Township of South Fayette, PA Chapter 187 Peddling and Soliciting

[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Commissioners of the Township of South Fayette 9-15-2003 by Ord. No. 10-2003. This ordinance repealed former Ch. 187, Peddling and Soliciting, adopted 1-2-1962 by Ord. No. 32. Amendments noted where applicable.]

GENERAL REFERENCES

Billposting — See Ch. 108.

Parks and recreation areas — See Ch. 183.

Streets and sidewalks — See Ch. 210.

§ 187-1 Definitions.

As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the meanings indicated, unless a different meaning clearly appears from the context:

BUSINESS DAYS

Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday.

BUSINESS HOURS

8:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. during business days.

CHARITABLE ORGANIZATION

Any person granted tax-exempt status under § 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 [Public Law 99-514, 26 U.S.C. § 501(c)(3)] or any person who is or holds himself out to be established for any charitable purpose or any person who in any manner employs a charitable appeal as the basis of any solicitation or an appeal which has a tendency to suggest there is a charitable purpose to any solicitation. An affiliate of a charitable organization which has its principal place of business outside this commonwealth shall be a charitable organization for the purposes of this chapter. Charitable organizations include, but are not limited to, any person whose avowed purpose and object is to benefit, assist, aid and further the following causes:

A. Philanthropy;

B. Assistance to persons who are poor, impoverished, destitute, underprivileged,, needy, diseased, injured, crippled, disabled, handicapped, or in need of physical or mental rehabilitation;

C. Churches, religious societies or other religious sects, groups or orders espousing spiritual and/or altruistic motives or conduct;

D. Teaching of patriotism, or promoting relief and assistance to this nation's war veterans;

E. Education or assistance to educational institutions; and

F. Protection, shelter and sustenance of animals;

CHARITABLE SOLICITATION

Seeking, through canvassing and/or calling from house to house, either orally or by literature distribution, money donations, pledges thereof, or anything of value to benefit, assist, aid, and further the cause of a charitable organization. Charitable solicitation does not include the sale of items.

COMMERCIAL PEDDLING

Same as "transient retail business."

LEGAL HOLIDAY

New Year's Day, Easter, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day and Christmas.

LITERATURE

Books, pamphlets, handbills, tracts, cards, circulars, pictures, films, magazines, or any other written or printed material.

MORAL TURPITUDE

An act of baseness, vileness or depravity in the private and social duties which a person owes to other people, or to society in general, contrary to the accepted and customary rule of right and duty among people; conduct contrary to justice, honesty, modesty or good morals.

PERSON

Any individual, entity, corporation, association, and/or other entity recognized by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania or other state through the filing or incorporation process.

TOWNSHIP

The Township of South Fayette.

TRANSIENT RETAIL BUSINESS

Engaging in peddling, soliciting, or taking orders, either by sample or otherwise, for any goods, wares, services or merchandise upon any street, alley, sidewalk or public ground, or from house to house, within the Township of South Fayette. This definition shall also include selling, soliciting or taking orders for any goods, wares or merchandise from a fixed location within the Township of South Fayette, on a temporary basis, which shall include, but not be limited to, such activities conducted at the time of special occasions or celebrations, for seasonal purposes, or for or in advance of specific yearly holidays.

§ 187-2 License required; conditions of issuance; fee.

No person shall engage in any charitable solicitation or transient retail business within the Township of South Fayette without first having applied for and having obtained a license from the Township's Police Secretary. No fee shall be charged for the charitable solicitation license. A fee, which shall be used for the administration of the terms and provisions of this chapter, shall be charged for the transient retail business license in amounts as established from time to time by resolution.

A. Each person engaged in charitable solicitation shall personally obtain a separate license, issued to him in his name, except that a representative of a charitable organization may obtain licenses for each of its members participating in a charitable solicitation within the Township by providing the information required for each person as set forth in § 187-4 of this chapter.

B. Every license issued for a transient retail business shall be issued on an individual basis to each person or person engaging in such business; every individual shall personally obtain a separate license, issued to him/her in his/her name, and the license fee imposed shall be applicable to every such individual license.

C. Every person governed under this chapter shall only peddle or solicit within the Township on business days during business hours as defined herein.

§ 187-3 License application.

