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HomeMy Public PortalAboutOrdinance 660ORDINANCE NO. 660 AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF BEAUMONT ADDING CHAPTER 5.26 TO THE BEAUMONT MUNICIPAL CODE, DEALING WITH SOLICITATION BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF BEAUMONT, STATE OF CALIFORNIA, AS FOLLOWS: SECTION 1: Chapter 5.26 is added to Title 5, Division II of the Beaumont Municipal Code to read as follows: Sections: 5.26.010 5.26.020 5.26.030 5.26.040 5.26.050 5.26.060 5.26.070 5.26.080 5.26.090 Chapter 5.26 SOLICITATION Definitions. Permit --required for charitable and religious solicitations. Contents of permit --application. Terms of permit issuance --bond required --time limit --or appeal on denial. When permit is not required for religious or charitable solicitations. Permit required for soliciting sales of merchandise and periodicals--application-- issuance or denial. Suspension or revocation of permit for soliciting sales of merchandise or periodicals. When permit is not required for soliciting sales of merchandise or periodicals. Solicitation prohibited in City -owned buildings. 5.26.010 Definitions. Unless it is apparent from the context that another meaning is intended, the following words, when used herein, shall have the meaning ascribed to them by this Section: A. "Charity" or "charitable" means any charitable, patriotic, religious, philanthropic, benevolent or fraternal person, or any branch or subsidiary thereof; B. "Person" means an individual, group, firm, copartnership, corporation, company, association, church, religious sect, religious denomination, society, organization or league; C. "Solicit" or "solicitation" means to request, directly or indirectly, money, property, including discarded household furnishings, newspapers, magazines, castoff materials, or financial assistance of any kind, including donations, or pledges of donations, or to sell, to offer for sale or to exhibit any thing or object whatever to raise money, including any article, tag, service, emblem, publication, ticket, advertisement or subscription; or to secure or attempt to secure money or donations or other property by promoting any bazaar, sale, dance, card party, supper or entertainment; whether any of such acts occur on the streets, in any office or public building, by house-to-house canvass, or in any public or private place, by personal solicitation. 5.26.020 Permit --required for charitable and religious solicitations. It is unlawful for any person, without first having applied for and received a permit from the City Manager, as provided in this Chapter, to make any appeal to the public for a charity, charitable or religious purpose, either by soliciting or collecting gifts, contributions, donations, or subscriptions or by promoting or conducting any sale, bazaar or exhibition or by other means whatsoever at any place or to any person in the City. -1- 5.26.030 Contents of permit --application. Any person desiring to do any of the acts mentioned in Sections 5.26.010(C) or 5.26.020 shall file an application with the City Manager. Such application shall set forth the following information: A. Name and address of the applicant and whether or not the applicant is affiliated with or working for any other organization than the one for which this solicitation is intended; B. Location and address of national, state and local headquarters, if any; C. The names and addresses of all persons directly interested in or who in any manner will be engaged in the work; D. The exact purpose for which the proceeds of the solicitation, sale, bazaar, exhibition, promotion, amusement, show, lecture, entertainment or other enterprise or any part thereof are to be used, including the manner in which and the amount of any compensation intended to be paid to any person, firm, association or corporation out of such proceeds; E. A financial statement for the last preceding fiscal year of any funds collected in this City or elsewhere for charitable purposes by the applicant, giving the amount of money so raised, the cost of raising it and the final distribution thereof. In addition, if the applicant conducted a solicitation in this City at any time during the preceding twelve months, a separate financial statement of any funds collected thereby shall be submitted, containing information showing the amount of money so raised, the cost of raising it and the final distribution thereof; F. A full statement of the general character and extent of the charitable work being done or to be done by the applicant, showing how much thereof is being done or is to be done within the City; G. A statement that the actual cost of the solicitation will not exceed twenty percent (20%) of the total amount to be raised; H. The total amount which is sought to be raised; I. The bank or place where all or any part of the funds raised by such activity will be placed on deposit or