Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout#3 Transient Merchants Memo To: Planning Commission Members From: Kari Barker, Associate Planner, AICP Date: April 12, 2010 Subject : Ordinance Amendment 2010-#10 - Amend Chapter 115 Peddlers and Solicitors and Chapter 155 Zoning Code Relating to Transient Merchant Regulations REQUEST The City is requesting an Amendment to Chapter 115 Peddlers and Solicitors and Chapter 155 Zoning Code Relating to Transient Merchant Regulations. Currently transient merchants can operate up to 14 continuous days at a site. The City has been asked to lengthen the 14 day period by an individual operating a chain saw rd carving business on a vacant lot owned by Dennis Mann on Vermillion Street (near 23 Street). HISTORY At the March 22, 2010, Planning Commission meeting, the following changes were suggested for the Ordinance Amendment: 1) Permit allowed for 90 days. 2) Four 90-day extensions can occur. 3) After one year, the permit would need to be reviewed by the City Council. 4) An annual inspection would be required. 5) Any changes in merchandise sold would require a new inspection. 6) Sign regulations would follow the current Sign Ordinance. ORDINANCE REVIEW CHAPTER 115: PEDDLERS AND SOLICITORS § 115.01 DEFINITIONS. TRANSIENT MERCHANT. A person who temporarily sets up business out of a vehicle, trailer, boxcar, tent, other portable shelter, or empty store front for the purpose of exposing or displaying for sale, selling or attempting to sell, and delivering, goods, wares, products, merchandise or other personal property. § 115.02 EXCEPTIONS TO DEFINITIONS. PEDDLER, (A) For the purpose of the requirements of this chapter, the terms SOLICITOR,TRANSIENT MERCHANT and shall not apply to any person selling or attempting to sell at wholesale any goods, wares, products, merchandise or other personal property to a retailer of the items being sold by the wholesaler. The terms also shall not apply to any person who makes initial contacts with other people for the purpose of establishing or trying to establish a regular customer delivery route for the delivery of perishable food and dairy products such as baked goods and milk, nor shall they apply to any person making deliveries of perishable food and dairy products to the customers on his or her established regular delivery route. (B) In addition, persons conducting the type of sales commonly known as garage sales, rummage sales, or estate sales, as well as those persons participating in an organized multi-person bazaar or flea market, shall be exempt from the definitions of PEDDLERS, SOLICITORS,TRANSIENT MERCHANTS and , as shall be anyone conducting an auction as a properly licensed auctioneer, or any officer of the court conducting a court-ordered sale. Exemption from the definitions for the scope of this chapter shall not excuse any person from complying with any other applicable statutory provision or local ordinance. (C) Nothing in this chapter shall be interpreted to prohibit or restrict door-to-door advocacy. Persons engaging in door-to-door advocacy shall not be required to register as DOOR-TO-DOOR ADVOCACY solicitors under § 115.07. The term includes door-to- door canvassing and pamphleteering as vehicles for the dissemination of religious, political, and other ideas. § 115.03 LICENSING; EXEMPTIONS. (A) County license required. No person shall conduct business as a peddler, solicitor, or transient merchant within the city limits without first having obtained the appropriate license from the county as required by M.S. Chapter 329, as it may be amended from time to time, if the county issues a license for the activity. (B) City license required. Except as otherwise provided for by this chapter, no person shall conduct business as either a peddler or a transient merchant without first having obtained a license from the city. Solicitors need not be licensed, but are still required to register pursuant to 115.07. (C) Application. (1) Applicant’s full legal name; (2) All other names under which the applicant conducts business or to which applicant officially answers; (3) A physical description of the applicant (hair color, eye color, height, weight, distinguishing marks and features, and the like); (4) Full address of applicant’s permanent residence; (5) Telephone number of applicant’s permanent residence; (6) Full legal name of any and all business operations owned, managed or operated by applicant, or for which the applicant is an employee or agent; (7) Full address of applicant’s regular place of business (if any); (8) Any and all business related telephone numbers of the applicant; (9) The type of business for which the applicant is applying for a license; (10) Whether the applicant is applying for an annual or daily license; (11) The dates during which the applicant intends to conduct business, and if the applicant is applying for a daily license, the number of days he or she will be conducting business in the city (Maximum 14 consecutive dates, except for those meeting the Deleted: m requirements of 155.07 Special Provisions, (G) Transient Merchants – Extended Stay.) Deleted: . For Deleted: applications that exceed 14 (12) Any and all addresses and telephone numbers where the applicant can be days, please refer to reached while conducting business within the city, including the location where a Deleted: 1 transient merchant intends to set up business; Deleted: c (13) A statement as to whether or not the applicant has been convicted within the last 5 years of any felony, gross misdemeanor, or misdemeanor for violation of any state or federal statute or any local ordinance, other than traffic offenses; (14) A list of the 3 most recent locations where the applicant has conducted business as a peddler or transient merchant; (15) Proof of any requested county license; (16) Written permission of the property owner or the property owners agent for = any property to be used by a transient merchant; (17) A general description of the items to be sold