Village of Poquott, NY Chapter 113 Peddling, Soliciting and Hawking

[HISTORY:[1] Adopted by the Board of Trustees of the Village of Poquott 11-14-2019 by L.L. No. 3-2019. Amendments noted where applicable.]

[1] Editor's Note: Former Ch. 113, Peddling and Soliciting, adopted as Ordinance 13 of the 1965 Code of Ordinances, was repealed 11-13-2018 by L.L. No. 2-2018.

§ 113-1 License required.

Except as may be otherwise provided herein, it shall be unlawful for any person, organization, society, association, company or corporation or their agents or representatives, to proselytize, canvass, solicit business, take orders for goods and services or to distribute handbills, pamphlets or other written material or solicit donations or contributions of money or property or financial assistance of any kind upon the streets, in the offices of business buildings, upon private property, by house-to-house canvass or in public places in the Village of Poquott without a license previously issued pursuant to this chapter.

§ 113-2 Application for license.

Application for a license as provided in this chapter shall be in writing and addressed to the Clerk of the Village of Poquott on a form provided by the Village and shall contain the following information:

A. Name, address and purpose of the cause for which the license is sought.

B. Names and addresses of the officers and directors of the organization, firm, society, association, company or corporation.

C. Time for which permission is sought and localities and places of activity, giving the date of the commencement and termination of the solicitation.

D. Legal and tax status of any organization, firm, society, association, company or corporation so applying.

E. Whether or not any commissions, fees, wages or emoluments are to be expended in connection with such activity.

F. The name, address, date of birth, social security number, personal photograph(s) and complete driver's license information of the person or persons who shall be conducting the solicitation or otherwise peddling, soliciting or canvassing.

G. A brief description of the nature of business and the goods to be sold or services to be performed for which funds are to be solicited and an explanation of the intended use of the funds toward that purpose.

H. If a vehicle or vehicles are to be used in the solicitation, a description of same, including year, make and model, together with a license plate number, registration certification information and liability insurance information or other satisfactory means of identification. Such information shall be presented for inspection, upon demand, by any Poquott Village Code Enforcement Officer or Poquott Village Police Officer.

I. The names of any other municipalities in which the person registering has solicited or otherwise peddled, solicited or canvassed within the previous 12 months.

J. Such other information as the Board of Trustees may require.

§ 113-3 License fee.

All applications must be accompanied by a $25 nonrefundable processing fee payable to the Village of Poquott.

§ 113-4 Approval of application.

Upon receiving such application, the Clerk shall present the same to the Board of Trustees at its next regular meeting, but not later than 20 business days from the date upon which the application is filed. The Board of Trustees shall approve the application of all bona fide applicants who have complied with the above provisions. The Board of Trustees may deny the application for any of the following reasons:

A. Any investigation reveals that the applicant falsified information on the application.

B. The applicant has been convicted of felony, misdemeanor or ordinance violation involving a sex offense, trafficking in controlled substances or any violent act against persons or property.

C. The applicant is a person against whom a judgement or administrative agency determination has been entered or a conviction obtains within the five years immediately preceding the date of the application based upon fraud, deceit or misrepresentation.

D. The solicitation involved the sale of illegal substances or services.

E. The applicant does not possess any applicable license required by the United States, the State of New York, the County of Suffolk or the Town of Brookhaven.

F. A determination by the Poquott Public Safety Office that the location and time of the activities described in the application would endanger the safety and welfare of the applicant or potential customers.

§ 113-5 Regulations.

Any license approval granted by the Board of Trustees is subject to the following regulations:

A. All activity must be conducted between the hours of 9:00 a.m. and dusk (i.e., 30 minutes after sunset).

B. Any organization, society, association, company or corporation or corporation licensed under this chapter shall not have more than five individuals engaged in the activity at any one time.

C. The license shall be effective for no more than one calendar year from the date of issuance, and all licenses shall terminate on December 31 in the year in which it was issued. There shall be no pro-ration of fees over the calendar year.

