HomeMy WebLinkAboutOrdinance 1811 (Peddlers, Solicitors and Itinerant Merchants)CLERK'S CERTIFICATE
I, JEANNE M. LEONCINI, Clerk of the City of San Rafael, and Ex -officio Clerk of the
Council of said City, do hereby certify that the foregoing Charter Ordinance No. 1811 entitled:
"AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SAN
RAFAEL REPEALING CHAPTERS 10.48 AND 10.50 AND SECTION
5.40.110, AND ADDING NEW CHAPTER 10.48 TO THE SAN RAFAEL
MUNICIPAL CODE ENTITLED "COMMERCIAL PEDDLERS,
SOLICITORS AND ITINERANT MERCHANTS"
is a true and correct copy of an Ordinance of said City and was introduced at a REGULAR
meeting of the City Council of the City of San Rafael, held on the 18th day of Aueust. 2003, a
SUMMARY of Ordinance No. 1811 was published as required by City Charter in the MARIN
INDEPENDENT JOURNAL. a newspaper published in the City of San Rafael, and passed and
adopted as an Ordinance of said City at a REGULAR meeting of the City Council of said City
held on the 2nd day of September, 2003, by the following vote, to wit:
AYES: COUNCILMEMBERS: Heller, Miller, Phillips and Mayor Boro
NOES: COUNCILMEMBERS: None
ABSENT: COUNCILMEMBERS: Cohen
WITNESS my hand and the official
seal of the City of San Rafael this
4th day of September, 2003
JEM1NE M. LEONC , City Clerk
ORDINANCE NO. 1811
AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF
SAN RAFAEL REPEALING CHAPTERS 10.48 AND 10.50 AND
SECTION 5.40.110, AND ADDING NEW CHAPTER 10.48 TO THE
SAN RAFAEL MUNICIPAL CODE ENTITLED "COMMERCIAL
PEDDLERS, SOLICITORS AND ITINERANT MERCHANTS."
THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SAN RAFAEL DOES ORDAIN AS
FOLLOWS:
DIVISION 1.
A. The City Council of the City of San Rafael finds that the City's existing
regulations concerning peddlers and solicitors in San Rafael Municipal Code Chapter 10.48 and
10.50 are outdated and do not adequately regulate the conduct of peddlers, solicitors and itinerant
merchants within the City.
B. The City Council of the City of San Rafael finds that peddlers, solicitors and
itinerant merchants, including those using motor vehicles and mobile units to peddle or solicit
sales or orders of goods or services within the City, pose traffic and public health hazards and
impact the safety of residents within the City, and that regulation of such peddlers and itinerant
merchants is therefore required to protect and preserve the public health, safety and welfare of
the citizens of the City.
C. The City Council finds that because of the transient nature of the activities of
peddlers and itinerant merchants, proper identification and registration of such persons is
required to protect and preserve the public health, safety and welfare of the citizens of the City.
D. The City Council finds that the regulations adopted herein are exempt from the
requirements of the California Environmental Quality Act under Section 15061(b)(3) of the
CEQA Guidelines, which exempts projects that clearly will have no significant adverse
environmental impacts.
DIVISION 2.
Chapter 10.48 of the San Rafael Municipal Code, "Peddlers and Solicitors," Chapter
10.50 of the San Rafael Municipal Code, "Charitable Solicitations," and Section 5.40.110 of the
San Rafael Municipal Code, "Unlawful Parking -- Peddlers, Vendors," are hereby repealed.
DIVISION 3.
New Chapter 10.48, entitled "Commercial Peddlers, Solicitors and Itinerant Merchants,"
is hereby added to the San Rafael Municipal Code as follows:
COMMERCIAL PEDDLERS, SOLICITORS AND ITINERANT MERCHANTS
10.48.010 -- Definitions.
Words and phrases not specifically defined in this section shall be construed according to
the context and approved usage of the language. As used in this chapter:
A. "Mobile unit" means any vehicle, truck, trailer, cart, pushcart, wagon, bicycle, dray,
conveyance or structure on wheels, not firmly fixed to a permanent foundation, which is not
required to have a license to operate issued by the California Department of Motor Vehicles.
