HomeMy WebLinkAboutORD 2003-014 ORDINANCE NO. 2003-14
J AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF GRAPEVINE, TEXAS
AMENDING CHAPTER 17 OF THE CODE OF
ORDINANCES, RELATING TO PEDDLERS AND
SOLICITORS; PROVIDING FOR THE REPEAL OF ALL
INCONSISTENT ORDINANCES; PROVIDING A PENALTY
NOT TO EXCEED THE SUM OF TWO THOUSAND
DOLLARS ($2,000.00) FOR EACH OFFENSE AND A
SEPARATE OFFENSE SHALL BE DEEMED COMMITTED
EACH DAY DURING OR ON WHICH AN OFFENSE
OCCURS OR CONTINUES; PROVIDING A SEVERABILITY
CLAUSE; DECLARING AN EMERGENCY AND PROVIDING
AN EFFECTIVE DATE
WHEREAS, the City of Grapevine, Texas, is a home-rule city acting under its
charter adopted by the electorate pursuant to Article XI, Section 5 of the Texas
Constitution and Chapter 9 of the Local Government Code; and
WHEREAS, there are serious safety issues involved when individuals solicit in or
on public streets, street right-of-ways, and medians within the City of Grapevine,
including concerns for the physical safety of those who participate in solicitation
` activities, as well as the traveling public; and
WHEREAS, the City Council of the City of Grapevine, Texas finds and concludes it
is necessary to adopt reasonable rules and regulations relative to licenses issued for
solicitor activities for the protection of the residents and citizens of the City of Grapevine;
and
WHEREAS, due to the necessity of conducting background checks on solicitor
permit applicants, it is necessary for the City to adopt reasonable fees that match the
actual cost of processing solicitor licenses; and
WHEREAS, pursuant to §215.031 of the Texas Local Government Code, as
amended, the City Council has the power and authority to license, tax, suppress,
prevent, or otherwise regulate peddlers and hawkers; and
WHEREAS, the City Council finds that the passage of this Ordinance is
necessary to protect the health, safety, and welfare of the public and will benefit said
public.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY
OF GRAPEVINE, TEXAS:
,,_ Section 1. That all of the above premises are found to be true and correct and
are incorporated into the body of this ordinance as if copied in their entirety.
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Section 2. That Chapter 17 of the Code of Ordinances, Peddlers and
Solicitors, is hereby amended in its entirety and replaced as follows:
"Chapter 17. Peddlers and Solicitors
Sec. 17-1. Definitions.
As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the respective meanings
ascribed to them:
Charitable purpose: The use of money or property for the benefit of a duly
incorporated and tax-exempt nonprofit corporation or entity, which is certified as
being tax exempt under State or Federal law.
City Right of Way: means all areas legally open to public use such as public
streets, sidewalks, roadways, highways, parkways, alleys, parks, as well as the
areas surrounding and immediately adjacent to public buildings.
Solicitor: Any person who goes from house to house or from place to place in the
` � city soliciting, selling or taking orders for any services, goods, wares, or
merchandise, of any nature or kind whatsoever.
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Sec. 17-2. License--Required.
(a) It shall be unlawful for any person to conduct himself as a solicitor without
having first obtained a license therefor from the city, except that where the
person who will be soliciting is under the age of 16, such person shall be
supervised by a person who is over the age of 18 and who shall obtain a
license on behalf of the person to be supervised.
(b) Upon issuance, the license shall be carried with any licensee at all times
during which solicitation activity is being conducted. Further, the licensee
must ensure that the license is properly displayed while conducting
solicitor activities. Properly displayed shall mean attached to or hung so
that the license is clearly visible to the public and law enforcement
officials.
(c) All persons conducting themselves as a solicitor shall at all times during
which solicitation is being conducted wear orange traffic safety vests.
(d) No solicitation is permitted on, in, upon, or around City Right of Way, with
or without a license.
� Sec. 17-3. Same--Application.
