Section
113.01
Definitions
113.02
Exceptions to
definitions
113.03
Licensing;
exemptions
113.04
License
ineligibility
113.05
License
suspension and revocation
113.06
License
transferability
113.07
Registration
113.08
Prohibited
activities
113.09
Exclusion by
placard
§ 113.01 DEFINITIONS.
Except as may otherwise be provided or
clearly implied by context, all terms shall be given their commonly accepted
definitions. For the purpose of this
chapter, the following definitions shall apply unless the context clearly indicates
or requires a different meaning.
PEDDLER. A person who
goes from house-to-house, door-to-door, business-to-business, street-to-street,
or any other type of place-to-place, for the purpose of offering for sale,
displaying or exposing for sale, selling or attempting to sell, and delivering
immediately upon sale, the goods, wares, products, merchandise or other
personnel property that the person is carrying or otherwise transporting. The term PEDDLER shall mean the same
as the term “hawker.”
PERSON. Any natural
individual, group, organization, corporation, partnership or association. As applied to groups, organizations,
corporations, partnerships and associations, the term shall include each
member, officer, partner, associate, agent or employee.
REGULAR BUSINESS DAY. Any day during
which the city hall is normally open for the purpose of conducting public
business. Holidays defined by state law
shall not be counted as regular business days.
SOLICITOR. A person who
goes from house-to-house, door-to-door, business-to-business, street-to-street,
or any other type of place-to-place, for the purpose of obtaining or attempting
to obtain orders for goods, wares, products, merchandise, other personal
property or services of which he or she may be carrying or transporting
samples, or that may be described in a catalog or by other means, and for which
delivery or performance shall occur at a later time. The absence of samples or catalogs shall not
remove a person from the scope of this provision if the actual purpose of the
person's activity is to obtain or attempt to obtain orders as discussed
above. The term shall mean the same as
the term “canvasser.”
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 and who does not remain
or intend to remain in any one location for more than 14 consecutive days.
§ 113.02 EXCEPTIONS TO DEFINITIONS.
(A) For the purpose of the requirements
of this chapter, the terms PEDDLER, SOLICITOR, and TRANSIENT
MERCHANT 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, and TRANSIENT MERCHANTS, 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.
§ 113.03 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. Ch.
329 as it may be amended from time to time.
(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 § 113.07.
(C) Application. Application for a city license to conduct
business as a peddler or transient merchant shall be made at least 14 regular
business days before the applicant desires to begin conducting business. Application for a license shall be made on a
form approved by the City Council and available from the office of the City
Clerk. All applications shall be signed
by the applicant. All applications shall
include the following information:
(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 days).
(12) Any and all addresses and telephone
numbers where the applicant can be reached while conducting business within the
city, including the location where a transient merchant intends to set up
business.
(13) A statement as to whether
or not the applicant has been convicted within the last five 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 three 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 owner's 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.
(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 in
the Ordinance Establishing Fees and Charges, adopted pursuant to § 30.11,
as it may be amended from time to time.
(E) Procedure. Upon receipt of the completed application and
payment of the license fee, the City Clerk, within two 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 § 113.04, 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 one 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.
(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 fundraisers
working on behalf of an otherwise exempt person or group shall not be exempt
from the licensing requirements of this chapter.
Penalty, see § 10.99
§ 113.04 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 five 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 five
years of any license issued to the applicant for the purpose of conducting
business as a peddler, solicitor or transient merchant.
(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 three 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 three complaints
filed against the applicant within the preceding five years.
§ 113.05 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 § 113.04.
(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 ten 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 three 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
§ 113.06 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
§ 113.07 REGISTRATION.
All solicitors, and any person exempt
from the licensing requirements of this chapter under § 113.03, shall be
required to register with the city.
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
§ 113.08 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.
(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
§ 113.09 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 four inches long and four 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