B. "Motor vehicle" means any automobile, truck, trailer or other conveyance
requiring a license issued by the California Department of Motor Vehicles.
C. "Peddler," for purposes of this Chapter, means any person traveling by foot, motor
vehicle, mobile unit or any other type of conveyance from place to place conveying or
transporting goods, wares, merchandise, foods, farm products, or provisions, or personal property
of any nature whatsoever, and hawking or offering and exposing the same for sale, soliciting or
taking or attempting to take orders for the same or for services to be furnished or performed in
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the future, or making sales and delivering articles to purchasers, or who, without traveling from
place to place, shall sell or offer or solicit or taking or attempting to take orders for the same for
sale from a motor vehicle or mobile unit.
D. "Peddling" means the act of being a peddler.
E. "Permittee" means the holder of a peddler or itinerant merchant permit.
F. "Person" means any natural person, corporation, association, co -partnership, or
any other organization however organized.
G. "Solicitor," for purposes of this Chapter, means any person who, for commercial
purposes or causes, travels either by foot, motor vehicle, mobile unit or any other type of
conveyance, from place to place taking or attempting to take orders for the sale of goods, wares,
merchandise, foods, farm products, or provisions, or personal property of any nature whatsoever
for future delivery, or for services to be furnished or performed in the future, or whose activities
may, in any way, result in such sale or the furnishing of such services, whether or not such
individual has, carries, or exposes for sale a sample of the subject of such sale or whether he is
collecting advance payments on such sale or not.
H. "Itinerant merchant," for purposes of this Chapter, means any person who engages
in a temporary business of selling and delivering goods, wares, or merchandise within the City,
and who, in furtherance of such purpose, hires, leases, uses, or occupies any building structure,
motor vehicle, tent, public rooms in hotels, lodging houses, apartments, shops, or any street alley,
or other place within the City, for the exhibition and sale of such goods, wares, or merchandise,
either privately or at public auction; provided that any person so engaged shall not be relieved
from complying with the provisions of this chapter merely by reason of associating temporarily
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with any local dealer, trader, merchant, or auctioneer, or by conducting such transient business in
connection with, as a part of, or in the name of any local dealer, trader, merchant, or auctioneer.
10.48.020 -- Applicability of Chapter.
A. There shall be exempted from the prohibitions of this chapter the activities of
solicitors and peddlers selling and soliciting sales of newspapers from sidewalks abutting on
public streets, except that no such solicitor or peddler shall offer newspapers for sale to passing
motorists unless from a location adjacent to a clear, twenty -foot zone of curbside where private
motor vehicles may legally stop for the loading and unloading of passengers. Notwithstanding
any of the foregoing, a peddler or solicitor may not sell or solicit sales of newspapers in a place
or manner which would unreasonably interfere with or obstruct the flow of pedestrian or motor
vehicle traffic.
B. Peddlers, solicitors and itinerant merchants shall be exempt from the provisions of
this chapter when participating in an event subject and pursuant to a special events permit, street
closure permit, or any other permit specifically authorizing such activity, issued by the City.
C. Garage or yard sales on private property shall be exempt from the provisions of this
chapter.
D. Peddlers or solicitors engaging in door-to-door peddling or solicitation shall be
exempt from the provisions of this chapter, except that the provisions of section 10.48.030 shall
apply to any such activities.
10.48.030 -- Peddling and soliciting on certain premises prohibited.
No peddler or solicitor nor any person pretending to be a peddler or solicitor, whether
otherwise regulated by this Chapter or not, shall ring the bell or knock at any building whereon
there is printed or affixed or otherwise displayed to public view any sign containing any or all of
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the following prohibitions: "No Peddlers," "No Solicitors," or "No Agents," or which otherwise
purports to prohibit peddling or soliciting on such premises; provided that this prohibition shall
not apply when a peddler or solicitor has an appointment with the occupants of such building.
10.48.040 -- Peddler and itinerant merchant permit required.
