HomeMy WebLinkAbout90-2834Amendment - Peddlers & Solicitors Ordinance
ORDINANCE NO. 90-2834
AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY
OF PLAINVIEW, TEXAS AMENDING THE PLAINVIEW
CITY CODE, CHAPTER 7, ARTICLE 6, ENTITLED
"PEDDLERS AND SOLICITORS."
WHEREAS, the City of Plainview recognizes a measure of
regulation is necessary to provide the citizens of Plainview with
information relating to peddlers, itinerant vendors, and
solicitors who solicit or canvass within the City of Plainview;
and
WHEREAS, the City of Plainview recognizes a measure of
regulation is necessary to protect the citizens of Plainview from
deceptive and dishonest' practices from those persons and
organizations who solicit and canvass within the City of
Plainview.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED by the City Council of the
City of Plainview that:
Section 1: The Plainview City Code, Chapter 7, Article 6,
entitled "Peddlers and Solicitors," is hereby amended to read as
follows:
7-201
7-202
7-203
7-204
7-205
7-206
7-207
7-208
7-209
7-210
ARTICLE SIX
PEDDLERS, ITINERANT VENDORS, AND SOLICITO~
DEFINITIONS
ITINERANT VENDORS ON PUBLIC PROPERTY
ITINERANT VENDORS ON PRIVATE PROPERTY; LICENSE
REQUIRED; APPLICATION
BOND REQUIRED
DISPLAY OF LICENSE; UNAUTHORIZED USE AND
REPRODUCTION
ENTRANCE TO PREMISES RESTRICTED
REVOCATION AND SUSPENSION
APPEAL PROCEDURE
EXEMPTIONS
PENALTIES AND ENFORCEMENT
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7-201. Definitions.
As used in this Article, the following words and terms shall have
the meaning ascribed thereto:
Itinerant Vendor means any person, (whether or not a
resident of the City) who engages in the transient business of
selling goods within the City. The term "itinerant vendor" shall
include any agent, independent contractor, employee, or other
representative of any such person and peddlers or solicitors.
Transient Business means the sale of goods in or on any
real property within the city not owned, leased, or rented by
such a vendor for a period of at least sixty (60) consecutive
days.
Sale or selling shall include the exchange of goods, wares,
or merchandise in exchange for consideration, or the offer,
exhibition, solicitation, or taking of orders for the sale of
goods, wares, or merchandise, or the distribution of commercial
printed matter in aid of any such sale.
Goods means any goods, wares, merchandise, livestock,
poultry, or other wild or domestic creatures, and all other
tangible personal property of any nature whatsoever but shall not
include natural, botanical, and agricultural products, food and
beverages intended for human consumption, and securities,
policies of insurance and other intangibles.
Public property means any property open or devoted to public
use or owned by the City, County, state or federal government,
including but not limited to parks, buildings, sidewalks,
streets, and public parkways.
Person means any individual,
association or other legal entity.
corporation,
partnership,
Commercial printed matter means any printed or written
matter, whether a sample, device, leaflet, circular, pamphlet,
paper, or booklet, whether printed, or reproduced, or copied
which:
1. advertises for sale any merchandise, product,
commodity, or service; or
2. directs attention to a business or commercial
establishment or other activity for the purpose of
either directly or indirectly promoting sales; or
3. directs attention to or advertises a meeting,
performance, exhibition, or event for which an
admission fee is charged for private gain or
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profit but does not include a meeting,
performance, exhibition, or event for which an
admission fee is charged or a collection is taken
up only for the purpose of deferring expenses; or
4. while containing reading matter other than
advertising matter, is predominantly and
essentially an advertisement, and is distributed
or circulated for advertising purposes or for the
private benefit and gain of any person so engaged
as advertiser or distributor.
7-202. Itinerant Vendors on P-hlic Property.
(a) Except as herein provided, it shall be unlawful for any
itinerant vendor to sell any goods on public property or to
display or distribute commercial printed matter in aid of any
such sale.
(b) It is a defense to prosecution under this section that the
person selling goods on public property was:
(1) doing so, in connection with official
government business; or
(2) doing so by authority of a contract, lease,
or other agreement with the City, County, state or
federal government to operate a business or
concession on a designated area of public
property; or
(3) doing so under the authority of some other
valid permit issued by the City.
7-203. Itinerant Vendors on Private Property; License ReceiPted;
Application.
(a) It shall be unlawful for any itinerant vendor to sell goods
on private property within the City without an itinerant vendors
license issued in accordance with the provisions of this article.
(b) The license required by the preceding sub-part shall be
secured prior to the actual sale, offer, exhibit, or solicitation
of orders for the sale of goods by an itinerant vendor.
(c) Application for an itinerant vendor's license may be secured
during business hours at the Plainview Police Department, 108 W.
9th, Plainview, Texas 79072.
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(d) Applications for an itinerant vendor's license must be
complete, accurate, made on a form provided for that purpose by
the Director of Public Safety or his authorized representative,
with the signature thereon duly notarized upon the oath of said
vendor that his/her answers are true and correct.