Each person desiring a license under this chapter, unless otherwise provided herein, shall first make application in writing to the Township Police Secretary for such license, The Township shall furnish an application form to any person seeking a license. The person shall, when making such application, exhibit a valid driver's license or other photo identification from any state or other governmental authority. The license application to the Police Secretary must be filed in duplicate at least three business days in advance of the first day sought for solicitation and shall contain the following information:

A. Full name, address and telephone numbers (legal and local) of the business or charitable organization sponsoring, conducting or promoting the solicitation.

B. Whether the applicant organization is a branch or division of a parent and/or larger organization, and if so, the name thereof, the mailing and street addresses and telephone numbers of same.

C. General description of the solicitation to be conducted (for example, a solicitation for donations; the distribution of literature and solicitation for donations; the sale of items).

D. For transient retail business, the type of goods, wares and merchandise the person wishes to deal with in such transient retail business.

E. For charitable solicitation, the purpose or object thereof.

F. Dates, hours and location of the solicitation, including street names.

G. The true legal name, nickname and alias, social security number, date of birth, address, sex, height, hair color, eye color, driver's license number and telephone number of each person participating in the solicitation.

H. List of other municipalities where applicant has received any licenses.

I. Statement as to whether the applicant and/or any person participating in the solicitation has ever been convicted of engaging in fraudulent transaction or enterprise felony or other criminal offense involving moral turpitude.

J. Type, make and license number of motor vehicle(s) to be used, if any.

K. Acknowledgment that any person completing said license application hereby consents to a background check conducted by the Township's Police Department including a review of the person's other municipal references.

§ 187-4 Issuance of license; custody, display and exhibit.

A. Upon receipt of said license application and the prescribed fee, if applicable, the license application shall be registered in a book maintained by the Township's Police Secretary called the "registry book." The license application shall be granted, except as provided in § 187-8 herein, and the Township's Police Secretary shall issue the license issued within 72 hours after the application has been filed. Upon noting approval in the registry book, the Township's Police Secretary shall issue to the applicant, or any agent or representative of the applicant who will participate under the license, an identification card. Such identification card shall contain the following information from the application:

(1) Name of business/charitable organization sponsoring, conducting or promoting the solicitation.

(2) Type of solicitation, i.e., transient retail or charitable.

(3) Dates of the solicitation.

(4) The legal name of identification card holder.

B. Every license holder shall wear or display in a clearly visible manner such identification card if engaged in solicitation from house to house or upon any street, alley, sidewalk, or public grounds, or shall display such license at the location where he shall engage in such business if doing so at a fixed location. Furthermore, the license holder shall also possess on his person a photocopy of the license application. The holders of either the charitable solicitation license or the transient retail business license shall exhibit such identification card and photocopy of license application, upon request, to all police officers, municipal officials and the citizens or residents of the Township of South Fayette. licenses and/or identification cards shall not be transferred to another person and must be returned to the Township's Police Secretary within 24 hours of the expiration of the license.

§ 187-5 Exceptions.

A. No license shall be required by any of the following persons:

(1) Farmers selling their own produce.

(2) Persons engaging in the sale of goods, wares, and merchandise, donated by the owners thereof, the proceeds whereof are to be applied to any charitable or philanthropic purpose.

(3) Any manufacturer or producer in the sale of bread and bakery products, meat and meat products, or milk and milk products.

(4) Children under the age of 18 years who take orders for and deliver newspapers, greeting cards, candy, bakery products, and the like, or who represent the Boy Scouts or Girl Scouts or similar organizations.

(5) Children under the age of 18 years who solicit on behalf of recreational or athletic groups affiliated with the Township of South Fayette or any other governmental entity.

(6) Persons engaging in religious or political speech as defined by the United States Supreme Court in the case of Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of New York, Inc., v. Village of Stratton, including, but not limited to persons engaged in the sale of goods, wares and merchandise incidental to, or as apart of their religious and/or political vocations.

B. Provided, any person dealing in one or more of the above mentioned exempted categories, and dealing with other goods, wares, or merchandise not so exempted, shall be subject to the payment of the license application fee fixed by resolution for his or her activities in connection with the sale of goods, wares and merchandise not in such exempted categories. Provided further, the Township's Police Secretary shall similarly exempt from payment of the license application fee, but not from registering with the Township, persons working without compensation and selling goods, wares, or merchandise for the sole benefit of any nonprofit corporation.

§ 187-6 List of residents requesting privacy.