It shall be unlawful for a person to engage in the business or activities of peddler or
itinerant merchant within the City except pursuant to and in strict compliance with a valid permit
issued by the Chief of Police or his designee as provided in this chapter. It shall be unlawful for
any peddler or itinerant merchant permittee to allow or tolerate any person who does not also
have a peddler or itinerant merchant permit to work for or under the direction of, or on behalf of,
or as an agent of the permittee. The requirements for a permit under this chapter shall be in
addition to requirements of chapter 10.04 of this code relating to business licenses.
10.48.050 -- Permit procedures.
A. Permit -- application: Every application for a peddler or itinerant merchant permit
under this chapter shall be made on a form provided by the Chief of Police or his designee, and
shall contain the following information:
1. Name, mailing address, and telephone number of applicant.
2. Presentation of a California driver's license, if any, or other photographic
identification issued by a state or United States federal agency establishing the applicant's age as
18 or older.
3. Two recent portrait photographs that clearly and accurately depict the
applicant's current facial features.
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4. The name under which the peddler or itinerant merchant business or
activity will be conducted, the address and telephone number of such business, and the name of
the business owner.
5. A description of the goods, wares, merchandise, products, or any other
thing or representation of value on consignment which will be the subject of the applicant's
peddling or itinerant merchant business or activity.
6. A description of the logo, color scheme, insignia, and any other
distinguishing characteristics of any motor vehicle or mobile unit to be used in the applicant's
business or activities, including the license plate state and number for any motor vehicle.
7. The permit history of the applicant for the three-year period immediately
preceding the date of the filing of the application, including whether the applicant has operated
under any other business name in the City or has ever had any similar license or permit revoked or
suspended or has been convicted of a violation of this chapter, and if so, the circumstances of such
suspension, revocation or conviction.
designee.
8. The applicant's consent to a fingerprint check by the Chief of Police or his
9. A permit fee in an amount established by the City Council.
B. Permit -- term: Any peddler or itinerant merchant permit issued pursuant to this
chapter shall be valid for a period of one year from the date of issuance.
10.48.060 — Issuance of permit.
The Chief of Police or his designee shall grant the peddler or itinerant merchant permit
within 10 days after receiving the completed application if he or she finds that all of the following
requirements have been met:
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A. The required fees have been paid.
B. The application conforms in all respects to the provisions of this chapter.
C. The applicant has not made a material misrepresentation of fact in the application.
D. The applicant has not had a similar permit or license denied or revoked by the City
within one year prior to the date of the application.
E. The applicant has not been convicted, during the three-year period immediately
preceding the issuance of the permit, of any offenses involving moral turpitude or dishonesty,
including but not limited to:
1. Burglary [Cal. Penal Code § 459].
2. Robbery [Cal. Penal Code § 211].
3. Theft [Cal. Penal Code § 484].
4. Fraud or misrepresentation [Cal. Penal Code §§ 531, 532].
5. Receiving, possession or sale of stolen goods [Cal. Penal Code § 496].
6. Any felony offense involving the sale of a controlled substance specified
in Sections 11054, 11055, 11056, 11057, or 11058 of the California Health and Safety Code. in
conjunction with, or while conducting, a peddler or itinerant merchant business or activity.
F. The applicant has obtained any other applicable City or County permits, including
any City or County health permit required for the preparation and sale of food products.
G. The applicant has obtained a valid City business license and paid the appropriate
business license fee.
10.48.070 -- Denial of permit.
If the Chief of Police or his designee finds that all the requirements of section 10.48.060
have not been met, he or she shall deny the application for the peddler or itinerant merchant
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permit. Written notification of denial of the permit application, setting forth the grounds for
denial, shall be served on the applicant by personal delivery or by first class and certified or
registered mail, return receipt requested, addressed to the applicant at his or her mailing address
as set forth in the permit application. Notice of denial of the application shall be deemed to have
been served on the date it is personally served on the applicant or when deposited in the United
States mail with postage prepaid and addressed to the applicant at his or her mailing address as
set forth in the permit application, regardless whether the certified mail receipt is returned to the
City signed or unsigned.