(a) Each application for a license shall be in writing under oath and shall
�,u;� set out the following:
ORD. NO. 2003-14 2
(1) Name of applicant, with his permanent address, telephone number,
proof of identity, together with two full-face photographs of the
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applicant two inches square;
(2) Name and address of the person or entity he represents;
(3) Kind, type and character of goods he will offer for sale, or type of
solicitation he will undertake;
(4) The specific location(s) where he will solicit;
(5) The names of any cities where applicant has worked in the
previous 90 days;
(6) Whether or not applicant has ever been convicted of a felony or
misdemeanor, and if the applicant has been so convicted, state the
nature of the offense and the punishment or penalty assessed
thereof;
(7) An authorization to conduct a criminal background check on the
applicant;
(8) The license and investigation fees as provided in this Chapter.
(b) Failure to provide a complete and thorough application or the falsification of
any part of the application shall be grounds for the denial or revocation of a
license.
Sec. 17-4. Same—License fees; term; exemptions from license fees.
The license fee for a solicitor under this chapter shall be $50.00. Provided,
w however, when a person engages in any such activity, through one or more
agents or employees, such person shall, in addition to the $50.00 fee above
mentioned, pay a license fee of $20.00 for each agent or employee so engaged,
all of which licenses shall be valid for one year from the date of their issuance.
The fee for a replacement license that is within one year from the date of original
issuance of license shall be $20.00. In addition to the license fee, each applicant
must pay the investigation fee provided for in Section 17-5.
The license fee shall not be required of charitable solicitations.
Sec. 17-5. Same--Investigation of applicant.
In addition to the license fee, each applicant shall pay a fee to cover the cost of
conducting a criminal background check on the applicant, in an amount to be
determined by the city manager, or his designee.
It shall be the duty of the chief of police to investigate each applicant for a license
under this chapter and make a report thereof to the city manager before issuance
of such a license. The chief of police's report shall include a recommendation as
to the propriety of issuing a solicitor permit to the applicant based on a review of
the applicant's background.
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ORD. NO. 2003-14 3
Sec. 17-6. Same--Issuance.
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It shall be the duty of the city manager, or his designee to issue or refuse to issue
a license under this chapter not later than thirty days from the time the
application therefor is received by him.
Sec. 17-7. Exemptions to licensing requirements.
The following shall be exempt from the licensing requirements of this chapter:
(a) Religious organizations exclusively for the distribution of literature and
other items for the purpose of proselytizing, provided that no fees are
charged and no donations are solicited.
(b) Anonymous political speech.
(c) The provisions of this chapter shall not apply to sales made under
authority and by order of law, nor to persons, or their authorized
representatives, who have previously established with the owners or
occupants of such private residences or property a regular business,
trade, service or other contractual relationship.
(d) Newspaper solicitations. The licensing requirements of sections 17-2
through 17-7 shall not apply to newspaper solicitations. However, it shall
be unlawful for any person, firm or corporation to conduct newspaper
° solicitations except in compliance with this section 17-8(d) and the other
applicable sections of this chapter.
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Each newspaper is required to notify the city secretary during the regular
business hours of the city, and at least 12 hours in advance of such
solicitation, of the date, time, and general location of the solicitation, and
of the number of persons who will be soliciting. Each person conducting
himself as a newspaper solicitor shall wear a badge or other form of
identification which identifies the newspaper and is worn on a clearly
visible location on the person.
(e) Any operation which is exempted by State or Federal statute from this
Chapter, only to the extent of such applicable exemption.
Any person claiming to be legally exempt from the provisions of this Chapter,
including the payment of the license or investigation fee shall make such a claim
in writing to the City Manager, or his designee, citing the applicable statute or
authority, and providing proof of its applicability.
Sec. 17-8. Appeals.
If the city manager refuses to issue a license under this chapter, the applicant
. shall have the right to appeal to the city council at its next regular meeting.
��, Sec. 17-9. Hours of operation.
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�. ,c It shall be unlawful for any person acting as a solicitor to go in or upon the
premises of a private residence in the city prior to 9:00 a.m. or after 5:00 p.m. of
� � any day, Monday through Saturday, or at any time on Sunday or any other
Federally designated holiday, or, on any day where the Department of Homeland
Security has declared an Orange or Red State of Alert. This section shall not
apply to a visit to the premises as a result of a request or invitation made by the
occupant.
Sec. 17-10. Health certificate for peddlers of food products.
Peddlers of food products shall be subject to the requirements of Chapter 12 of
the Code of Ordinances, as amended, relating to Health and Sanitation.
Sec. 17-11. Cleanliness of food products and vehicles; honest weights and
measures.
