City of Hazelwood, MO Chapter 615 Peddlers, Hawkers and Solicitors

Section 615.010 Purpose.

[CC 1997 Ch. 23; Ord. No. 1874-86, 5-7-1986]

A. The Council does hereby find that the unregulated presence of peddlers, hawkers and solicitors creates problems and concerns, especially in residential areas.

B. The Council does hereby find that the City has a crime problem which occurs after the hours of 6:00 P.M. and until 6:00 A.M. and that forty percent (40%) to fifty percent (50%) of the crimes in the City occur between these hours.

C. It is especially necessary to regulate and control peddling, hawking and soliciting during said hours and the Council does hereby find such regulation will be of valuable assistance to the Police Department and a further protection against crime occurring to the citizens of the City of Hazelwood.

D. The Council does further find that the adoption of the following Chapter is for the protection of the citizens of the City and for their welfare.

Section 615.020 Definitions.

[CC 1997 §23.1; Ord. No. 1874-86, 5-7-1986]

For the purposes of this Chapter, the following words and phrases shall have the meanings respectively ascribed to them by this Section:

HAWKER

Any person who sells or offers for sale in any wagon, vehicle or other conveyance, drawn by hand or otherwise, or by motor vehicle, in the streets, by outcry or by going from place to place in the City, any fruit, vegetable, poultry, game, ice cream or other articles of food. No farmer selling his own produce shall be deemed to be a hawker within the meaning of this Chapter.

PEDDLER

Any person who deals in the selling of patent or other medicines, goods, wares and merchandise in the streets, by outcry or by going on foot, or by vehicle, from place to place within the City.

SOLICITOR

Any person who makes personal contact with a resident at his residence without prior invitation from the resident to sell goods or services, or attempts to take orders for sale of goods, wares and merchandise, personal property of any nature whatsoever for future delivery, or for services to be performed in the future. Solicitors shall obtain a business license from the City before attempting to sell a product or service.

Section 615.030 Peddlers and Hawkers — Regulations, Rules.

[CC 1997 §23.2; Ord. No. 1874-86, 5-7-1986]

A. License.

1. Required. It shall be unlawful for any person to carry on the business of a peddler or hawker without obtaining a license therefor.

2. Fee. Every person defined to be a peddler or hawker shall procure from the Director of Finance, on or before the sixteenth (16th) day of March of each year, a peddler's or hawker's license and shall pay a license fee of twenty-five dollars ($25.00) per annum.

3. Term. Any new peddler or hawker who applies for a license after the beginning of the usual license year shall be charged therefor on a prorata basis in the proportion that the number of days remaining in the year bears to the total number of days in said year.

4. Displayed on demand. Every license issued pursuant to this Chapter shall show the place of residence of such peddler or hawker. Each person engaged in such business shall carry the license with him and exhibit it whenever required by any Police Officer or other person authorized under the law to enforce this Chapter.

5. Non-transferable. No license shall be assignable or transferable.

6. Record of licenses granted. The Director of Finance shall keep a record of the names of all persons to whom a license as a peddler or a hawker has been issued, their place of residence and the date of its issuance. Such record shall be open at all times to the inspection of the Chief of Police or any member of the City Police Department, or City administration.

B. Hours Of Operation.

1. No person shall sell or offer for sale in the capacity of a peddler, any goods, wares and merchandise, or any item, within the corporate limits of the City except between the hours of 9:00 A.M. and 7:00 P.M., November through March, and 9:00 A.M. to 8:30 P.M., April through October.

2. No person shall sell or offer for sale in the capacity of hawker, any article of food within the corporate limits of the City except between the hours of 9:00 A.M. and 7:00 P.M., November through March, and 9:00 A.M. to 8:30 P.M., April through October.

