged or altered.
Application for a license must be made at least 10 working days
before the regulated activity is proposed to begin and must include
an accurate, sworn statement in writing, on a form furnished by the
City, that gives the information listed below and includes the required
supporting documentation:
A. Full legal name and physical description of the applicant;
B. Complete home and local address of the applicant;
C. A brief description of the proposed activity, its location, and the
merchandise or service involved;
D. The dates and hours of the day during which the activity will be
conducted;
E. Name, address, and phone number of the person on whose behalf the
orders are solicited, together with credentials establishing the applicant's
relationship to the person;
F. The source of supply of merchandise proposed to be sold, where the
goods are located at the time the application is filed and the proposed
method of delivery;
G. Whether or not the applicant has been convicted of any crime other
than petty traffic violations, the nature, time and location of the
offense and the punishment or penalty imposed;
H. The last cities or other localities, not exceeding five, where the
applicant conducted the proposed activity immediately preceding the
date of the application and where within those areas the activity
took place;
I. Make, model, year, color, and state license number of each motor
vehicle to be used in connection with the proposed activity;
J. Social security number, date of birth, and driver's license
or state or tribal identification card number;
K. Passport information and visa status if the applicant is not a United
States citizen;
L. The name, address and phone number of the person or company employing the individual, if different from the information in Subsection
E above;
M. A copy of all documents to be used by the applicant in the regulated
activity;
N. Phone number(s) for the applicant; and
O. All names of employees or multiple persons under one license.
P. Mobile food unit additional requirements:
(1) Valid copies of all necessary licenses or permits required by the
state or county.
(2) Pictures of mobile food unit vehicle and a site plan showing location
of vehicle on the property. Plans and specifications for nonvehicular
mobile food stand or unit and a site plan showing the proposed location
of the stand or unit on the property.
[Amended 7-20-2021 by Ord. No. 763]
(3) A copy of the written permission from the property owner or property
owner's agent where the mobile food vendor will be conducting
business.
(4) A list of other communities or locations where the applicant has
been a mobile food vendor.
Each individual who will be conducting the regulated activity
on behalf of the partnership or organizational applicant (including
the applicant) must submit two copies of a recent photograph, showing
the head and shoulders of the person in a clear and distinguishable
manner. An application is not complete until the required photographs
are supplied.
The application must be accompanied by the required license
fees specified in the City fee schedule, which may be amended from
time to time by action of the City Council. A license is valid only
for the time periods in the calendar year in which it is issued. No
fees are required of individuals taking orders for the shipment of
goods through interstate commerce.
No peddler, solicitor or transient merchant, unless invited
to do so by the property owner or tenant, shall enter the property
of another for the purpose of conducting business when the property
is marked with a sign or placard at least four inches long by four
inches wide with print of at least 48 point in size stating "No Peddlers,
Solicitors, or Transient Merchants" or "Peddlers, Solicitors and Transient
Merchants Prohibited" or other comparable statement. No person other
than the property owner or tenant shall remove, deface or otherwise
tamper with any sign or placard under this section.
The following standards shall apply to all events that are authorized
by a special event permit:
A. It is not necessary for each transient merchant or mobile food unit
to obtain a license under this chapter provided that the sponsor,
promoter or organizer of the event obtains a permit and maintains
a list of all participants and assumes responsibility for their activities
and conduct.
B. The sponsor, promoter or organizer of the event may designate where
peddlers and transient merchants and mobile food units set up their
booths, sales stands or vehicles.