(e) At the time of the application, each itinerant vendor shall
provide, at a minimum, the following data for identification of
such applicant and each employee, agent, or representative who
will sell, offer, exhibit, or solicit orders on his/her behalf:
(1) name;
(2) address (residential and business);
(3) social security number;
(4) date of birth;
(5) telephone numbers (residential and business);
(6) name and address of the person, corporation,
or other entity from whom goods, wares, or
merchandise to be sold is secured (sources of
goods);
(7) recent photograph (not more than one year
old) of applicant and all employees, agents,_ or
representatives;
(8) current drivers license number of applicant
and all employees, agents, or representatives;
(9) a brief description of the nature of the
business and of the goods to be sold or services
to be performed;
(10) length of time for which the right to do
business is required;
(11) the fingerprints of the applicant;
(12) the names of two references, as to the
character and business responsibility of the
applicant or, in lieu of such references, the
means of obtaining evidence as to the applicant's
character and business responsibility;
(13) a statement as to any convictions of crimes,
misdemeanors,or violations of municipal ordinances,
the date, the nature of the offense, and the
penalty assessed therefore;
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(14) a statement that a license, if granted will
not be used or represented as an endorsement by
the City for solicitations thereunder.
(f) Each application for an itinerant vendor's license shall be
accompanied by a license fee of twenty-five dollars ($25.00) for
the applicant and an additional fifteen dollars ($15.00) for each
employee, agent, or representative of the applicant vendor who
will sell, offer, exhibit, or solicit orders for the sale of
goods, wares, or merchandise for or on behalf of the applicant
vendor.
(g) Each itinerant vendor shall be required to receive his/her
license in person and acknowledge receipt therefrom on a form
provided for this purpose by the Director of Public Safety.
(h) Each itinerant vendor's license issued under this article
shall be valid for a primary term of ninety (90) days from the
date of issuance.
(i) The primary term indicated in the preceding paragraph may be
extended once for an additional ninety (90) days by filing a
renewal application on a form provided for this purpose by the
Director of Public Safety prior to the expiration date of the
primary license term.
(j) Each renewal application shall be accompanied by a license
renewal fee of fifteen dollars ($15.00) for each applicant vendor
and an additional ten dollars ($10.00) for each employee, agent,
or representative selling, offering, exhibiting or soliciting
orders for the sale of goods on behalf of the applicant vendor.
(k) A license issued under the authority of this article
constitutes a purely personal privilege which may not be sold,
assigned, or otherwise transferred and shall not inure to the
benefit of a person other than the original licensee.
(1) The Director of Public Safety shall receive all applications
and review such applications for compliance with the provisions
of this article. After the passage of five complete business
days from the date an application is submitted to the Director of
Public Safety, and if the Director of Public Safety has no
evidence that answers to the questions on the application are
other than stated on the application and the application is
determined to comply with the provisions of this article, then
said license shall be issued to the applicant.
If the Director of Public Safety determines that any question on
the application has been answered falsely or that the application
does not comply with all of the provisions of this article, then
in that event, the license shall not be issued and the applicant
shall be so informed and given, in writing, the reason for
non-issuance.
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7-204. Bond Required.
Every applicant shall file with the Director of Public Safety,
before a license is issued, a bond in the amount of one thousand
dollars ($1,000.00) executed by the applicant as principal and a
surety company authorized to do business in the State of Texas
running in favor of the City, and any person who may have a cause
of action against the principal for any malfeasance, misfeasance,
or deceptive practice in the conduct of such solicitation or
canvass. Said bond shall further require that the principal
shall fully comply with all provisions of the state and city laws
regulating the business of solicitors or canvassers, and that
all monies paid as a down payment or donated will be accounted
for and applied according to the representation of the solicitor
or canvasser and further that the property ordered or sold will
be delivered or the services will be performed according to the
undertaking of the solicitor or canvasser. Any person injured by
the applicants/principals failure to account for the monies
received, deliver the goods ordered or sold, or performed the
services promised, shall have in his/her own name, a right of
action on said bond against both the principal and surety.
7-205.
Display of License; Unauthorized Use and Reproduction
Prohibited.
(a) A license issued under this article shall be prominently
displayed in a conspicuous place such that the same may be easily
read at any time during the sale, offer, exhibition, or
solicitation of orders for the sale of goods.
(b) It shall be unlawful for any itinerant vendor or employee,
agent, or representative of such itinerant vendor to sell goods
in the City without prominently and conspicuously displaying his
itinerant vendor license as required in the preceding sub-part.
(c) It shall be unlawful for any person to present, display, or
to sell goods within the City under the authority of an
itinerant vendor's license issued to another.
(d) It shall be unlawful for any itinerant vendor to fail or to
refuse to display or exhibit his/her itinerant vendor's license
or other identification upon request by the Director of Public
Safety or his/her designee, any member of the Plainview Police
Department, or Code Enforcement officer.
(e) It shall be unlawful for any itinerant vendor to sell goods
under the authority of a false, counterfeit, invalid, or altered
itinerant vendor's license.
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7-206. Entrance to Premises Restricted.
