HomeMy WebLinkAboutCity Council Ordinance 2003-32CITY OF PLYMOUTH
HENNEPIN COUNTY, MINNESOTA
ORDINANCE NO. 2003-32
AN ORDINANCE AMENDING SECTION 105 OF THE PLYMOUTH CITY CODE
CONCERNING DEFINITIONS AND SECTION 1140 OF THE PLYMOUTH CITY
CODE CONCERNING PEDDLERS AND SOLICITORS
THE CITY OF PLYMOUTH ORDAINS:
SECTION 1. Section 105, Subd. 71 of the Plymouth City Code is amended to read:
Subd. 71. "Solicitor" means a person who goes from house to house, from place to place
or from street to street soliciting, or taking or attempting to take orders for sale of goods, wares,
merchandise, or personal property or services of any nature whatsoever for future delivery or
future performance whether or not such individual has, carries or exposes for sale, a sample of
the subject to such order or whether or not he is collecting advance payments for such orders.
Any such activity shall be deemed soliciting if it has as its ultimate purpose the obtaining of
orders of such nature, even though it may not purport, initially, to be an effort to obtain such an
order.
SECTION 2. Section 1140 of the Plymouth City Code is amended to read:
1140.01. Regiiien License Required. No Peddler or Solicitor shall sell or offer for sale
any goods, wares, or merchandise within the City unless a license therefor shall first be secured
as provided in this Section. The non - refundable license fee is set by Chapter X. Any
Peddler or Solicitor dealing with merchandise of any kind to be delivered to customers in
Minnesota directly from points outside of Minnesota shall be exempt from the payment of the
license fee. ,
Serat o but shall �.e required to . :s +o« ..,;�� the City,
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1140.03. Conditions GoverningRe6s#fitieff License. Registfatieff Application shall be
made with the City Clerk of the City at least five days prior to the date when the activity to be
carried on it to commence. Persons registering applying ing must file with the City Clerk an
accurate sworn statement in writing, on a form furnished by the City Clerk, giving
the following information:
(a) Name and physical description of the applicant;
(b) complete home and local address of the applicant and, in the case of transient
merchants, the local address from which proposed sales will be made;
(c) a brief description of the nature of the business and the product or services
involved;
(d) if employed, the name and address of the employer, together with credentials
therefrom, establishing the exact relationship;
(e) the dates and hours of the day during which the activity will be carried on;
(f) the source of supply of any goods or property proposed to be sold or orders taken
for the sale thereof, where such goods or products are located at the time said
registration is filed and the proposed method of delivery;
(g) a statement as to whether or not the fegistfan4 gpplicant has been convicted of any
crime, misdemeamer- or , misdemeanor or violation of any
municipal ordinance of any municipality other than traffic violations, the nature of
the offense and the punishment or penalty assessed therefor;
(h) the last municipalities, not to exceed five, where the applicant carried on business
immediately preceding the date of the application and the address from which
such business was conducted in those municipalities;
1140.05. Exemptions. This Section does not apply to persons engaged in the following
activities:
(a) selling personal property at wholesale to dealers in such articles;
(b) selling selely htemtufe of any kind; selling newspaper subscriptions;
(c)
�-Are- -ee ag; soliciting money, donations, or financial assistance of any
kind for nonprofit, religious, political, or education organizations: or taking orders
for goods sold by a political, religious, educational, or nonprofit organization, or
selling or distributing literature or merchandise for which a fee is charged or
solicited on behalf of such an organization;
(d) calling upon householders in connection with a regular route service for the sale
and delivery of perishable daily necessities of life such as bakery products and
dairy products; this exception does not relieve such person of the duty of
compliance with any other applicable provision of this Code;
(e) calling upon householders at the request of said householders;
1140.07. Proof of R -e i r License. Upon receipt of a complete
application, the City Clerk shall transmit the same to the Chief of Police for approval. Every
license shall bear the written approval of the Chief of Police. Within five days after
such r-egis4mien approval, the City Clerk shall provide the r-egistfaa4 applicant with a written
certificate showing proof of f:egistratien licensing v4th him. Such proof of licensing
shall have one copy of the registrant's photograph attached to the same, and shall be exhibited by
the mgistfafft licensee upon request of any police officer or of any person in the City who is
being contacted by the r-egistfant licensee in pursuance of the licensee's
activity.
1140.09. Reeistm&a License Non - transferable. No license is transferable
from one individual to another. Each individual shall be separately r-egister-ed licensed where
more than one individual is involved in the same type of activity even though associated with the
same organization.
1140.10 Persons working for or assisting licensee. The licensee shall also supply the
information required in Section 1140.03 of this article for all persons working for or assisting the
licensee and pay the fee for each person.