or services to be provided; (18) All additional information deemed necessary by the City Council; (19) The applicant’s driver’s license number or other acceptable form of identification; and (20) The license plate number, registration information, and vehicle identification number for any vehicle to be used in conjunction with the licensed business and a description of the vehicle. (D) Fee. All applications for a license under this chapter shall be accompanied by the fee established by ordinance. (E) Procedure. Upon receipt of the completed application and payment of the license fee, the City Clerk, within 2 regular business days, must determine if the application is complete. An application is determined to be complete only if all required information is provided. If the City Clerk determines that the application is incomplete, the City Clerk must inform the applicant of the required necessary information that is missing. If the application is complete, the City Clerk must order any investigation, including background checks, necessary to verify the information provided with the application. Within ten regular business days of receiving a complete application the City Clerk must issue the license unless there exist grounds for denying the license under § 115.04, in which case the Clerk must deny the license. If the City Clerk denies the license, the applicant must be notified in writing of the decision, the reason for denial, and of the applicant’s right to appeal the denial by requesting, within 20 days of receiving notice of rejection, a public hearing before the City Council. The City Council shall hear the appeal within 20 days of the date of the request. The decision of the City Council following the public hearing can be appealed by petitioning the Minnesota Court of Appeals for a writ of certiorari. (F) Duration. An annual license granted under this chapter shall be valid for 1 calendar year from the date of issue. All other licenses granted under this chapter shall be valid only during the time period indicated on the license. Transient Merchant licenses are limited to 14 consecutive days or must meet the requirements of Chapter 115.07(G) – Transient Merchant – Extended Stay. (G) License exemptions. (1) No license shall be required for any person to sell or attempt to sell, or to take or attempt to take orders for, any product grown, produced, cultivated, or raised on any farm. (2) No license shall be required of any person going from house-to-house, door-to-door, business-to-business, street-to-street, or other type of place-to-place when the activity is for the purpose of exercising that person’s state or federal constitutional rights such as the freedom of speech, press, religion and the like, except that this exemption may be lost if the person’s exercise of Constitutional rights is merely incidental to a commercial activity. (3) Professional fund raisers working on behalf of an otherwise exempt person or group shall not be exempt from the licensing requirements of this chapter. (H) Any license issued under this chapter shall not be valid during any city-wide festivals. A special license may be issued to the sponsoring organization of the city-wide festival to include all peddlers and transient merchants participating in that festival. The fee for the special license shall be the same as for all other similar licenses required by this chapter. Penalty, see § 10.99 § 115.04 LICENSE INELIGIBILITY. The following shall be grounds for denying a license under this chapter: (A) The failure of the applicant to obtain and show proof of having obtained any required county license; (B) The failure of the applicant to truthfully provide any of the information requested by the city as a part of the application, or the failure to sign the application, or the failure to pay the required fee at the time of application; (C) The conviction of the applicant within the past 5 years from the date of application for any violation of any federal or state statute or regulation, or of any local ordinance, which adversely reflects on the person’s ability to conduct the business for which the license is being sought in an honest and legal manner. Those violations shall include but not be limited to burglary, theft, larceny, swindling, fraud, unlawful business practices, and any form of actual or threatened physical harm against another person; (D) The revocation within the past 5 years of any license issued to the applicant for the purpose of conducting business as a peddler, solicitor, or transient merchant; and/or (E) The applicant is found to have a bad business reputation. Evidence of a bad business reputation shall include, but not be limited to, the existence of more than 3 complaints against the applicant with the Better Business Bureau, the Attorney General’s Office, or other similar business or consumer rights office or agency, within the preceding 12 months, or 3 complaints filed against the applicant within the preceding 5 years. § 115.05 LICENSE SUSPENSION AND REVOCATION. (A) Generally. Any license issued under this section may be suspended or revoked at the discretion of the City Council for 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 licensed activity; (3) Conviction of any offense for which granting of a license could have been denied under § 115.04; and/or (4) Violation of any provision of this chapter. (B) Multiple persons under one license. The suspension or revocation of any license issued for the purpose of authorizing multiple persons to conduct business as peddlers or transient merchants on behalf of the licensee shall serve as a suspension or revocation of each authorized person’s authority to conduct business as a peddler or transient merchant on behalf of the licensee whose license is suspended or revoked. (C) Notice. Prior to revoking or suspending any license issued under this chapter, the city shall provide the license holder with written notice of the alleged violations and inform the licensee of