(a) It shall be unlawful for any itinerant vendor to enter upon
any private premises when such premises has posted a sign stating
"No Peddlers Allowed" or "No Solicitations Allowed" or other
words to such effect.
(b) Any itinerant vendor who enters upon a premises owned,
leased, or rented by another and refuses to leave such premises
after having been notified by the owner of such premises, or
his/her agent, to leave the same and not return to such premises,
shall upon conviction, be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor.
(c) It is expressly provided that violation of this seCtion
shall be grounds for suspension and/or revocation of a license.
7-207. Revocation and Suspension.
A license issued under this chapter may be suspended or revoked
by the Director of Public Safety if the following conditions are
found:
(1) fraud, misrepresentation or false statement
contained in the application for the license;
(2) fraud, misrepresentation or false statement
made in the course of carrying on the business of
the soliCitor or canvasser;
(3) any violation of this article;
(4) conviction of any crime involving moral
turpitude, or conducting the business of
soliciting or canvassing in an unlawful manner or
in such a manner as to constitute a breach of the
peace or so as to constitute a menace to the
health, safety, or general welfare of the public.
Notice of suspension or revocation of a license shall be in
writing and mailed to the licensee at the address of record on
the original application and shall be effective as of the date of
the writing.
7-208. Appeal Procedure; Final Decision.
(a) Any person aggrieved by the denial, suspension, or
revocation of an itinerant vendor's license herein may appeal
such action within ten (10) days from the date thereof in the
manner and in accordance with the following procedures:
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(1) an appeal in writing must be submitted to the
City Manager's office stating the grounds
therefore.
(2) City Manager's office shall issue a decision
within three (3) calendar days regarding the
decision rendered by the Director of Public
Safety. City Manager's office shall have the
authority to grant, deny, modify, or overrule the
Director of Public Safety's decision in regard to
the issuance of the license.
(3) the decision of the City Manager's office
shall be final.
~7-209. Exemptions.
This article shall not apply to the following activities:
(1) Non-retail sales. Sale of goods by
manufacturer or wholesaler to a retailer or to
another wholesaler having a permanent place of
business within; or
(2) Religious and charitable sales. Sale of
goods by any religious, charitable, philanthropic,
scholastic, or eleemosynary institution,
organization or association; or
(3) Arts and crafts fairs. Sale of goods at an
arts and crafts fair or similar event held:
(a) within a structure on private or public
property that is entirely enclosed; and
(b) with no outside display of goods, wares,
or merchandise; and
(c) in compliance with all zoning, health
and sanitation, and other applicable codes;
or
(4) Sale of goods in connection with a home
occupation lawfully conducted in accordance with
the law; or
(5) Insurance, securities, other intangibles.
The sale of insurance contracts, securities, or
other intangibles; or
(6) Produce. The sale of raw agricultural
products, flowers or produce; or
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(7) Garage Sales. The sale, offer, exhibition
or solicitation of orders for the sale of goods at
a "garage sale" held on a private residential
premises and in compliance with local ordinances;
or
(8) Newspapers, periodicals. The sale of
newspapers or periodicals from a stationery, coin
operated machine properly situated so as not to
obstruct or impede pedestrian or motor vehicle
traffic and in compliance with local law; or
(9) Food Products. The sale of food, beverages,
or other commodities intended for human
consumption by authority of a permit issued by the
Plainview - Hale County Health District or
otherwise in accordance with all laws, ordinances,
and regulations applicable thereto; or
(10) Non-commercial printed matter. The sale or
distribution of printed matter that is not
commercial printed paper, including but not
limited to newspapers, magazines, books, et
cetera, which such sale is otherwise than from a
coin operated machine as described in the above
sub-part.
7-210. Penalties and Enforcement.
(a) Any person violating any provision of this article is guilty
of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, shall be punished as
provided in Chapter 1, Section 1-5, for each offense.
(b) Each sale, offer, exhibition, solicitation, taking of orders
or distribution of commercial matter in aid of the sale of goods
in violation of this article shall constitute a separate offense.
(c) The Director of Public Safety, his/her authorized designee,
any officer of the Plainview Police Department or any Code
Enforcement officer is authorized to issue a summons and citation
as applicable for violations of this article.
Section 2: Conflicts. Ail ordinances or parts of ordinances in
conflict with this article are hereby repealed to the extent of
such inconsistency.
Section 3: Cumulativeness. Provisions of this chapter are
cumulative and nothing herein shall prevent, alter, or diminish
the applicability or enforcement of other ordinances restricting,
regulating or governing the subject matter herein.
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Section 4: Severability. Should any section, sub-section, or
any portion hereof be deemed invalid for any reason, such holding
shall not render or invalidate any other section, sub-section,
sentence, provision, clause, phrase, or word severable therefrom
and the same shall be deemed severable for this purpose.
Section 5: Publication. This ordinance shall become effective
from and after the date of its passage and publication according
to law.
PASSED AND APPROVED this the 14th day of August, 1990.
E.V. Ridlehuber, Mayor
ATTEST:
Carla Reese, City Secretary
APPROVED AS TO CONTENT:
Y / , ~D.i of Public Safety
APPROVED AS TO FORM:
D. Blackburn, City Attorney
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