[HISTORY: Adopted by the Village Board of the Village of Westfield
as Title 6, Ch. 3 of the 1985 Code. Amendments noted where applicable.]
No person shall engage in the business of peddler, hawker, solicitor,
or transient merchant within the Village of Westfield without first obtaining
a license from the Village Clerk-Treasurer in compliance with the provisions
in this chapter. A separate license shall be obtained for each type of business.
No provision of this chapter, except § 385-6A, C and D, shall apply to the following: newsboys; merchants delivering goods in the regular course of business (vendors of milk, bakery goods or groceries distributing products only to regular customers on established routes); farmers and truck gardeners; religious, charitable, patriotic and philanthropic organizations; and persons selling property at wholesale to dealers in such property.
An application for a license under this chapter shall be sworn to by
the applicant and filed with the Village Clerk-Treasurer and shall contain
such information as the Village Clerk-Treasurer shall require for the effective
enforcement of this chapter and the safeguarding of the residents of the Village
from fraud, misconduct or abuse. At the time of filing the application, the
applicant shall pay to the Village Clerk-Treasurer an investigation fee as
set by the Village Board to cover the cost of investigation of the facts contained
in the application.
Applications shall be immediately referred by the Village Clerk-Treasurer
to the Chief of Police. Upon receipt of each such application, the Chief of
Police shall immediately institute an investigation of the applicant's business
and moral character for the protection of the public good. Upon conclusion
of such investigation, which shall be within 72 hours after the application
is filed with him, the Chief of Police shall endorse his findings upon said
application and shall forthwith deliver the application to the Clerk-Treasurer
who shall issue or deny the license in accordance with such findings.
If the Chief of Police determines from his investigation of the application that the interests of the inhabitants of the Village require protection against possible misconduct of the licensee or that the applicant is otherwise qualified but due to causes beyond his control is unable to supply all of the information required by § 385-3 he may require the applicant to file with the Village Clerk-Treasurer a bond in the sum of $500 with surety acceptable to the Village President running to the Village conditioned that he will fully comply with the ordinances of the Village and laws of the State of Wisconsin relating to the license.
A.Â
Quitting premises. No hawker, solicitor, canvasser or
transient merchant shall refuse or fail to leave any private residence, business
establishment or office or other premises in the Village when requested to
do so by the owner, occupant or other person having authority over such premises.[1]
B.Â
Display of license. Persons licensed under this chapter
shall carry their licenses with them while engaged in licensed activities
and shall display such licenses to any Village official or citizen upon request.
C.Â
Misrepresentation prohibited. No licensee shall intentionally
misrepresent to any prospective customer the purpose of his visit or solicitation,
nor the name of the business of his principal, if any, nor the source of supply
of the goods, wares, merchandise or services which he sells or offers for
sale, nor the disposition of the proceeds or profits of his sales.
D.Â
Loud noises and speaking devices. No licensee, nor any
person on his behalf, shall, for the purpose of attracting attention to any
goods, wares or merchandise which such licensee proposes to sell, shout, cry
out, blow a horn, ring a bell or use any sound-amplifying device upon any
of the streets, alleys, parks or other public places or upon private premises
if sound of sufficient volume is emitted or produced therefrom to be capable
of being plainly heard upon the streets, alleys, parks or other public places.
Licenses issued under the provisions of this chapter may be revoked
or suspended by the Village President for a period not to exceed five days
pending hearing by the Village Board for fraud, misrepresentation or incorrect
statement contained in the application or made in the course of carrying on
business, or conviction of the licensee of any crime or misdemeanor or conducting
the licensed business in an unlawful or disorderly manner or in such a manner
as to menace the health, safety or general welfare of the public.
The Village Clerk-Treasurer shall date all licenses issued hereunder
and shall specify thereon the date of expiration. Licenses shall be issued
for a specified period of time only not exceeding 30 days. Applications for
renewals shall be handled in the same manner as original applications. Licenses
issued under this chapter are personal and may not be transferred.