invested; J. What records of funds received will be kept and where, and that such records will be open to the public; K. A statement to the effect that if a permit is granted it will not be used or represented in any way as an endorsement of the solicitation or person by the City or by any department, committee, officer or employee thereof; L. A statement to the effect that if a permit is granted, no person under the age of sixteen (16) years will be permitted to request and/or collect money; M. The time when such solicitation will be made, giving the date preferred by the applicant for the beginning and ending of such solicitation; N. Whether or not the uniform or identification worn or carried resembles that of any other group in this area conducting a similar type of activity; 0. Such other information in respect to the character and past and proposed activity of the applicant and the parties directly interested in or engaged in the work as may be necessary to enable the City Manager to make a full and complete investigation; P. A statement that if a permit is granted, no solicitation will be conducted in any residential area of the City at a time other than between ten (10:00) a.m. and eight (8:00) p.m. of the same day, with no solicitations on Sundays before twelve (12:00) noon or after eight (8:00) p.m. 5.26.040 Terms of permit issuance --bond required --time limit --or appeal upon denial. A. The City Manager shall issue the permit applied for whenever he finds the following facts to exist: 1. That all of the statements made in the application are true; -2- 2. That the applicant or, if the applicant is not an individual person, then its managing officers and managing agents be of good character and reputation for honesty and integrity; 3. That the control and supervision of the solicitation will be under responsible and reliable persons; 4. That the applicant has not engaged in any fraudulent transaction or enterprise; 5. That the solicitation will not be a fraud on the public; 6. That the solicitation is prompted solely by a desire to finance the charitable cause described in the application, and will not be conducted for private profit; 7. That the cost of raising the funds will be reasonable. Any such cost in excess of twenty percent (20%) of the amount collected shall be considered to be unreasonable; 8. That the kind, character and method of the proposed solicitation, the time when it will take place, and its duration, are such that the solicitation will be in the interest of and not inimical to the safety, convenience or welfare of the inhabitants of the City; 9. That the applicant is acting in good faith; 10. As a condition to granting such permit, the City Manager may require the applicant to file a bond with the City Treasurer in the sum of one thousand dollars ($1,000.00) in a form approved by the City Attorney and conditioned that if the principal thereof fails to devote, pay or use the entire proceeds or the percentage thereof specified in the application, derived from the activity mentioned in the application to the person, firm, association or corporation, for or on whose account or benefit such activity was conducted or carried on, then the surety will pay the same to such person, firm, association or corporation to the amount of such bond; 11. When the application is approved, a permit shall be issued for such period of time as the applicant may request; provided, however, that no permit shall be valid for a period of more than six (6) months from the date of issuance. B. Should the City Manager, after a complete investigation of the applicant and of the representations contained in the application, be of the opinion that the applicant has not stated true facts in his application, and that if a permit should be granted to the applicant, a fraud in all probability would be perpetrated upon the public, the City Manager may refuse to issue a permit to such applicant. Any applicant denied a permit by the City Manager may appeal such denial to the City Council. 5.26.050 When permit is not required for religious or charitable solicitations. No permit shall be required for the solicitation of gifts, contributions, donations or subscriptions or the promotion of any bazaar, sale or exhibition or other act of appeal to the public for a charity made by the members of any religious or charitable organization (or by the members of any legal successor to any such organization) which has been in existence in and which regularly has maintained headquarters or a local chapter or a place of worship in the City for a period of at least two (2) years next preceding the date on which such activity shall be begun. 