[HISTORY: Adopted by the Special Town Meeting of the Town of Townsend
11-7-1911 by Art. 6. Amendments noted where applicable.]
The Selectmen may license suitable persons as junk collectors, to collect,
by purchase or otherwise, junk, old metals and secondhand articles from place
to place in the Town; and they may provide that such collectors shall display
badges upon their person, or upon their vehicles, or upon both, when engaged
in collecting, transporting, or dealing in junk, old metals, or secondhand
articles; and may prescribe the design thereof. They may also provide that
all articles of merchandise therein, and any place, vehicle or receptacle
used for the collection or keeping of the articles aforesaid, may be examined
at all times by the Selectmen or by any person by them authorized to make
such examination.
[Added 3-2-1964 ATM by Art. 27; amended 3-1-1965 ATM by Art. 33; 4-24-1978
ATM by Art. 19; 4-27-1981 ATM by Art. 34; 5-4-1987
ATM by Art. 71]
It shall be unlawful for any solicitor to engage in such business in
Townsend without first obtaining a permit from the Chief of Police.
A.Â
Definition. A solicitor is defined as any individual,
whether resident of Townsend or not, traveling either by foot or any type
of vehicle, from place to place, from house to house, or from street to street,
for the purpose of bartering, selling, hawking or peddling goods, wares or
merchandise, or for the purpose of taking orders for sale of goods, wares
or merchandise for future delivery, or for services to be furnished in the
future, whether or not such individual has, or exposes for sale a sample of
the subject of such sale or whether he is collecting advance payments on such
sales or not. This definition shall include any person who, for himself or
for another person, firm, or corporation, uses any structure, room, shop,
or any other place within the Town for the sole purpose of exhibiting samples
and taking orders for future delivery.
B.Â
Application.
(1)Â
Applicants for permit under this by-law must file with
the Chief of Police a sworn application in writing on a form to be furnished
by the Chief of Police, which shall give the following information:
(a)Â
Name and description of applicant;
(b)Â
Permanent home address and full local address of the
applicant, if any;
(c)Â
A brief description of the nature of the business and
the goods to be sold;
(d)Â
If employed, the name and address of the employer;
(e)Â
The length of time for which the right to solicit is
desired; in any event not to exceed 12 months;
(f)Â
The place where the goods proposed to be sold, or orders
taken for the sale thereof, are manufactured or produced, where such goods
or products are located at the time said application is filed, and the proposed
method of delivery.
(g)Â
A statement as to whether or not the applicant has been
convicted of any crime or misdemeanor in any state, or violation of any municipal
by-law, the nature of the offense and the punishment or penalty assessed therefor;
(h)Â
Names of magazines, journals or books; and
(i)Â
Signature of applicant.
(2)Â
No permit shall be issued to any person who has been
convicted of the commission of a felony under the laws of the commonwealth
or any other state or federal law of the United States, nor to any person
who has been convicted of a violation of any of the provisions of this by-law,
nor to any person whose permit issued hereunder has previously been revoked
as herein provided. All applications for a permit shall be filed at least
seven days before the desired date of initial soliciting and the Chief of
Police shall approve said application within seven days of such filing. The
Police Department shall keep a permanent record of all applications and issuances
of permits for soliciting.
C.Â
Revocation. Any permit issued hereunder shall be revoked
by the Chief of Police if the holder is convicted of a violation of any of
the provisions of this by-law, or has made a false material statement in the
application, or otherwise becomes disqualified for the issuance of a permit
under the terms of this by-law. Immediately upon such revocations, written
notice thereof shall be given by the Chief of Police to the holder of the
permit in person or by certified mail addressed to his residence address set
forth in the application. Immediately upon the giving of such notice, the
permit shall become null and void.
E.Â
Expiration. The permit shall state the expiration date
thereof.
F.Â
Fee for solicitation. Upon approval by the Chief of Police
of the application for a permit, the applicant shall pay the Town a fee of
$25. In the event that any organization or group shall have more than one
solicitor the fee shall be $25 per solicitor.
G.Â
Time limit on soliciting. It is hereby declared to be
unlawful for any person, whether approved for a permit under this by-law or
not, to go upon any premises and ring the doorbell on or near any door of
a residence located thereon, or knock on any door or create any sound in any
other manner calculated to attract the attention of the occupant for the purpose
of securing an audience with the occupant thereof and engage in soliciting
prior to nine a.m. or after seven p.m. of any weekday, or at any time on a
Sunday or on a state or national holiday.
H.Â
Permits. The Town shall provide each solicitor with a
badge-size permit for solicitation which must be displayed conspicuously on
the outer garment of the solicitor unless the Chief of Police otherwise waives
this requirement. Upon the request of any person being solicited, or of a
police officer, the permit holder shall exhibit his permit.
I.Â
Exemption. Provisions of this by-law shall not apply
to any person who is engaged in soliciting for charitable, benevolent, fraternal,
municipal, religious or political activities, nor any person exempted under
any provision of the Massachusetts General Laws.
J.Â
Violation and penalty. Any person violating any provision
of this by-law shall, upon conviction in a court of law, be punished by a
fine not to exceed $50 for each and every offense.
K.Â
Severance. The provisions of this by-law are severable
and if any portion of this by-law shall for any reason be held to be invalid,
such decision shall not affect the validity of the remaining portions.
L.Â
Repeal of conflicting by-laws. All by-laws or parts of
by-laws inconsistent with the provisions of this by-law are hereby repealed.