1140.11. Identification. All solicitors and peddlers must wear some tvpe of identification
conspicuously showing their name and the organization for which they are soliciting or peddling,
must carry their city issued license certificate when conducting the business or activity required
to be licensed under this chapter, and must wear or displav on their outermost clothina the
certificate of licensure provided by the City.
1104.12 Licensure Control. The certificate of licensure issued by the city is the property
of the City of Plymouth, and must be returned to the City within seven (7) days after the
expiration date of the license. Failure to do so may result in prosecution and will result in the
denial of any future license application for twelve (12) months.
1140.13 Practices Prohibited. No Peddler, Solicitor or Transient Merchant shall conduct
business in any of the following manners:
A. obstructing the free flow of either vehicular or pedestrian traffic on anv street
alley, sidewalk, or other public right of way;
B. conducting business in such a way as to create a threat to the health, safety, or
welfare of anv individual or the general public.
C. entering _upon any residential premises for the purpose of carryina on the
licensee's or registrant's trade or business between the hours of eight o'clock
(8:00) p.m. and nine o'clock (9:00) a.m. of the following day unless such person
has been expressly invited to do so by the owner or occupant thereof.
D. call attention to his business or to his merchandise, by crying out, by blowing a
horn, by ringing a bell, or by any loud or unusual noise in areas zoned for
residential use.
E. No Peddler, Solicitor, or Transient Merchant shall harass, intimidate, abuse, or
threaten a person or continue to offer merchandise for sale to any person after
being told not to do so by that person.
1140.14. Duration of R2gjg � License. Each license shall be valid only for
the period specified therein, and no license may extend beyond the 31 st day of
December of the year in which it is granted.
1140.15. Exclusion of Peddlers and Solicitors. Any person who wishes to exclude Peddlers
or Solicitors from premises occupied by him may place upon or near the
usual entrance to such premises a printed placard or sign bearing the following notice:
"Peddlers and Solicitors Prohibited"
Such placard shall be at least 3 3/4 inches long and 3 3/4 inches wide and the printing thereon
shall not be smaller than 48 point type. No Peddler or Solicitor shall enter
in or upon any premises or attempt to enter in or upon any premises where such placard or sign is
placed and maintained notwithstanding the fact that he may have obtained a solicitation
certificate or solicitation credentials, as the case may be, under the provisions of this Section. No
person other than the person occupying such premises shall remove, injure or deface such
placard or sign.
1140.17. Suspension and Revocation.
A. Any license may be temporarily suspended by the City Manager or revoked by the
Council for a violation of any of the following:
1. Fraud, misrepresentation, or incorrect statements on the application form:
2. Fraud, misrepresentation, or false statements made during the course of the
license activity;
3. Conviction of any offense for which granting of a license could have been denied
under this chapter:
4. Violation of any provision of this chapter: or
5. Conducting the business in an unlawful manner or in such a manner as to
constitute a breach of the peace or to constitute a menace to the health, safety, or
general welfare of the public.
B. Notice. Prior to revoking or r suspending any license issued under this chapter, the
City shall provide the license holder with written notice of the alleged violation(s) and inform the
licensee of the licensee's right to a hearing on the alleged violation. Notice shall be delivered in
person or by mail to the permanent residential address listed on the license application, or if no
residential address is listed, the business address provided on the license application.
C. Hearing. Upon receiving the notice provided in subsection B of this section, the
licensee shall have the right to request a hearing. If no request for a hearing is received by the
city within ten (10) days following the service of the notice, the city proceed with the
suspension or revocation. For the purpose of mailed notices, service shall be considered
complete as of the date the notice is placed in the mail. If a hearing is s requested within the
required time, a hearing shall be scheduled within twenty (20) days from the date of the request.
The police chief or the chief's designee shall be the hearing officer and shall render a decision.
The decision of the chief is final unless the licensee within five (5) dMs appeals the decision to
the city council.
D. Emergency. If, in the discretion of the chief of police or the chief's designee,
imminent harm to the health or safety of the public may occur because of the actions of a peddler
or solicitor licensed under this chapter, the chief of police may immediately suspend the person's
license and provide notice of the right to hold a subsequent public hearing as prescribed in
subsection B of this section.
E. Appeals. Au person whose license is suspended or revoked under this section shall
have the right to appeal that decision in court.
1140.19. Compliance with Zoning. Transient Merchants and Transient Produce Merchants
shall comply with provisions of the Plymouth Zoning Code. Compliance with the zoning
ordinance location, information, and plan requirements shall be verified in writing by the
Director of Community Development.
SECTION 3. Effective Date. This ordinance shall be effective upon passage and
publication in accordance with law.
Adopted this /O/k day of , 2003 by the City Council of the
City of Plymouth, Minnesota.
ft OF •
i� ei •T-o •
R. Paulson,