[Adopted 6-17-1968 by Ord. No. 68-3 as Ch.
49, Art. I, of the 1968 Code]
As used in this article, the following terms
shall have the meanings indicated:
A person who goes from place to place by traveling on foot
or by any type of conveyance on the streets, or from house to house,
carrying, transporting or conveying goods, wares, merchandise, foods,
farm products or provisions, offering and exposing the same for sale
or making sales and deliveries to purchasers, or who solicits orders
and as a separate transaction makes deliveries to purchasers. The
word "peddler" shall include the words "hawker" and "huckster."
Includes the singular and the plural and shall also include
and mean any individual, firm, partnership, corporation, voluntary
association, incorporated association, club, society or other organization
and any officer, employee or agent thereof.
Includes persons who shall go on foot or by any type of conveyance
from door to door or house to house selling, causing to be sold, offering
for sale or causing to be offered for sale or taking orders for present
or future delivery of goods, wares, merchandise, foods, farm products
or provisions; and shall further include persons going, as aforesaid,
from door to door or from house to house for the purpose of obtaining
alms, orders, subscriptions or making canvasses or surveys or other
solicitations; also, any person who uses or occupies any building,
part thereof or any other place within the Borough of Berlin for the
sole purpose of exhibiting samples and taking orders for future delivery.
The purpose of this article is to prevent dishonest
business practices by providing for the registration and regulation
of the conduct of peddlers and solicitors, and of soliciting and canvassing.
A further purpose is to raise revenue by the imposition of license
fees.
It shall be unlawful for any peddler or solicitor
to sell or dispose of, or to offer to sell or dispose of, any goods,
wares or merchandise within the Borough of Berlin, or to solicit or
act as a solicitor from door to door within the Borough of Berlin,
without first registering with the Borough Clerk of the Borough of
Berlin as provided in this article, and obtaining the license prescribed.
The requirements of this article as to the payment
of a license fee (but not as to registration) shall be held not to
include the following persons, who are expressly exempt from its application:
A.
Any person honorably discharged from the United States
Army, Navy, Air Force or Marine Corps, or other components of the
military forces of the United States.
B.
Any person who conducts a judicial sale under the
authority of the state or national laws.
C.
Any person who resides in the Borough of Berlin who
solicits for charitable or educational purposes.
D.
Persons engaged in delivering merchandise of any nature
whatsoever on regular scheduled routes to regular customers, including
specifically, but not limited to, persons delivering dairy products,
bread and other merchandise over such routes; and with respect to
persons mentioned in this subdivision they shall be exempt from all
requirements of this article relating to the payment of the license
fee or license fees, terms and conditions.
Any person desiring a license under this article
shall first register with the Borough Clerk of the Borough of Berlin,
and shall file with said Borough Clerk an application in writing containing
the following information:
A.
Name of applicant.
B.
Permanent home residence.
C.
Name, address and telephone number of the person from
whom goods making up the stock, if any, were or are to be purchased.
D.
Three bona fide business references.
E.
The place or places of residence of the applicant
for the next preceding three years.
F.
Two recent photographs of applicant, approximately
2 1/2 inches by 2 1/2 inches in size, together with a complete set
of fingerprints.
G.
A description of the goods, wares or merchandise to
be sold and offered for sale, and/or the purpose of his proposed canvassing
or solicitation.
H.
The length of time for which the license is required
and registration is to be effective.
I.
Details of any arrests or convictions for misdemeanors
and crimes, including the nature of the offense for which arrested
or convicted, the date of conviction and the place where said conviction
was had.
J.
To said application, and as a part thereof, there
shall be attached a letter from the firm or corporation for which
applicant works, authorizing applicant to act as its representative.
Following the filing of the application, the
Borough Clerk shall make or cause to be made much investigation as
he deems necessary to verify the information set forth therein; the
Borough Clerk shall thereupon signify his approval or rejection on
the reverse side of the application, and if approved shall issue the
license to such applicant. To such license shall be affixed one photograph
of the applicant, identified by applicant's signature, which shall,
in part, cover said photograph.
A.
The license shall be issued on forms drawn in accordance
with this article. They shall be consecutively numbered and shall
contain spaces for the insertion of the name, location of the business
and the amount of fee paid.
B.
