[CC 1961 §31.01; Ord. No. 2989, 9-6-1988; Ord. No.
3148 §1, 11-19-1990]
For the purpose of this Chapter, the following words and phrases
shall have the meanings respectively ascribed to them by this Section:
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/her own produce shall be deemed to
be a hawker within the meaning of this Chapter.
Any person who goes from house to house, from place to place,
or from street to street, soliciting or taking orders for sale of
goods, wares, or merchandise, including magazines, books, periodicals,
or personal property, for future delivery, or for service to be performed
in the future.
Any person who engages in a temporary business of selling
and delivering goods, wares, or merchandise within the City, and who
shall occupy a building for such purposes in the City for the exhibition
and sale of such goods, wares, or merchandise. The sale of Christmas
trees hereunder may be sold on a parcel of real property.
[CC 1961 §31.02; Ord. No. 2989, 9-6-1988; Ord. No.
3001 §1, 11-21-1988]
A.
License.
1.
Required. It shall be unlawful for any person to
carry on the business of a hawker, peddler, solicitor, or transient
merchant without obtaining a license therefor.
2.
Fee. Every person defined to be a hawker, peddler, solicitor, or transient merchant 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 as required in Chapter 605.
3.
Term. Any new hawker, peddler, solicitor, or transient
merchant who applies for a license after the beginning of the usual
license year shall be charged therefore 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 hawker,
peddler, solicitor, or transient merchant. Each person engaged in
such business shall carry the license with him/her and exhibit it
whenever required by any Police Officer or other person authorized
under the law to enforce the 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 hawker, peddler, solicitor, or transient merchant has been issued,
which includes 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.
7.
Bond. Applicant for a license under this Chapter
shall file with the City a surety bond approved by the City Manager
in the amount of five hundred dollars ($500.00), conditioned that
the applicant shall comply fully with all ordinances of the City and
the State of Missouri regulating peddlers, solicitors, and transient
merchants, and guaranteeing to any resident of the City that all money
paid as a down payment will be accounted for and applied according
to the representations of the licensee and further guaranteeing to
any resident of the City doing business with the licensee that the
property purchased will be delivered according to the representations
of the licensee. Action on such bond may be brought by the person
aggrieved and for whose benefit, among others, the bond is given.
B.
Hours Of Operation. 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 6:00 P.M., Monday through Saturday. No
selling or offering for sale by peddlers shall be done on Sunday.
[CC 1961 §31.03; Ord. No. 2989, 9-6-1988]
A.
Required. It shall be unlawful for any person, firm or corporation
to carry on the business of a hawker, peddler, or 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 written application for each
person who is to solicit. The applicant shall provide the following
data:
1.
Full name of applicant.
2.
Local address, if any.
3.
Permanent address.
4.
A physical description of the applicant, setting forth age, height,
weight, color of hair and eyes, and sex.
5.
Social Security number.
6.
A brief description of the proposed activity subject to this identification
card requirement.
7.
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.
8.
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.
9.
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.
10.
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.
11.
A statement as to the term of the intended solicitation.
12.
Nature of goods, wares, merchandise, or printed matter offered for
sale.
13.
Name and address of the firm for or on whose behalf the orders are
solicited, or the supplier of the goods involved.
14.
Name of person, business, or organization licensed by the City of
Berkeley.
15.
A specimen of the applicant's signature.
16.
Applicant shall provide such documentation as required by the Director
of Finance to verify statements made in the application. Each person
in a group solicitation shall be considered a separate applicant.
Applicant may provide 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 an identification card.
D.
Term. An identification card issued to a hawker, peddler,
or solicitor who has a valid City business license for a business
situs within Berkeley 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/she 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/her option an appeal relative to the
denial of his/her 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.
General Prohibitions.
1.
No peddler, hawker, or 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 hawker, peddler, or 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 said sign, forthwith
remove himself/herself 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 peddler, hawker, or solicitor obtains the consent of
the manager or owner to solicit in a multi-family dwelling or development,
the peddler, hawker, or 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 peddler, hawker, or solicitor shall use such entrance
as is most obviously used as a guest entrance to the residence, but
no peddler, hawker, or solicitor shall go from door to door in the
residence in an attempt to avoid a "No Solicitors" notice.
5.
No peddler, hawker, or solicitor shall remove any yard sign, door
or entrance sign which is placed there by the resident owner, or tenant
as a notice to peddlers, hawkers, or solicitors that such owner or
tenant does not invite solicitation.
6.
Any peddler, hawker, or 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 100.070 of the Berkeley Municipal Code.
7.
The above provisions shall not apply to any peddler, hawker, or 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.
K.
Payments To Peddlers, Hawkers, Or Solicitors. When any person
soliciting within the City takes any down payment, he/she 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 peddler, hawker, or solicitor from the purchaser.
