[HISTORY: Adopted by the City Council of the City of Vineland 11-12-1963 by Ord. No. 457 (Ch. 386 of the 1990 Code). Amendments noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Advertising — See Ch. 200.
Auctions and auctioneers — See Ch. 230.
Peddling and soliciting — See Ch. 516.
Transient merchants and itinerant vendors — See Ch. 676.
For the purpose of this chapter, the following terms and words shall have and shall be construed to have the following meanings:
CITY
The City of Vineland.
DIRECTOR
The Director of Public Safety of the City of Vineland.
DIRECTOR OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LICENSES AND INSPECTIONS
The Director of the Department of Licenses and Inspections of the City of Vineland.
[Amended 1-11-1977 by Ord. No. 1065]
GOVERNING BODY
The governing body of the City of Vineland.
PERSON
Includes the singular and plural and shall mean and include any person, firm, partnership or corporation.
PUBLISH, PUBLISHING, ADVERTISEMENT or ADVERTISING
Any and all means of conveying to the public notice of sale or notice of intention to conduct a sale, whether by word of mouth, newspaper, advertisement, magazine, handbill, written or printed notice, printed display, billboard, display poster, radio announcement and any and all other means, oral or written.
SALE
The sale of or the offer to sell to the public, goods, wares and merchandise of any and all kinds and descriptions, on hand and in stock, in connection with a declared purpose, as set forth by advertising on the part of the seller, that such sale is anticipatory to the termination, closing, liquidation, revision, windup, discontinuance, conclusion or abandonment of the business in connection with such sale; it shall also include any sale advertised to be fire sale, smoke sale, adjustment sale, creditor's sale, alteration sale, executor's sale, insolvent sale, insurance salvage sale, mortgage sale, assignee's sale, adjuster's sale, receiver's sale, loss-of-lease sale, wholesaler's closeout sale, removal sale, creditor's committee sale, forced-out-of-business sale and any and all sales advertised in such manner as to reasonably convey to the public that, upon the disposal of the stock of goods on hand, the business will cease to exist and be discontinued.
STOCK
Goods, wares and merchandise of all kinds and description presently on hand.
It shall be unlawful for any person to publish, announce or conduct any sale of the type or kind herein defined without first obtaining a license therefor in compliance with the provisions of this chapter.
[Amended 1-11-1977 by Ord. No. 1065]
A. 
Applicants for a license shall, under this chapter, whether a person, firm or corporation, file a written application with the Director of the Department of Licenses and Inspections, signed by the applicant if an individual, by all partners if a partnership, and by the president if a corporation, showing:
(1) 
The name of the person having management or supervision of the applicant's business during the time that it is proposed that the sale will be conducted; the local address of such person while engaged in the sale; the permanent address of such person; the capacity in which such person will act (that is, whether as proprietor, agent or otherwise); the name and address of the person for whose account the sale will be carried on, if any; and, if a corporation, its full corporate name under the laws of which state it is incorporated and the name and address of its agent upon whom service of legal process may be had.
(2) 
A description of the place where such sale is to be held.
(3) 
The nature of the occupancy, whether by lease or by sublease, the commencement date and the effective date of termination of such occupancy.
(4) 
A list of the merchandise on order.
(5) 
The means to be employed in publishing such sale, and all advertising shall set forth the license number, and all merchandise shall bear the City stamp. Also, the same shall be posted in the store continually during the sale.
(6) 
An itemized inventory and list of the stock to be offered for sale, together with a statement of the quality and cost or price thereof, of any merchandise over $1 retail which cannot be stamped, said stamping process as set forth herein.
(7) 
Any additional information which may be required or requested by the Director of the Department of Licenses and Inspections or the Director of Public Safety in connection with the application.
B. 
All prior personal property tax due and owing shall be paid.
C. 
The content of the application shall be verified under oath by the applicant.
[Amended 8-25-1964 by Ord. No. 487; 1-11-1977 by Ord. No. 1065]
A. 
The Director of the Department of Licenses and Inspections shall, upon written approval of the Director of Public Safety endorsed upon such application, issue a license for a period not exceeding 30 business days (the term "business days" meaning the days on which the licensee has been accustomed to doing business during the period of six months preceding the issuance of the particular license), which license shall not be transferable.
B. 
In addition thereto, the Director of the Department of Licenses and Inspections is directed to produce rubber stamps, not to exceed 10 in number, to be loaned to the applicant prior to the date of the sale and to be returned to the Director of the Department of Licenses and Inspections before the sale date. The applicant shall apply the stamp on all goods and merchandise with sale value over $1 retail, in and upon said merchandise and goods and not on any ticket, tag and the like which is attached to the goods or merchandise.
C. 
On any goods or merchandise which cannot be stamped, the applicant shall so comply with other provisions set forth in this chapter.
D. 
The size, type and inscription of said stamp shall be at the discretion of the Director of the Department of Licenses and Inspections, and it shall be unlawful for anyone to duplicate said stamp.
A. 
Upon satisfactory proof by the licensee that the stock, stamped as set forth herein, in the original application has not been disposed of, said license may be renewed for an additional ten-day period.
B. 