Section 615.040 Solicitors — Regulations, Rules. [1]

[CC 1997 §23.3; Ord. No. 1874-86, 5-7-1986]

A. Identification Card—Required.

1. Required. It shall be unlawful for any person, firm or corporation to carry on the business of a solicitor unless such person, firm or corporation shall first obtain an identification card as hereinafter provided and shall acknowledge receipt of a copy of this Chapter. Before soliciting, such person, firm or corporation shall file with the Director of Finance, a written application for each person who is to solicit. The applicant shall provide the following data:

a. Full name of applicant.

b. Local address, if any.

c. Permanent address.

d. A physical description of the applicant, setting forth age, height, weight, color of hair and eyes, and sex.

e. Social security number.

f. A brief description of the proposed activity subject to this identification card requirement.

g. A statement as to whether or not the applicant has been convicted of any crime, and if so, the nature of the offense and the penalty imposed.

h. A statement as to whether or not the applicant has been convicted of a felony or a misdemeanor involving moral turpitude within the past seven (7) years, and the nature of the offense, the State where the conviction occurred, and the year of such conviction.

i. The motor vehicle make, model, year, color, vehicle identification number and State license plate number of any vehicle which may be used in the proposed activity.

j. A statement by the applicant as to whether a solicitation permit has been denied or revoked by any other governmental entity, and if so, the name of each governmental entity denying or revoking said permit, the reason for each denial or revocation, and the date of each denial or revocation.

k. A statement as to the term of the intended solicitation.

l. Nature of goods, wares, merchandise or printed matter offered for sale.

m. Name and address of the firm for or on whose behalf the orders are solicited, or the supplier of the goods involved.

n. Name of person, business or organization licensed by the City of Hazelwood.

o. A specimen of the applicant's signature.

p. Applicant shall provide such documentation as required by the Director of Finance to verify statements made in the application.

2. Each person in a group solicitation shall be considered a separate applicant.

3. Applicant may provide any additional relevant information.

B. Issuance. Within three (3) working days of the proper filing of such application, the Director of Finance shall issue the requested identification card, unless:

1. The applicant has been convicted of a felony or a misdemeanor involving moral turpitude within the past seven (7) years.

2. Any statement upon the application is false, unless the applicant can demonstrate that the falsehood was the result of excusable neglect.

3. The applicant has had a previous identification card revoked in this or any other governmental entity for cause which would be grounds for denial or revocation under this Chapter.

C. Fee. There shall be no fee for a solicitor's identification card.

D. Term. An identification card issued to a solicitor who has a valid City business license for a business situs within Hazelwood corporate limits may be issued for a period of one (1) year for solicitation in conjunction with that business, and said card shall expire thereafter unless renewed. All other identification cards shall expire thirty (30) days after the date of issuance, but may be renewed in the same manner as originally issued.

E. Investigation. The Chief of Police shall investigate the truth and accuracy of the information contained on the application to determine that the applicant is entitled to the identification card as hereinabove stated.

F. Denial. If the Director of Finance denies the issuance of an identification card to an applicant, he shall prepare promptly, and in no event later than two (2) working days after the denial, a written report of the reason for its denial which shall be immediately made available to the applicant.

G. Appeal. If an identification card is denied to an applicant, the applicant shall have at his option an appeal relative to the denial of his application. Such appeal shall be filed with the City Clerk within ten (10) days of the denial, and a hearing shall be scheduled in accordance with the following:

1. Within fifteen (15) days of the date on which an appeal is filed, a hearing shall be scheduled before the Municipal Court of the City. Due notice of the date of the hearing shall be given to the applicant and the public.

2. If the applicant requests a hearing herein, the said hearing shall be held in accordance with the Administrative Procedure Act of the State of Missouri, and review from the decision shall be had to the Circuit Court of St. Louis County, Missouri, on the record.

H. Display. When the individual for whom it was issued is acting as a solicitor, the identification card must be worn on the outer clothing of the solicitor, so as to be reasonably visible to any person who might be approached by said solicitor. All identification cards shall, upon demand, be exhibited to any Police Officer or other City Official, and shall be displayed to any person who is being solicited.

I. Revocation. Any identification card granted hereunder may be revoked by the Municipal Court after the filing of an information by the City Attorney and a hearing thereon for any of the following causes:

1. Any violation of this Chapter or any other provisions of the Municipal Code by the applicant to whom the particular identification card was issued.