5.26.060 Permit required for soliciting sales of merchandise and periodicals--application--issuance or denial. A. Except for manufacturers or wholesalers calling upon wholesale or retail outlets and except for charitable and religious solicitors regulated by other Sections of this Chapter and regardless of whether or not any person may be exempt from the payment of a business license tax by reason of being engaged in interstate commerce or otherwise, every person engaged in the business of selling or soliciting orders for the sale of any goods, wares or merchandise, magazines, papers (except regularly published newspapers), periodicals, or any other form of occupation or business involving canvassing and soliciting from house-to-house or place -to -place, or upon the streets and public places within the City, shall, in addition to paying any business -3- license tax and before engaging in such business or occupation, make application to the City Manager and obtain a permit to engage in such activity. B. Such application shall be made on forms provided by the City Manager and may include the following information: 1. Full name of the applicant and name of his employer; 2. Permanent address of applicant and name of his employer; 3. Local temporary address, if any; 4. General description of and information concerning the applicant and his employer in such detail as the City Manager may require including fingerprints, recent pictures of applicant and information concerning criminal convictions of the applicant or his employer other than convictions for traffic offenses. C. Within ten (10) days after the filing of the completed application forms with the City Manager, the City Manager shall grant or deny the issuance of a permit to engage in such activity. Any applicant denied a permit by the City Manager may appeal such denial to the City Council. 5.26.070 Suspension or revocation of permit for soliciting sales of merchandise or periodicals. A. A permit issued under Section 5.26.060 may be suspended or revoked by the City Council or the City Manager if any one of the following events occur, which event constitutes a violation of this Chapter: 1. The permittee is found to have placed false or misleading information on his application; 2. The permittee engages in the door-to-door activity authorized by his permit in the residential areas of the City at a time other than between the hours of ten (10:00) a.m. and eight (8:00) p.m. on any day except Sunday and at any time except between the hours of twelve (12:00) noon and eight (8:00) p.m. on Sundays; 3. When requested to do so by the occupant of a residence, the permittee refuses to forthwith leave the residence; 4. The sales promotion includes some element of trickery, fraud or deceit. B. No new permit may be issued until the permittee or his employer has given satisfactory evidence of his intent to comply with the provisions of this Chapter. C. Any permittee whose permit has been revoked by the City Manager may appeal such revocation to the City Council. 5.26.080 When permit is not required for soliciting sales of merchandise or periodicals. If the City Manager or the City Council determines that the public safety and protection will not be adversely affected and if the business concern has presented sufficent evidence of reliability, the City Manager or the City Council may waive the permit required by Section 5.26.060 for those concerns falling within any of the following classifications: A. The business concern has a permanent fixed place of business within the City; B. The business concern has a permanent fixed place of business outside the City and has been doing regular retail selling in the City for a period of at least one (1) year; C. The business concern has a permanent fixed place of business inside or outside the City and is involved in the business of selling food products along regular retail routes. 5.26.090 Solicitation prohibited in City -owned buildings. Notwithstanding any other provisions of this Chapter, it is unlawful for any person to solicit or sell or offer for sale, by taking orders, subscriptions, direct sales or any other method, any merchandise or printed matter within any building owned by the City. Nothing in this Section shall prohibit solicitation or direct sales by any person permitted to engage in such activities pursuant to a lease or rental agreement with the City. -4- SECTION 2: This Ordinance shall take effect as provided by law. PASSED AND ADOPTED on this llth day of April , 1988, upon the following roll call vote. AYES: NOES: ABSTAIN: ABSENT: ATTEST: Council Member Bauer, Connors, Shaw and Mayor Partain. None. None. Council Member Waller. APPRO D AS TO F At1,14AU CITY ATTOR'EY MA OF THE CITY OF BEAUMONT CERTIFICATION I, Robert J. Bounds, City Clerk of the City of Beaumont, DO HEREBY CERTIFY that the foregoing Ordinance was introduced at a regular meeting of the City Council of said City held on March 28 , 1988, and was duly adopted upon second reading on April 11, , 1988, upon the following roll call vote: AYES: Council Member Bauer, Connors, Shaw and Mayor Partain. NOES: None. ABSTAIN: None. ABSENT: Council Member Waller. CITY CLERK, CITY OF BEAUMONT -5-