The application for renewal shall be made on a form furnished by the Director of the Department of Licenses and Inspections and shall contain an itemized list of stock remaining on hand to be offered for sale. This subsection shall pertain to jewelry and other merchandise which cannot be stamped.
[Amended 1-11-1977 by Ord. No. 1065]
C. 
The content of the application for renewal shall be verified under oath by the applicant.
D. 
The Director of Public Safety shall cause the application for renewal to be examined and investigated, and, upon being satisfied as to the truth of the statements therein contained, he may authorize the issuance of a renewal license for a period not exceeding 10 days; provided, however, that no further renewal may be granted for any such sale for the same location within one year from the issuance of the original license.
A. 
The Director of Public Safety may make such rules and regulations for the conduct and advertisement of such sales as may be necessary to prevent deception and to protect the public interest and welfare.
B. 
The Director of Public Safety may, in his discretion, verify the details contained in an application for a license or for a renewal thereof or cause a check and verification to be made of the items of stock sold during the sale, and it shall be unlawful for any person to whom a license has been issued to fail or refuse to furnish the Director of Public Safety or his designated representative with information concerning goods sold, goods on hand or any other information that may be required in order to make a complete investigation of all applications for licenses and renewals thereof.
A. 
A license or renewal thereof issued pursuant to this chapter may be revoked by the Director, after notice and hearing, for any of the following reasons:
(1) 
Any fraud, misrepresentation or false statement contained in the application.
(2) 
Any fraud, misrepresentation or false statement as to the inventory, stock sold or stock on hand.
(3) 
Any violation of this chapter.
(4) 
Conviction of the license of any felony or misdemeanor involving moral turpitude.
(5) 
Conducting the business licensed under this chapter in an unlawful manner or in such manner as to constitute a breach of the peace or to constitute a menace to the health, safety or general welfare of the public.
B. 
Notice of hearing for revocation of a license shall be given in writing, setting forth specifically the grounds of the complaint and the time and place of the hearing. Such notice shall be mailed, postage prepaid, to the licensee at his last known address at least five days prior to the date set for the hearing.
C. 
A license may be suspended for not more than five days by the Director upon probable cause being shown that the license should be revoked.
D. 
The Director shall hold such hearings and make such investigation as may be necessary to carry out the provisions and intent of this chapter.
Any person aggrieved by the decision of the Director with respect to the denial of an application for a license or in connection with the revocation or suspension of a license shall have the right to appeal to the governing body. Such appeal shall be taken by filing a written statement of the grounds for appeal with the governing body within 10 days after notice of the decision of the Director has been duly mailed to the person's last known address. The governing body shall set the time and place for a hearing on such appeal, and notice of such hearing shall be given to such person in the same manner as provided in § 568-7B of this chapter for notice of hearing on revocation. The decision of the governing body on such appeal shall be final.
A. 
A duplicate original of the application and stock list by virtue of which a license is granted shall be made available by the licensee to the Director or his designated representative to inspect and examine all stock on the premises for comparison with the stock left.
B. 
Suitable books and records shall be kept by the licensee at the place of sale and shall be made available for inspection by the Director or his authorized representative where the goods and merchandise are unstamped.
C. 
It shall be unlawful to sell, offer or expose for sale at any such sale unstamped stock or to list on the inventory required by § 568-3 any stock which is not the stock of the store or other place, the business of which is to be closed out by such sale for which a license has been granted, to replenish or add to such stock for the purpose of disposal at such sale or to fail, neglect or refuse to keep accurate and true records of the initial stock, stock sold and stock on hand.
D. 
The licensee of a going-out-of-business sale shall not continue the business beyond the date specified for such sale and shall not, upon conclusion of such sale, continue the business under the same or any other name in the same location or elsewhere in the City of Vineland for a period of 30 days.
[Amended 8-28-1964 by Ord. No. 487; 1-11-1977 by Ord. No. 1065]
Upon filing an application for an original license, as provided herein, the applicant shall pay to the Director of the Department of Licenses and Inspections a fee of $50. Upon filing an application for a renewal of such license for a period of 10 days, as provided herein, the applicant shall pay to the Director of the Department of Licenses and Inspections a fee of $25. If any such application shall be disapproved, such payment shall be forfeited to the City to defray the costs of investigating the application.
Upon commencement of any such sale, the license issued therefor shall be conspicuously displayed near the entrance to the premises where such sale is conducted.
All advertising shall specify the dates of the sale, license number and that all merchandise shall bear a City of Vineland stamp as to all merchandise of over $1 retail value. If goods or merchandise cannot be stamped, the advertisement shall so specify.
The following persons shall be exempt from the provisions of this chapter:
A. 
Persons acting pursuant to an order of the process of a court of competent jurisdiction.
B. 
Sheriff's marshals and constables acting in accordance with their powers and duties as public officers.
C. 
Duly licensed auctioneers selling at auction.
Any person violating any provisions of this chapter, upon conviction thereof, shall be punishable as provided in Chapter 1, General Provisions, Article II, General Penalty.
[1]
Editor's Note: Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I).
A. 
This section applies to merchandise which is on order prior to the sale date but has not been received.
B. 
Upon receiving said merchandise, the applicant shall notify the Director, who shall supervise the stamping of said merchandise.
C. 
Said goods and merchandise received shall be compared with the list as set forth in § 568-3D.