[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town Board of the Town of Urbana as indicated in article histories. Amendments noted where applicable.]
[Adopted 7-28-1993 as L.L. No. 1-1993; amended in its entirety 4-24-2012 by L.L. No. 2-2012]
This article is enacted for the purpose of regulating the business practices of roadside vending and transient merchants within the Town of Urbana and to provide for the preservation of good order and the peace, health, safety and welfare of the Town of Urbana residents and the protection and security of their property.
As used in this article, the following terms shall have the meanings indicated:
PEDDLER
Any person, solicitor, vendor or transient merchant engaging in or conducting a transient business.
PERSON
An individual, firm, partnership, association, corporation, limited liability company or agent thereof.
PRODUCE
Agricultural products grown or produced for human consumption, including but not limited to various fruits, vegetables, syrups and honey.
RIGHT-OF-WAY
Any area bordering a public highway or roadway, defined by the respective governing agency to be a part of that public highway or roadway, and to be free of any structures or obstructions.
ROADSIDE VENDING STAND
Any stand, cart, wagon or other vehicle or temporary structure located adjacent to any highway or roadway for the purpose of selling and offering agricultural produce and related agricultural products to the general public.
SOLICITOR
Any person, whether a resident of the Town of Urbana or not, traveling either by foot, wagon, automobile, motor truck or any other type of conveyance from place to place, from house to house or from street to street, taking or attempting to take orders for sale of goods, wares and merchandise or personal property of any nature whatsoever, for immediate or future delivery or for services, whether or not such individual has, carries or exposes for sale a sample of the subject of such sale or whether or not he is collecting advance payment on such sales.
TRANSIENT BUSINESS
A retail, wholesale or service business conducted in a temporary structure, tent or vehicle on any lot or parcel of land, or by door-to-door solicitation, for a limited period of time. Lack of a permitted permanent physical structure housing a permitted business shall be presumptive evidence of a temporary situation.
TRANSIENT MERCHANT
Any person, whether a resident of the Town of Urbana or not, who engages or proposes to engage in a transient retail or service business.
VENDOR
A person who engages or proposes to engage in the operation of a roadside vending stand.
A. 
No person shall engage in business as a transient merchant unless he/she shall first have obtained a permit to do so from the Town of Urbana. The fee for such permit shall be determined from a schedule of fees as adopted by the Town Board.
B. 
No provisions of this article shall exempt permit holders from any other applicable regulations of the Town of Urbana.
Vendors conducting business from roadside stands, carts, wagons or other vehicles or temporary structures are subject to the following regulations:
A. 
Any roadside stand, carts, wagons or other vehicles or devices utilized by them shall not be located in any state or municipal right-of-way.
B. 
Only agricultural produce or related products can be offered for sale at such roadside locations.
C. 
No such roadside stand shall be located within 500 feet from any roadway intersection.
D. 
Any roadside vending stand not located on property owned by the vendor shall have written permission from the property owner expressly allowing the operation of said stand. Such written permission shall be visibly displayed.
E. 
No vendor shall operate any roadside stand for a period exceeding 30 days, consecutive or cumulative, in any given calendar year.
The following types of activities may be undertaken and maintained without a permit or payment of a fee, provided that such activities comply with the requirements of this article and any other local laws or ordinances of the Town of Urbana or any other governing body:
A. 
The temporary, in season, sale of produce grown or produced on premises owned by the vendor and sold from premises owned by the vendor.
B. 
The delivery of meats, fish, fruit and similar produce by farmers and persons who produce such commodities or to dealers in milk, baked goods, heating oil, daily newspapers or similar commodities.
C. 
Persons soliciting, collecting or operating a sale on behalf of any bona fide charitable, education, scientific, health, religious or patriotic organization.
D. 
Any person selling personal property at a garage, barn or yard sale held at his residence, provided that such sales do not exceed three consecutive days. If such sales take place more often than three times in any calendar year at the same location, a zoning permit and site plan approval will be required.
