[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Commissioners of the City
of Ventnor City 4-26-2018 by Ord.
No. 2018-13. Amendments noted where applicable.]
No person or entity shall place, use or otherwise employ a donation
clothing bin, for solicitation purposes, within the City of Ventnor,
unless all of the following requirements are met:
A.
The person or entity has obtained a permit, valid for a specified
period of time, from the City of Ventnor.
B.
Any application for such permit shall include:
(1)
The location where the bin would be situated as precisely as possible.
(2)
The manner in which any clothing or other donations collected via
the bin would be used, sold or disbursed and the method by which the
proceeds of collected donations would be allocated or spent.
(3)
The name and telephone number of the bona fide office required pursuant
to this section of the person or entity which may share in any profit
from the collection and sale of any clothing or other donations collected
via the bin.
(4)
Written consent from the property owner where the bin is to be placed.
C.
Enclosures
for bins are required and must have the approval of the Zoning Office.
[Added 7-23-2020 by Ord. No. 2020-14]
All requests for a placement of any such donation clothing bin
shall be submitted to the City Administrator. No such application
shall be granted if a determination is made that placement of the
bin could constitute a safety hazard. When reaching a decision concerning
whether the placement of a bin could constitute a safety hazard, such
factors shall include, but not be limited to, the placement of a donation
clothing bin within 100 yards of any place which stores a large amount
of, or sells, fuel or other flammable liquids or gases.
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General
Provisions, Art. I)]
There shall be a fee in the amount set forth in Chapter 114, Fee Schedule, which shall accompany any application to offset the costs involved in enforcement.
Any permit issued for a donation clothing bin shall be good
for only one year and must be renewed upon submitting a new application
and paying a new fee for any subsequent year. Any permit issued pursuant
to this chapter shall be clearly and conspicuously displayed on the
exterior of the donation clothing bin. The application shall also
include a telephone number where someone can be reached on a twenty-four-hour-per-day,
seven-day-per-week, three-hundred-sixty-five-day-per-year basis.
The donation clothing bin must clearly state on the same the
name and address of the person or entity that owns the bin and the
name and address of any entity which may share in the profit from
any clothing or donations collected via the bin. Said display shall
also contain the telephone number of the person or entity's bona fide
office and the telephone number of any other entity which may share
in the profits from any clothing or other donations collected via
the bin. In the case when a person or entity other than a person who
owns the bin may share in the profits from any clothing or other donations
collected via the bin, the notice must contain, written in a clear
and easily understandable manner, notice that clothing or other donations
collected via the bin, the proceeds, or both, may be shared, or given
entirely to, a person or entity other than the person or entity who
owns the bin and further identifying all such entities which may share
in the profits from such donations. Such notice must also contain
a statement indicating the manner in which the person anticipates
any clothing or other donations collected via the bin would be used,
sold or disbursed and the method by which the proceeds of collected
donations would be allocated or spent.
[Amended 7-23-2020 by Ord. No. 2020-14]
To the extent the City of Ventnor receives any complaint from
the public regarding a clothing donation bin, the same shall be investigated
within 10 days. To the extent the City of Ventnor makes a determination
that a person or entity has violated any section set forth herein,
said person or entity shall be issued a warning stating that if the
violation is not rectified within 10 days, a summons to appear in
Municipal Court shall be issued, and upon the third offense, the permit
may be revoked and the bin will be seized or removed at the expense
of the person or entity who placed the bin, and any clothing or other
donations collected via the bin will be sold at public auction or
otherwise disposed of. In addition to mailing notice of any violation
to the person or entity who placed the bin, a notice shall also be
taped to the bin.
B.
In addition to the penalties set forth above, any person or entity
who violates the provisions of this chapter which results in seizure
of the donation clothing bin shall be subject to a penalty of up to
$20,000 for each violation and shall further be deemed ineligible
to place, use or employ a donation clothing bin for solicitation purposes
in the City of Ventnor.
No more than two clothing bins at any one time shall be permitted
to be located within the City of Ventnor. Only persons or entities
which have qualified as a charitable, nonprofit 501(c)(3) corporation
will be authorized to place clothing bins within the City of Ventnor.
Any person/entity must submit with the application sufficient documentation
demonstrating the formal creation and recognition by the Internal
Revenue Service of 501(c)(3) status.
All placed bins must be maintained in a neat and orderly condition,
and any accumulation of clothing or other donations which spill outside
of the bin or are placed outside of the bin shall be considered a
violation of this chapter. Said bins must be free of rust and be otherwise
aesthetically pleasing. No donation clothing bin may be placed on
municipally owned property or property owned by the Ventnor City Board
of Education and/or School Board. No bins shall be placed in a residential
zone. No bins shall be placed on property adjacent to any of the major
roadways within the City of Ventnor if the Chief of Police or his
designee makes a determination that the same would be a safety hazard
to either vehicular or pedestrian traffic.
To the extent that any portion of this chapter is declared invalid
by a body of competent jurisdiction, then said section is severed
from the remaining chapter, and the remaining portions of this chapter
shall continue in full force and effect.
To the extent that any ordinance or portion thereof contradicts
this chapter, then said contradictory ordinance or portion thereof
is hereby repealed.
This chapter shall take effect upon final passage and publication
pursuant to law.