10.48.080 -- Revocation of permit.
Any peddler or itinerant merchant permit may be revoked by the Chief of Police for good
cause shown including but not limited to any of the following reasons:
A. Falsification of any information supplied by the permittee upon which issuance of
the permit was based.
B. Failure of the permittee or any employees or agents of the permittee to comply
with the regulations set forth in this chapter.
C. The permittee's conviction at any time of any offense involving moral turpitude or
dishonesty, including but not limited to any of the following:
1. Burglary [Cal. Penal Code § 459].
2. Robbery [Cal. Penal Code § 211].
3. Theft [Cal. Penal Code § 484].
4. Fraud or misrepresentation [Cal. Penal Code §§ 531, 532].
5. Receiving, possession or sale of stolen goods [Cal. Penal Code §496].
6. Any felony offense involving the sale of a controlled substance specified
in Sections 11054, 11055, 11056, 11057, or 11058 of the California Health and Safety Code in
conjunction with, or while conducting, a peddler or itinerant merchant business or activity.
D. Written notification of revocation of the permit, setting forth the grounds for the
revocation, shall be served on the permittee by personal delivery or by first class and certified or
registered mail, return receipt requested, addressed to the permittee at his or her mailing address
as set forth in the permit application. Notice of revocation of the permit shall be deemed to have
been served on the date it is personally served on the applicant or when deposited in the United
States mail with postage prepaid and addressed to the applicant at his or her mailing address as
set forth in the permit application, regardless whether the certified mail receipt is returned to the
City signed or unsigned.
10.48.090 -- Police Chief power to require cessation of business.
Notwithstanding anything in this chapter to the contrary, the Chief of Police shall have
the authority to require immediate cessation of peddling or itinerant merchant activities upon
revocation of a permit under this section if he or she deems it reasonably necessary for the
preservation of the public health, safety or welfare. Prior to an action to require the immediate
cessation of any such business, or within twenty-four hours following such action, the Chief of
Police shall issue a written notice to the permittee setting forth in detail the basis for such action.
10.48.100 -- Appeal of permit denial, revocation or suspension.
A. Any applicant for a peddler or itinerant merchant permit, or a permittee, shall have
the right to appeal from a decision by the Chief of Police to deny a permit application or to
revoke a permit, by filing with the City Clerk a written notice of appeal, specifying the grounds
for such appeal, within fifteen (15) days after the decision has been served on the applicant or
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permittee. Such appeal shall be heard by the City Manager or by an administrative hearing
officer designated by or at the request of the City Manager, upon not less than fifteen (15) days
written notice to the appellant. The City Manager or the designated administrative hearing
officer shall consider all relevant evidence at the hearing, continue the hearing for good cause,
and require such legal briefing as may be required to address any issues raised by the appeal.
Within a reasonable time, but not more than thirty (30) days following the conclusion of the
hearing, the City Manager or the designated administrative hearing officer shall issue a written
decision affirming, denying or modifying the decision from which the appeal was taken,
supported by factual findings and determinations referenced by supporting evidence. The
decision of the City Manager or designated administrative hearing officer shall be final. The
written decision shall be served on the appellant as provided in Code of Civil Procedure section
1094.6(b), with a copy submitted to the City Clerk. The written decision shall include a notice to
the appellant that the decision is subject to judicial review according to the provisions and time
limits set forth in Code of Civil Procedure section 1094.6. Except as provided in Section
10.48.090, if a timely appeal is filed, any revocation shall be stayed pending the decision of the
City Manager. Otherwise, the revocation shall become effective immediately upon expiration of
the period for filing an appeal.
B. No person whose permit is finally denied or revoked shall be eligible to apply for
a new permit for a period of one year following such final action.
10.48.110 -- Peddler or itinerant merchant permittee responsibility.
The act or omission of any peddler or itinerant merchant permittee's partner, owner,
associate, director, manager, officer, agent or employee shall be deemed for all purposes under
this chapter to be the act or omission of the peddler or itinerant merchant permittee regulated by
this chapter.