A. 
Applications for a transient merchant permit shall be made in writing on forms obtained from the Urbana Town Clerk and shall contain the following information:
(1) 
The name, address and telephone number of the applicant.
(2) 
The name, address and telephone number of any person or persons who will be conducting business.
(3) 
A copy of any applicant's certificate of doing business as filed in the Steuben County Clerk's office.
(4) 
A copy of the applicant's current New York State sales tax resale certificate.
(5) 
A brief description of the goods or services to be provided.
(6) 
The location where the applicant intends to do business.
(7) 
A description of any vehicle. (If a vehicle is utilized, then a copy of the vehicle registration is to be included.)
(8) 
The dates that this license shall include.
B. 
The applicant shall present a New York State driver's license or similar photographic identification.
Following the receipt of a completed application, the Zoning Officer shall verify that the application is complete. Upon verification of the application and payment of the prescribed fee as set by the Town Board, the permit shall be issued by the Zoning Officer.
The permit issued shall not authorize any person except the designated person named in said license to engage in business thereunder. Said permit shall not be transferable from the person to whom issued to any other person. The applicant shall supply a list containing the names of every agent or employee that will be conducting business on his behalf under the provisions of the permit. Each permit shall authorize the person and those listed therein to conduct business only in the manner as indicated therein.
All permits shall be issued on forms drawn in accordance with this article. They shall be printed and consecutively numbered. The permit shall contain all the required information, including the term of the permit and the amount of fees paid.
A. 
Every person holding a permit under this article shall be required to carry the permit with him while engaged in the business permitted. He must produce the permit at the request of any Town official and present such permit to any person in the Town with whom he wishes to conduct business.
B. 
If a permit is lost or stolen, such shall be immediately reported to the Town Clerk. Upon notification, the Town Clerk shall issue a replacement permit to the permittee pursuant to the fee schedule approved by the Town Board.
Each transient merchant permit shall have a term of one week. For the purposes of this article, a "week" is defined as that period beginning at 9:00 a.m. on Monday and ending at 6:00 p.m. the following Sunday or any portion thereof.
A transient merchant or any person in his behalf shall not:
A. 
Be permitted to operate in any congested area where his operations might impede or inconvenience the public.
B. 
Sell or offer for sale goods, wares, merchandise or food and beverages from any motorized vehicle or any other type of conveyance on any of the public streets and highways of the Town of Urbana; and in Town parks except as hereinafter provided; provided, however, that the prohibition herein contained shall not include the bona fide delivery of goods, wares, merchandise or food and beverages made on a regular route to regular customers. With respect to Town parks, if the Town Board has approved an application for a special event to be held in a park and if the applicant discloses in its application its intention to have vendors sell or offer for sale goods, wares, merchandise or food and beverages from any motorized vehicle or any other type of conveyance, the sponsor of the event shall be solely responsible in determining which vendor(s) may participate in the event and shall verify that the vendor’s vehicle or other type of conveyance meets all applicable vehicular laws and has all required department of health permits.
[Amended 9-18-2018 by L.L. No. 4-2018]
This article shall not apply to any village within the Town of Urbana.
The Town Board of the Town of Urbana shall provide for the enforcement of the provisions of this article. The Zoning Officer, his agents or any other person authorized by the Town Board shall have the right to administer and enforce this article.
If the Zoning Officer, upon investigation, finds that the holder of any transient merchant permit or operator of any roadside vending stand is in violation of the provisions of this article, he shall serve upon the holder of such permit or such vendor an order, in writing, directing the person or persons to cease and desist from any such activity and to surrender any permit or permits until the violations therein specified are remedied.
Any person violating the provisions of this article shall be guilty of an offense and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not less than $50 nor more than $100 for each offense. Each and every day that a violation of this article shall continue shall constitute a separate and distinct offense.