Every person who shall comply with this chapter and shall sell, or offer for sale,
any produce of edible quality shall at all times keep the same in a clean and
sanitary condition, and shall also keep their wagons, vehicles, or other
conveyances in a clean and sanitary condition, and they shall not sell, or offer for
sale, any unsound or unwholesome articles, nor shall they give, or make, any
false weights or measures of any of the various articles as specified and covered
� by this section.
`� � Sec. 17-12. Prohibited conduct.
It shall be a violation of this ordinance and unlawful for any solicitor to:
(1) Misrepresent the purpose of the solicitation;
(2) Misrepresent the affiliation of those engaged in the solicitation;
(3) Continue efforts to solicit from an individual once that individual informs
the solicitor that he does not wish to give anything to or to buy anything
from that solicitor; or
(4) Represent the issuance of any license under this chapter as an
endorsement or recommendation of the solicitation; or
(5) Solicit at any residence or building which has posted a no solicitor sign; or
(6) Act in any manner which is contrary to local, State, or Federal law.
Sec. 17-14. Penalties; civil remedies; license forFeiture.
(a) Any person, firm or corporation violating any of the terms or provisions of
this chapter shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and upon conviction thereof
shall be punished by a fine in a sum not to exceed $2,000.00 for each
. s offense relating to fire safety, zoning, or public health and sanitation,
including dumping of refuse, nor to exceed $500.00 for each offense for all
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ORD. NO. 2003-14 5
_F , other violations, and a separate offense shall be deemed committed each
day during or on which a violation occurs or continues.
� � (b) In case of any willful violation of any of the terms and provisions of this
chapter, the city, in addition to imposing the penalties above provided,
may institute any appropriate action or proceeding in any court having
proper jurisdiction, to restrain, correct or abate such violations; and the
definition of any violation of the terms of this chapter as a misdemeanor,
shall not preclude the city from invoking the civil remedies given it by the
laws of the state, but same shall be cumulative and subject to prosecution
as hereinabove prescribed for such violations.
(c) Each day's engaging in the business regulated by this chapter without the
payment of the fee due thereon, and procuring a receipt, or license
therefor, and each day's failure to comply with any of the other provisions
of this chapter, shall constitute a separate offense, and the person so
found guilty of such violation, or failing to comply with the provisions
hereof shall, upon conviction, be punished therefor as hereinabove
provided.
(d) In addition to the sanctions provided for above, any person, firm, or
corporation violating any term or provision of this chapter shall be subject
to forfeiture of their solicitor license. In the event of such forfeiture of
license, no part of such license fee as may have been so paid shall be
refunded to such person, and no further license shall be issued to such
person for the remaining period of such license year under this chapter."
p Section 3. That all ordinances or any parts thereof in conflict with the terms of
this ordinance shall be and hereby are deemed repealed and of no force or effect;
provided, however, that the ordinance or ordinances under which the cases currently filed
and pending in the Municipal Court of the City of Grapevine, Texas shall be deemed
repealed only when all such cases filed and pending under such ordinance or ordinances
have been disposed of by a final conviction or a finding of not guilty, nolo contendere or
dismissal.
Section 4. Any person, firm or corporation violating any of the provisions of this
ordinance shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor and upon conviction thereof shall be
fined in a sum not to exceed Two Thousand Dollars ($2000.00) and a separate offense
shall be deemed committed upon each day during or on which a violation occurs or
continues.
Section 5. If any section, article, paragraph, sentence, clause, phrase or word in
this ordinance, or application thereto any person or circumstance is held invalid or
unconstitutional by a Court of competent jurisdiction, such holding shall not affect the
validity of the remaining portions of this ordinance; and the City Council hereby declares it
would have passed such remaining portions of the ordinance despite such invalidity, which
. remaining portions shall remain in full force and effect.
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Section 6. The fact that the present ordinances and regulations of the City of
,, Grapevine, Texas, are inadequate to properly safeguard the health, safety, morals,
peace, and general welfare of the public creates an emergency which requires that this
ordinance become effective the 4th day of April , 2003.
PASSED AND APPROVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF
GRAPEVINE, TEXAS on this the 18th day of March, 2003.
APPROVED:
William D. Tate
Mayor
ATTEST:
, �
L`in Huff
��.- � City Secretary
APPROVED AS TO FORM:
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John F. Boyle, Jr �
City Attorney
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