D. The Board of Trustees shall not grant permission for applicants' activity with respect to those persons who have advised the Board of Trustees in writing that they do not desire solicitation.

§ 113-6 Notice by those not desiring noncommercial solicitation.

Any person not desiring solicitation upon the person's private property may advise the Board of Trustees by written notice objecting to any or all solicitation or distributions. Such notice shall include the name of the person filing; the address of the property affected; the date of such filing; a statement specifically identifying the organizations or institutions which the person filing objects to permitting entrance onto his private residential property for the purpose of solicitation or distribution; or that all such solicitation or distribution is objected to.

§ 113-7 Identification cards and display of license.

A. All persons soliciting donations or contributions or proselytizing pursuant to this chapter shall, at all times during such period, carry an identification card issued by the organization, society, association, company or corporation licensed to conduct the solicitation. Each identification card shall be displayed on the outer garment and shall plainly show the name of the person who is soliciting, his or her photograph and the person, organization, society, association, company or corporation on whose behalf such solicitation is being made.

B. All vehicles with persons soliciting in the Village of Poquott shall display the number of their Village license on the vehicle and each person soliciting in the Village shall possess a copy of the Village license while soliciting in the Village.

§ 113-8 Suspension and revocation of license.

Any and all licenses which may granted by the Board of Trustees pursuant to any part of this chapter may, for cause, be suspended by the Mayor and may be revoked by the Board of Trustees after notice and hearing for any of the following causes:

A. Fraud, misrepresentation or a false statement contained in the application for a license.

B. Violation of any of the restrictions imposed on the issuance of such license or on the conduct of any solicitations so licensed.

§ 113-9 Ice cream vending vehicles.

The provisions of Chapter 113 shall not prohibit a duly licensed ice cream vending vehicle from selling ice cream products in the streets of the Village, provided that a license therefor is obtained as hereinafter provided:

A. Every such licensee using an ice cream vending vehicle shall have and keep the number of his license painted in conspicuous figures on a metallic sign on a conspicuous place on the side of such vehicle, and if any person uses or employs more than one vehicle for such business, he shall procure a separate license for each of such vehicles. All licenses shall be displayed in a conspicuous place within the vending vehicles.

B. The vending vehicle shall, at all times, be kept in a safe, operational condition, including fully operational horn, safety lights and safety arm with stop sign. Upon request, the licensee agrees to allow the vehicles to be inspected by the Poquott Village Office of Public Safety.

C. It shall be unlawful to stop for the purposes of selling without the warning lights, safety arm and stop sign activated and all amplified sound or noise terminated until the vehicle leaves the location.

D. Vending shall only take place from the side or rear of the vehicle, away from moving traffic and as near as possible to the curb or edge of the roadway.

E. There shall be no vending to a person standing in the roadway.

F. The driver of a vending vehicle shall not back up the vehicle to make or attempt a sale.

G. The driver of a vending vehicle shall not permit any person under sixteen-year of age nor any unauthorized person to ride in or on the vehicle.

§ 113-10 Exemptions.

This chapter also shall not apply to any duly organized charitable, religious corporation, lodge, benevolent or fraternal order, political organization; nor to a local community group or organization such as the Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, or other such youth organization, or to any political party or candidate.

§ 113-11 Penalties for offenses.

Any person violating any provision of this chapter shall be liable for the forfeit of their license if issued and pay a fine or penalty in the amount of up to $250 for a first offense within a twelve-month period, a fine or penalty in the amount of up to $750 for the second violation of this chapter in a twelve-month period, and a fine in the amount of $1,500 for a third violation of this chapter within a twelve-month period.

§ 113-12 Severability.

If any section, subsection or provision of this chapter or the application of such section, subsection or provision to any person or circumstances shall be held invalid, illegal or unconstitutional, the validity of the remainder of this chapter and the applicability of such section, subsection or provision to other persons or circumstances shall not affected thereby.