his or her 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, to the business address provided on the license application. (D) Public hearing. Upon receiving the notice provided in division (C) of this section, the licensee shall have the right to request a public hearing. If no request for a hearing is received by the City Clerk within 10 regular business days following the service of the notice, the city may 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 public hearing is requested within the stated time frame, a hearing shall be scheduled within 20 days from the date of the request. Within 3 regular business days of the hearing, the City Council shall notify the licensee of its decision. (E) Emergency. If, in the discretion of the City Council, imminent harm to the health or safety of the public may occur because of the actions of a peddler or transient merchant licensed under this chapter, the City Council may immediately suspend the person’s license and provide notice of the right to hold a subsequent public hearing as prescribed in division (C) of this section. (F) Appeals. Any person whose license is suspended or revoked under this section shall have the right to appeal that decision in court. Penalty, see § 10.99 § 115.06 LICENSE TRANSFERABILITY. No license issued under this chapter shall be transferred to any person other than the person to whom the license was issued. Penalty, see § 10.99 § 115.07 REGISTRATION. All solicitors, and any person exempt from the licensing requirements of this chapter under § 115.03, shall be required to register with the city. Persons engaging in door-to- DOOR-TO-DOOR door advocacy shall not be required to register. The term ADVOCACY includes door-to-door canvassing and pamphleteering as vehicles for the dissemination of religious, political and other ideas. Registration shall be made on the same form required for a license application, but no fee shall be required. Immediately upon completion of the registration form, the City Clerk shall issue to the registrant a certificate of registration as proof of the registration. Certificates of registration shall be non-transferable. Penalty, see § 10.99 § 115.08 PROHIBITED ACTIVITIES. No peddler, solicitor, or transient merchant shall conduct business in any of the following manners: (A) Calling attention to his or her business or items to be sold by means of blowing any horn or whistle, ringing any bell, crying out, or by any other noise, so as to be unreasonably audible within an enclosed structure; (B) Obstructing the free flow of either vehicular or pedestrian traffic on any street, alley, sidewalk or other public right-of-way; (C) Conducting business in a way as to create a threat to the health, safety and welfare of any individual or the general public; (D) Conducting business before 7:00 a.m. or after 9:00 p.m.; (E) Failing to provide proof of license or registration, and identification, when requested; or using the license or registration of another person; (F) Making any false or misleading statements about the product or service being sold, including untrue statements of endorsement. No peddler, solicitor, or transient merchant shall claim to have the endorsement of the city solely based on the city having issued a license or certificate of registration to that person; and/or (G) Remaining on the property of another when requested to leave, or to otherwise conduct business in a manner a reasonable person would find obscene, threatening, intimidating, or abusive. Penalty, see § 10.99 § 115.09 EXCLUSION BY PLACARD. No peddler, solicitor, or transient merchant, unless invited to do so by the property owner or tenant, shall enter the property of another for the purpose of conducting business as a peddler, solicitor, or transient merchant when the property is marked with a sign or placard at least 4 inches long and 4 inches wide with print of at least 48 point in size stating “No Peddlers, Solicitors, or Transient Merchants,” or “Peddlers, Solicitors, and Transient Merchants Prohibited,” or other comparable statement. No person other than the property owner or tenant shall remove, deface, or otherwise tamper with any sign or placard under this section. Penalty, see § 10.99 SPECIAL PROVISIONS 155.07 (G) Transient Merchant – Extended Stay (1) Definition. Transient Merchant – Extended Stay. Transient Merchants – TRANSIENT MERCHANT Extended Stay are subject to the definition of as defined in Chapter 115.01 – Peddlers and Solicitors. (2) General Regulations. (a) Allowed on vacant lots within the C-1, C-2, C-3, and C-4 zoning districts. (b) Applicant must submit a completed application form to the Zoning Administrator for review and approval. Intensive uses and high traffic will require the applicant to apply for a Special Use Permit which requires City Council and Planning Commission approval. (c) Permit shall be valid for 90 days with three 90-day renewal periods in one calendar year. (d) Transient Merchants who are in operation longer than one year shall file for an extension of the permit. The extension requires approval by the City Council. Approval is contingent on meeting site plan improvements such as, but not limited to, parking and landscaping. An annual inspection is required. (e) No merchandise shall be sold which would violate the city’s zoning ordinances. Any changes in merchandise sold from the original application will require a new permit. (f) Temporary structures may be used, provided they will not impair the parking capacity, emergency access or the safe movement of pedestrian and vehicular traffic on or off the site. All temporary structures shall be constructed with materials approved for weather-exposure durability and appearance. (g) The site shall have adequate off-street parking. (h) All signs related to the Transient Mechants shall comply with the standards of the zoning district. (i) Transient Merchant must meet all applicable building, fire, and electrical codes and adopted appendices and city ordinances.