There shall be kept in the office of the Borough Clerk
the necessary books for recording the time the application was received,
showing whether it is an application for a new or renewal license;
the name of the licensee, the date of approval by the Borough Clerk,
the amount of fee received therefor and the date when the license
was issued.
C.
The Borough Clerk shall monthly file a report with
the Mayor and Borough Council, giving the details as to applications
received, licenses issued and licenses suspended or revoked, if any,
and the reasons for such suspension or revocation.
Every person holding a license under this article
shall be required to have in his possession an identification button
or badge. He must produce said button or badge at the request of any
officer of the Borough of Berlin, which button or badge shall be issued
with the license and shall bear such words as will show that the person
in possession of the same is duly licensed under the terms of this
article. Peddlers or solicitors shall have said button or badge affixed
to the lapel of his or her coat or garment while engaged in the business
of peddling or soliciting in the Borough of Berlin.
The license fees under the terms of this article
shall be as follows:
A.
For each person proposing to peddle on foot or proposing
to peddle from car or pushcart: $25 per day; $125 per week; $500 per
month; $1,200 per year.
[Amended 7-19-2004 by Ord. No. 2004-13]
B.
For each person proposing to peddle from a wagon,
motor vehicle or other vehicle conveyance: $25 per day; $125 per week;
$500 per month; $1,200 per year.
[Amended 7-19-2004 by Ord. No. 2004-13]
C.
For each helper or assistant to those using vehicles,
which helpers must procure the permit or license herein provided for
peddlers: $10 per day; $50 per week; $200 per month; $600 per year.
[Amended 7-19-2004 by Ord. No. 2004-13]
D.
No fee shall be required of a person selling products
of the farm or orchard actually produced by the seller.
E.
For the purpose of this article, any period of seven
calendar days or less shall be considered one week; any period of
more than seven calendar days and not more than 30 calendar days shall
be considered one month; any period of more than 30 calendar days
and not more than one calendar year shall be treated as a year. The
annual fees provided for herein shall be assessed on a calendar year
basis, except on and after July 1 of any year the amount of the fee
for any license shall be 1/2 of the amount stipulated for the remainder
of that year.
F.
All annual licenses issued under the provisions of
this article shall expire on December 31 of the year of issuance;
other than annual licenses shall expire on the date specified in the
license.
The following regulations shall apply to all
persons licensed under the provisions of this article:
A.
No license or badge issued under the provisions of
this article shall be used or worn by any person other than the one
to whom it was issued, nor shall it be transferred in any way or manner.
B.
No peddler, nor any person in his behalf, shall shout,
make any outcry, blow a horn, ring a bell or use any sound device,
including any loudspeaking radio or sound-amplifying system, upon
any of the streets, alleys, parks or other public places of said Borough,
or upon any private premises in the said Borough where sound of sufficient
volume is emitted or produced therefrom to be capable of being plainly
heard upon the streets, avenues, alleys, parks or other public places,
for the purpose of attracting attention to any goods, wares or merchandise
which such licensee proposes to sell.
C.
No peddler shall have any exclusive right to any location
in the public streets, nor shall any be permitted a stationary location,
nor shall be permitted to operate in any congested area where his
operations might impede or inconvenience the public.
D.
Peddlers are required to exhibit their licenses at
the request of any citizen.
E.
No person shall be permitted to peddle, solicit or
canvass before 8:30 a.m. on any weekday or after 4:00 p.m. on any
weekday. No one shall be permitted to peddle, solicit or canvass on
Sunday.
F.
It shall be the duty of any police officer of the
Borough of Berlin to require any person peddling and who is not known
by such officer to be duly licensed, to produce his peddler's license,
and to enforce the provisions of this article against any person found
to be violating the same.
A license may be revoked by the Borough Clerk
by reason of violation of the terms of the license, the violation
of any Borough ordinance or state or federal statute or falsification
or fraud in applying for the license. The licensed person may, upon
making application to the Borough Clerk in writing, request a hearing
by the Borough Council upon the revocation or suspension of the aforesaid
license. A license may be suspended for not more than four weeks by
the issuing officer without a hearing.
Any person required by this article to procure
a license who violates its terms or who violates any of the provisions
of this article shall, upon conviction thereof, forfeit and pay a
fine of not more than $200 or be imprisoned in the county jail for
not more than 90 days, or both.