At the time of issuance of an identification card and license, the Township shall issue to the person a list of all persons, with their residence addresses, who have specifically requested that solicitors do not solicit at their premises at any time. Solicitors shall not solicit at the addresses set forth on this list.

§ 187-7 Prohibited acts.

No person in any transient retail business or charitable solicitation shall:

A. Sell any product or type of product not mentioned in the license application.

B. Hawk or cry to sell his wares or solicit upon any of the streets, alleys, sidewalks or public grounds in the Township of South Fayette.

C. When operating from a vehicle, stop or park such vehicle upon any of the streets or alleys in the Township of South Fayette for longer than necessary in order to solicit therefrom to persons residing or working in the immediate vicinity.

D. Park any vehicle upon any of the streets or alleys in the Township for the purpose of sorting, rearranging or cleaning any materials to be distributed in association with the solicitation, or disposing of any carton, wrapping material or other materials which have become unsuitable for distribution through handling, age or otherwise.

E. Engage in business activity or solicitation activity, except by prior appointment, at any time on a Sunday or legal holiday or at any time before 8:30 a.m. or after 8:30 p.m. prevailing time on any day of the week other than a Sunday or legal holiday.

F. Violate any law, statute and/or ordinance, federal, state or local, including those regarding fraud, assault, battery, theft, littering and/or any other law relating to the conduct of persons in public places.

§ 187-8 Reasons for refusal.

A person's license application for a license pursuant to this chapter will be refused, if, upon investigation by the Township's Police Secretary, one or more of the following situations are found to exist:

A. One or more of the statements in the application are not true.

B. Applicant or any agent or representative of the applicant who will participate under the permit has been convicted of engaging in a fraudulent transaction or enterprise, a felony or other criminal offense involving moral turpitude, and/or is subject to an outstanding warrant or violation, in which case the permit shall be denied to the applicant or to the agent or representative so convicted.

C. Applicant or any agent or representative of the applicant who will participate under the permit has three previous separate violations of any of the terms and provisions of this chapter or any prior permit(s) issued hereunder, or by any other municipality.

§ 187-9 Supervision; records and reports.

The Township's Police Secretary shall supervise the activities of all persons holding licenses under this chapter with, if necessary, the assistance of the Township of South Fayette Police Department. The Township's Police Secretary shall keep a record of all licenses issued hereunder and shall make a report thereof each month to the Township's Board of Commissioners.

§ 187-10 Duration and renewal.

Unless otherwise specified by the terms of the license, the license shall expire at 8:00 p.m., prevailing time, 30 days from the date of issuance. A license may be renewed for successive thirty-day intervals if written request for the same is received by the Township's Police Secretary within the period of 10 days prior to the expiration date, and the request for renewal contains a statement that the request is predicted on the same information as contained in the original application. If there has been a change (other than the solicitation dates) in information provided in the original application, the applicant shall complete an amended application detailing such changes.

§ 187-11 Suspension and revocation of license.

The Township Manager is hereby authorized to suspend or revoke any license issued under this chapter when the Township's Police Secretary or Chief of Police has reported to the Manager that the suspension or revocation of the license is necessary to protect the public's health, safety or morals, provided that said suspension or revocation be based on the violation of the provision(s) of this chapter, or on supplying false information upon any application for a license hereunder, or if any of the reasons for prior refusal should be discovered or become apparent during the solicitation period.

§ 187-12 Appeal.

To appeal the refusal, suspension or revocation of any license, the applicant shall notify, in writing, within 10 days after notice of such refusal, suspension or revocation, the Township Manager of the intent to contest said action. Within 30 days after receipt of said notice to contest, the Township's Board of Commissioners shall hold a hearing on the appeal petition and render a decision or may institute in a court of competent jurisdiction a proceeding for temporary, preliminary and/or permanent injunction to restrain the denied solicitation or distribution. The Township's Board of Commissioners shall have any and all other rights conferred upon it by law. No part of a license fee shall be refunded to any person whose license has not been issued, suspended or revoked.

§ 187-13 Violations and penalties.

Any person, firm, corporation or other entity who violates any provision(s) of this chapter shall, upon conviction thereof; be sentenced to pay a fine of not more than $600 plus costs and, in default of payment of said fine and costs, and/or to a term of imprisonment not to exceed 30 days. Each day that a violation of this chapter shall continue shall constitute a separate offense hereof.