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A-3. Solicitors Ordinance and Licenses0 CITY OF MEMORANDUM CHA NSEN TO: Todd Gerhardt, City Manager 7700 Market Boulevard FROM: Laurie Hokkanen, Assistant City Manager PO Box 147 allows the City and Carver County Sheriff s Office (CCSO) to identify and Chanhassen, MN 55317 DATE: April 28, 2014 Administration SUBJ: Updates Related to Solicitors and Peddlers Permits Phone: 952.227.1100 and City Code Fax: 952.227.1110 • Remind your teenage children on how to deal with strangers and rules of Fax: 952.227.1110 BACKGROUND Building Inspections Phone: 952.227.1180 The City of Chanhassen currently requires a permit for solicitors and peddlers. Fax: 952.227.1190 At the present time, we charge a $25 badge deposit, plus a $25 fee. The City Engineering runs a background check in Minnesota through the Bureau of Criminal Phone: 952.227.1160 Apprehension, at a cost of $15 per applicant. Fax: 952.227.1170 Public Works The solicitor photo ID badge issued by the City of Chanhassen is not an Finance Phone: 952.227.1140 endorsement of the solicitor's product. The objective of the ordinance is to aid Fax: 952.227.1110 the city in monitoring the activity of door -to -door solicitation. The permit Phone: 952.227.1400 allows the City and Carver County Sheriff s Office (CCSO) to identify and Park &Recreation Phone: 952.227.1120 track solicitors within the City and hold them accountable for certain Fax: 952.227.1110 behaviors, such as enforcement of sales hours, which are between 9 a.m. and Public Works 8 P.M. Recreation Center 2310 Coulter Boulevard . A solicitor selling for a profit organization who does not display the Phone: 952.227.1400 For the purposes of these regulations, a peddler is someone who sells wares Fax: 952.227.1404 for immediate delivery, a solicitor is someone who offers goods for delivery at Planning & a future date. The requirements for a solicitors permit do not apply to non- Natural Resources profits, churches, or school groups. Phone: 952.227.1130 • Remind your teenage children on how to deal with strangers and rules of Fax: 952.227.1110 The City recommends the following to residents when dealing with solicitors: Public Works Immediately call 911 to report the following violations: 7901 Park Place Phone: 952.227.1300 . A solicitor selling for a profit organization who does not display the Fax: 952.227.1310 Chanhassen solicitor photo ID badge. Senior Center • A solicitor who refuses to leave property after you have asked them to Phone: 952.22 7.1125 leave. Fax: 952.227.1110 . Be careful of whom you let in your home. Web site • Remind your teenage children on how to deal with strangers and rules of www.ci.chanhassen.mn.us safety, as they may answer the door when you're not home. Chanhassen is a Community for Life - Providing for Today and Planning for Tomorrow A-3_ Mr. Todd Gerhardt April 28, 2014 Page 2 If you do not wish to receive solicitors, posting a sign stating, "Peddlers and Solicitors Prohibited" is enforceable per Chanhassen ordinance. The sign must be at least 33/ inches long by 33/ inches in height and the printing shall not be smaller than 48 point font. The city has FREE vinyl window clings available as shown and can be obtained by picking one up at city hall or by calling 952- 227 -1180. Peddlers Solicitors Prohibited Chanhassen Ordl ance1D-148W In recent years, the City has received numerous complaints about solicitors, particularly about aggressive sales tactics. At the same time, we have become aware that anyone who is selling a product for delivery at a future date (i.e. magazines, windows, books, etc.), is regulated under the federal regulations for interstate commerce, and as such, some aspects of our requirements cannot be applied to them. These two factors prompted staff to review our current ordinance. As a result, the following changes are proposed: Eliminate the $25 fee and $25 deposit for all applicants. Federal law does not allow solicitors to be charged a fee. Very few applications are received from peddlers currently, and the elimination of the fee will streamline the process and avoid disagreements about who qualifies as a solicitor versus a peddler. o Please note that City staff proposes to continue conducting background checks on all for - profit applicants, though we will not be able to recoup our costs. We process approximately 50 permits per year, at a cost of $15 per applicant. The CCSO feels there is a public safety benefit to continuing these checks. Add a requirement that the ID badge must be returned within 10 days of expiration. All permits are good through December 31, so this means badges must be returned by January 10 of the following year. Most solicitors are active only during the months when the weather is hospitable for going door -to -door, so this should not be an issue. Failure to return the badge would result in denial of the permit for the following year. This badge return requirement reduces the potential for fraud and gives the City /CCSO the opportunity to follow -up on any complaints with the permit holder. • Presently, an applicant with a gross misdemeanor in the past five years is barred from holding a permit. Staff would like to reduce that threshold to any misdemeanor theft in the past five years. Misdemeanor theft includes all offenses up to $500. Mr. Todd Gerhardt April 28, 2014 Page 3 • Require permit holders to carry a driver's license or State/Federal ID at all times while soliciting. Failure to do so will result in the revocation of the permit. This will aid the CSSO in addressing any complaints and save them the trouble of taking the individual to the Courthouse for identification by fingerprinting. • Require applicants to apply for a permit at least 21 days prior to beginning to solicit. Staff proposes that soliciting prior to issuance of permit be grounds for denial of the application for that year. Lastly, staff would like to provide work direction to the CCSO that individuals who solicit without a permit should be ticketed as a violation of city ordinance. The following is a summary of recorded complaints against solicitors: Solicitor Complaints Year Soliciting Without a Permit when a Permit is Required Soliciting with a Permit 2010 53 13 2011 26 13 2012 24 0 RECOMMENDATION Staff is seeking feedback from the City Council on the proposed changes. We would propose to include these changes in a code amendment to be processed at a future City Council meeting.