2. Fraud, misrepresentation or incorrect statement made in the application for an identification card or in the course of carrying on the activity.

3. Conviction of a felony or misdemeanor involving moral turpitude.

4. Conducting the activity in such a manner as to constitute a breach of the peace or a menace to the health, safety or general welfare of the public.

J. Hours Of Operation. No person shall solicit within the corporate limits of the City except between the hours of 9:00 A.M. and 7:00 P.M., November through March, and 9:00 A.M. to 8:30 P.M., April through October.

K. General Prohibitions.

1. No solicitor shall enter upon any private property for the purpose of soliciting where the property is clearly posted in the front yard of said property by a sign visible from the right-of-way, public or private, indicating a prohibition against soliciting at said property. Such sign need not exceed one (1) square foot in size and contain words "No Soliciting" or "No Solicitors" in letters of at least two (2) inches in height.

2. Any solicitor who shall enter upon any private property for the purpose of soliciting, which property is not posted by a yard sign, as provided in (1) above, but where a notice in the form of a sign or sticker is placed upon any door or entrance way leading into the residence or dwelling at which guests would normally enter the residence or dwelling, shall, upon sighting such sign, forthwith remove himself from the property, without disturbing the persons living therein. Said sign shall contain letters not less than one (1) inch in height and the words "No Soliciting" or "No Solicitors" and shall be visible to any solicitor or companion approaching the door or entrance way described herein.

3. Even though a solicitor obtains the consent of the manager or owner to solicit in a multi-family dwelling or development, the solicitor shall not solicit from any tenant therein whose property is posted in the manner provided in (2) above. For purposes of this paragraph, a multi-family dwelling shall be any building containing two (2) or more dwelling units within said building. A multi-family development shall be construed as two (2) or more multi-family dwelling buildings owned or managed by the same person(s), firm or corporation.

4. No solicitation shall be made except at the front entrance of a residence or dwelling unit, unless the residence or dwelling does not have a front entrance or it is obvious that the front entrance is not used. In that case the solicitor shall use such entrance as is most obviously used as a guest entrance to the residence, but no solicitor shall go from door to door in the residence in an attempt to avoid a "No Solicitors" notice.

5. No solicitor shall remove any yard sign, door or entrance sign which is placed there by a resident owner or tenant as a notice to solicitors that such owner or tenant does not invite solicitation.

6. Any solicitor who shall violate any of the provisions of this Section and any Subsections hereof shall commit a trespass on such property, and upon conviction thereof shall be penalized as set forth in Section 100.130 of the Hazelwood Municipal Code.

7. The above provisions shall not apply to any solicitor who shall have received an invitation from the owner of a residence or tenant of a residence or dwelling prior to entering upon any posted property for purposes of solicitation.

L. Payments To Solicitors. When any person soliciting within the City takes any down payment, he shall give a written receipt for the order, which receipt shall be signed by the solicitor and shall set forth a brief description of the goods, wares, merchandise, printed matter or services ordered, the total purchase price thereof and the amount of the down payment received by the solicitor from the purchaser.

[1] Cross Reference—As to solicitors in streets, see §300.020.

Section 615.050 Charitable Organizations.

[CC 1997 §23.4; Ord. No. 1874-86, 5-7-1986]

Unpaid voluntary solicitors for bona fide not-for-profit organizations are hereby exempted from the license and identification cards regulations herein. Such organizations shall file their intent to solicit and document said not-for-profit status with the Finance Department.

Section 615.060 Severability.

[CC 1997 §23.5; Ord. No. 1874-86, 5-7-1986]

If any Section, Subsection, paragraph, sentence, clause or phrase of this Chapter should be declared unconstitutional or otherwise invalid for any reason whatsoever, by the valid judgment or decree of any court of competent jurisdiction, such decision shall not affect the remaining portions of this Chapter which shall remain in full force and effect; and to this end the provisions of this Chapter are hereby declared to be severable.