City of Oneonta, NY Article IV Rules of Conduct

§ 204-15 Partnerships.

All partnerships are allowed under this article. In the case of a partnership, it will be the identified partnership which will be the licensed entity, not the individuals comprising the partnership. If all partners have in their possession a Veteran's Exemption Certificate issued by the Otsego County Clerk's Office, the partnership will be exempted from the appropriate license fees; otherwise, all appropriate license fees must be paid as identified in this article.

§ 204-16 Employees.

A. Number limited. Any person using a vehicle may employ under the same license not more than one person to assist in selling and delivering, but such person shall so act only when accompanying a licensed hawker, peddler, food vendor, solicitor or transient merchant, and, when any additional persons are so employed, an additional license shall be required for each such additional person, and the fee fixed in § 204-8 or 204-13, whichever is applicable, shall be paid therefor.

B. Identification card required. The one employee mentioned in Subsection A above who acts with a licensee shall at all times carry and on demand display a card of identification issued by the City Clerk, which card shall contain the following information: the name of the employee, the name of the employer and the date of expiration of the employer's license. Such identification cards shall be valid until the expiration of the license under which they are issued.

C. Statement required. Each such employee shall file with the City Clerk a statement including his name, age, permanent and city address and the name and address of his employer. He shall pay to the City Clerk a fee that shall be established by resolution from time to time by the Common Council of the City of Oneonta.

D. Refusal, revocation of card. The provisions of § 204-18 of this article respecting revocation of license shall apply to the revocation of cards of identification. The issuance of a card of identification may be refused upon the same grounds as set forth in § 204-7A for the refusal of a license.

§ 204-17 Identification on vehicles of licenses.

A. License identification. The vehicle kept or used by a licensee in exercise of his license shall be marked on both sides with the number corresponding to the number of his license, and the words "Licensed Vendor" in plain letters and figures at least two inches in height and of such color as to be plainly read at a distance of at least 10 feet.

B. Name and address of licensee. Every vehicle used by a licensee in or about his business shall have the name of the licensee and his address plainly, distinctly and legibly painted in letters and figures at least two inches in height in a conspicuous place on the outside of each side of every such vehicle, and such name and address shall be kept so painted plainly and distinctly at all times while such vehicle is in use during the continuance of this license.

§ 204-18 Revocation of license.

A. Violation, commitment of. The City Clerk may at any time, for a violation of this article or any other provision of this Code or any law, revoke the license. When a license shall be revoked, no refund of any unearned portion of the license fee shall be made.

B. Notice. Notice of such revocation and the reason or reasons therefor, in writing, shall be served upon the person, corporation or entity named in the application by delivering the same to him personally or by mailing the same to the address given in the application; such revocation shall be immediately effective if served personally and shall become effective 48 hours after mailing if served by mail.

C. Fraud or misrepresentation in obtaining license. Licenses obtained by fraud or misrepresentation of any material fact shall be wholly invalid and shall be surrendered upon demand; no refund of the license fee shall be made.

§ 204-19 Written statement of orders required.

A written statement of all orders taken by licensed solicitors or transient merchants who demand, accept or receive payment or deposit of money in advance of final delivery, setting forth the terms thereof, the amount paid in advance, the name of the solicitor or transient merchant and the name of the person or firm he represents shall be given to the purchaser at the time the money is paid to or deposited with the solicitor.

§ 204-20 Prohibited acts.

A. Hours of operation.

(1) A hawker, peddler, solicitor or transient merchant shall not operate his business between the hours of 8:00 p.m. and 9:00 a.m. daily.

[Amended 9-17-2013 by Ord. No. 2-2013]

(2) A food vendor shall not operate his business between the hours of 9:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m. unless he has met the fee requirements set forth in § 204-8B.

B. Area of operation. A hawker, peddler, food vendor, solicitor or transient merchant shall not operate any vehicle with a vehicle weight in excess of 1,000 pounds or any vehicle which requires a New York State Department of Motor Vehicles registration upon any Main Street sidewalk, street or public place between the boundaries of James F. Lettis Highway and Market Street, including the intersections of said streets and all intersections which fall between said streets. No food vendor shall operate within 25 feet of an entrance to an open place of business that primarily sells food for immediate consumption. Furthermore, the Oneonta Police Department may, at its discretion, instruct vendors to relocate from Water Street, or from any other authorized area of operation, to an alternative location if, based on the Police Department's reasonable opinion, there is a significant risk to public safety.

[Amended 12-4-2012 by Ord. No. 4-2012]

C. Unlawful sales. A hawker, peddler, solicitor or transient merchant shall not falsely or fraudulently misrepresent the quantity, character or quality of any article offered for sale or offer for sale any unwholesome, tainted or diseased portion or merchandise.

D. Sanitary conditions. A hawker, peddler, solicitor or transient merchant shall keep the vehicles and receptacles used by him in a clean and sanitary condition and the foodstuffs and edibles offered for sale well covered and protected from dirt, dust and insects.

E. Noises. A hawker, peddler, solicitor or transient merchant shall not blow a horn, ring a bell or use any other noisy device to attract public attention to his wares, or shout or cry his wares.

F. Use of vehicles.

(1) A hawker, peddler, food vendor, solicitor or transient merchant shall not stand or permit the vehicle used by him to stand in one place in any street or public place for more than one hour. At the conclusion of that hour, said hawker, peddler, food vendor, solicitor or transient merchant must move a minimum of 500 feet.

(2) A food vendor who is licensed under § 204-8B is exempt from now Subsection F(1) during the hours of 9:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m.

G. Obstructions. A hawker, peddler, solicitor or transient merchant shall not create or maintain any booth or stand or place any barrels, boxes, crates or other obstructions upon any street or public place for the purpose of selling or exposing for sale any goods, wares or merchandise.

H. Trash removal. A hawker, peddler, food vendor, solicitor or transient merchant shall provide a trash receptacle and be responsible for the removal of such trash at his own expense. He shall additionally be responsible for "policing" the area 50 feet in all directions from his place of business, either at the close of daily business or each time he moves to a new location.

I. School premises. A hawker, peddler, solicitor or transient merchant shall not sell or offer for sale any product on the public highway within one street block of any school building in the city between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m.

J. Appealing to sympathies. No peddler, solicitor or transient merchant shall, in order to effectuate or assist in any sale or solicitation, represent that he is engaged in any contest or in any way attempt to induce a sale or solicitation by appealing to the sympathies of the person so solicited.

K. Notice forbidding soliciting. No peddler, solicitor or transient merchant shall generally canvass or solicit on any private property or in any private or semipublic building without the consent of the owner or lessee thereof when a notice forbidding such general canvassing or soliciting has been conspicuously posted thereon.