“Door-to-door salesperson,” “solicitor,” “canvasser,” and “peddler,” as used in this Article, mean any individual whose business is mainly or principally carried on by traveling either by foot, automobile or any other type of conveyance from place to place, from house to house or from street to street, taking or attempting to take orders for the sale of goods, wares, merchandise or personal property of any kind whatsoever, for present or future delivery, or for services to be furnished or performed in the future, whether or not such individual has, carries or exposes for sale a sample of the subject of such sale or whether he or she is collecting advance payments or not; and also includes any person who, without traveling from place to place, sells or offers any such goods for sale from any automobile or other type of conveyance; provided, however, that this definition does not include persons selling only to retailers, nor any person representing any tax-exempt charitable, educational, fraternal, dependent upon charitable gifts, or community service organization, persons with a regular newspaper delivery route or regular milk or food delivery route that do not generally solicit new business by door to door sales.

(a)   It is unlawful for any person to engage in the business of door-to-door sales, solicitation, canvasser or peddler, as defined in this Article, within the City without first obtaining a permit as provided in this Article.

(b)   Permits issued pursuant to this Article shall be valid for a period of thirty days, six months, or one year following the date of issuance.

(c)   All persons engaging in the business of door to door sales, solicitation, canvasser or peddler as used in the article must carry a copy of the approved application on their person at all times while conducting business, and produce it for anyone to see such permit.

(d)   The Chief of Police is hereby directed to adopt written regulations regarding identification measures with which door-to-door salespersons shall comply. Identification regulations shall include requirement that all door-to-door salespeople wear an i.d., or uniform identifying such person’s company affiliation, and that a copy of the permit required by this Article be shown by all door-to-door salespeople at the beginning of each sales contact. A copy of the current regulations required by this section will be attached to the approved permit by the City Clerk, or the Clerk’s designee, prior to giving such permit to the applicant.

Any person desiring to apply for a permit under the provisions of this Article shall file with the city clerk a sworn application in writing, in duplicate, on a form to be furnished by the city clerk, including the following:

(a)   The name and description of the applicant;

(b)   The permanent home address and local address of the applicant;

(c)   A brief description of the nature of the business to be carried on or the goods or services to be sold, and the length of time such applicant has been engaged in such business;

(d)   If employed, the name and address of the employer, together with credentials establishing such relationship; if the applicant is intending to use employees to carry out this business, the name of each such employee who will be working in the City and such identifying information as required by the Clerk;

(e)   The length of time for which the permit is desired;

(f)   If a vehicle(s) is/are to be used, a description of the same, together with the permit number or other means of identification;

(g)   The names of at least two reliable persons who will certify as to the applicant’s good character and business responsibility to enable an investigator to properly evaluate such character and business responsibility;

(h)   A statement as to whether or not the applicant has been convicted of any crime, misdemeanor or violation of any municipal ordinance, giving the nature of the offense and the punishment or penalty assessed therefore; and

(i)    A suitable release, authorizing the city’s police department to conduct such background investigation of the applicant as the police chief may deem appropriate.

The application shall be accompanied by a fee as set out in Chapter 17 which shall be due and payable at the time the application is received. Such fee shall be set by the governing body in an amount appropriate to cover the cost of investigation of the applicant’s background.

Upon receipt of any such application, the original thereof shall be referred to the Chief of Police, who shall cause such investigation to be made of the facts stated in the application and of the applicant’s business and moral character as he or she deems necessary for the protection of the public good and shall report the results thereof to the city clerk within ten days after receipt of the application.

This investigation may be waived by the Chief of Police for those vendors, and those employees of such vendors, who have obtained such a background check conducted by the Haysville Police Department within the previous twelve months in association with a previously issued door to door permit issued pursuant to this Article, if neither such vendor, nor any of such vendor’s employees, have generated complaints in association with such previously obtained permit. An investigation must be conducted upon all vendors, and applicable employees, pursuant to this Article at least annually.

(a)   If the character and business responsibility of the applicant are found to be good and the facts stated in the application are found to be true, the Chief of Police shall endorse his recommendation for approval upon the application and return the same to the City Clerk who shall deliver to the applicant the permit. Such permit shall show the name, address and the kind of goods or services be sold there under, the date of issuance and expiration date, together with the permit number or other identifying description of any vehicle proposed to be used in association with door to door sales carried out pursuant to such permit.

(b)   If the applicant’s character or business responsibility is found to be unsatisfactory or the facts stated in the application are found to be untrue, the Chief of Police shall endorse his recommendation for disapproval upon the application, and the reasons therefore, and return the application to the City Clerk, who shall notify the applicant that his application is disapproved and that no permit will be issued.

(a)   Permits issued under the provisions of this Article may be revoked by the Chief of Police or his or her designee after notice for any of the following causes:

(1)   Fraud, misrepresentation or a false statement contained in the application for a permit;

(2)   Fraud, misrepresentation or a false statement made in the course of carrying on the business provided for in the permit;

(3)   Any violation of the provisions of this Article;

(4)   Conviction of any crime or misdemeanor including but not limited to those crimes involving moral turpitude, fraud or misrepresentation;

(5)   Conducting the business of the permit in an unlawful manner or in such manner as to constitute a breach of the peace or to constitute a menace to the health, safety or general welfare of the public, including failure to honor a property owner’s desire to be free from solicitation as indicated by the posting of a sign upon any property stating “no solicitation”, or any analogous phrase.

(6)   Violation of any part of this Article by any representative of the permit holder, or by any individual, corporation, partnership, or organization that the permit holder represents.

(b)   Revocation of a permit shall be immediate for any of the above listed reasons, or for any reason deemed to pose a risk to the health, safety, or welfare of the City. Individuals shall be notified verbally by the enforcing officer of the revocation of such permit. A written notification shall be mailed to the address provided on the permit application by registered mail. Failure to accept delivery of such registered letter shall not be a failure of notification.

(c)   Notice for the revocation or denial of a permit given in writing shall set forth specifically the grounds for the denial or revocation. A request for an administrative hearing to appeal the decision to deny or revoke such application or permit must be made in writing to the City Clerk within five (5) days of receipt of such written notice.

Any person aggrieved by the action of the Chief of Police or City Clerk in the denial of an application for a permit or permit shall have the right to appeal to the governing body of the city within ten days after the denial, or the revocation of a permit shall have the right to appeal to the governing body of the city within ten days after the denial or revocation of the permit, by filing with the City Clerk a written notice of intention to appeal, setting forth fully the grounds for such appeal, and providing all evidence to support such appeal. The governing body shall, at its next meeting after the filing of such appeal, fix a time and place for a hearing thereon. Notice of such hearing shall be given to the applicant in the manner provided for notice of hearing on revocation of a permit issued hereunder. The decision of the governing body on such appeal shall be final.

No person shall engage in the business of door to door sales, solicitation, canvasser, or peddler between the hours of 8:00 p.m. and 10:00 a.m. unless permitted to do so under other applicable city ordinance.

The provisions of this Article do not apply to any person required by city ordinance to obtain a mobile ice cream vending permit.

Any person who canvasses or solicits in the city contrary to the provisions of this Article or refuses to surrender his permit after the same has expired or has been suspended, revoked or canceled, or who otherwise violates any of the provisions of Article shall, upon conviction thereof, be found guilty of an unclassified misdemeanor, and may be punished by a fine of not more than five hundred dollars, imprisonment for not to exceed thirty days, or by both such fine and imprisonment.

(Code 2010, Ord. 1002)