10.48.120 -- Peddling or soliciting from fixed location prohibited.
Except as authorized under the provisions of City Council Resolution 11342, or successor
enactment, it shall be unlawful for any person to operate a peddler or itinerant merchant business
from a fixed location in or on any public street, sidewalk, parking lot, right-of-way, City plaza, or
other public property unless permitted in accordance with this chapter.
10.48.130 -- Conditions of peddler or itinerant merchant permit.
A. Each peddler or itinerant merchant permit issued by the Chief of Police or his
designee shall be subject to the terms and conditions set forth in this chapter, and any additional
conditions deemed reasonably necessary by the Chief of Police for the protection of the public
health, safety or welfare.
B. The provisions of this chapter shall constitute operating regulations conditioning
each and every permit hereunder. It shall be unlawful for any person to engage in a peddler or
itinerant merchant business or activity in violation of these provisions.
C. Notwithstanding anything in this chapter to the contrary, no peddler or itinerant
merchant shall operate or conduct his or her business or activity in a place or manner which
would unreasonably interfere with or obstruct the flow of pedestrian or motor vehicle traffic in or
on any street, alley or sidewalk, or which would unreasonably obstruct vehicular sight distances.
10.48.140 -- Hours of operation.
No person shall engage in a peddler or itinerant merchant business or activity upon any
private place, or any street, sidewalk, right-of-way, or other public place in the City between the
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hours of 7:00 p.m. or one-half hour after sunset, whichever comes first, and 8:00 a.m. of the
following day.
10.48.150 -- ID display requirements.
A. Each person who is engaged in a peddler or itinerant merchant business or activity
shall, at all times while so engaged, wear in plain sight on his or her person an identification (ID)
card, provided by the Chief of Police or his designee, containing such information, including a
suitable photograph, as the Chief of Police or his designee may require. The ID card shall be worn
on the person's outermost garment, with the picture facing outward.
B. Each person who is engaged in a peddler or itinerant merchant business or activity
shall, at all times while so engaged, have affixed in a conspicuous place on each motor vehicle or
mobile unit being used in such business or activity, an identifying placard or other identifying
emblem, to be provided by the Chief of Police or his designee.
10.48.160 -- Garbage disposal.
No peddler or itinerant merchant shall discard or deposit, or cause or allow to be discarded
or deposited by any customer or person solicited, any garbage, sewage or any other waste materials
or products onto any public or private property or into any public or private storm drain system. All
motor vehicles and mobile units being used in a peddler or itinerant merchant business or activity
shall be equipped with trash receptacles large enough to contain all refuse generated by the
operation of such motor vehicle or mobile unit.
10.48.170 -- Noise requirements.
Any person engaged in a peddler or itinerant merchant business shall comply with all
applicable noise regulations.
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10.48.180 -- Parking and stopping restrictions -- Motor vehicle -based and mobile unit
peddlers and itinerant merchants.
A. It shall be unlawful for any motor vehicle -based or mobile unit peddler or itinerant
merchant to:
1. Permit any motor vehicle or mobile unit from which his or her business is
being conducted to remain standing or stopped, for purposes of conducting said business, at any
place on a public street, sidewalk, parking lot, right-of-way, or other public place, or within five
hundred feet thereof, for a total period of time exceeding fifteen minutes within any two-hour
period.
2. Make any stop, for the purpose of making or soliciting any sale upon any
public street, sidewalk, right-of-way, or other public place, within five hundred feet, measured
along the traveled way of any public street or streets, of any school property.
3. Make any stop, for the purpose of making or soliciting any sale upon the San
Rafael City Plaza, or upon any public street, sidewalk, right-of-way, or other public place within
five hundred feet, measured along the traveled way of any public street or streets, of the San Rafael
City Plaza.
B. It shall be unlawful for any motor vehicle -based or mobile unit peddler or itinerant
merchant to conduct his or her business or activity from any motor vehicle or mobile unit upon any
public street except from or at the side of such motor vehicle which is nearest to the curb of such
street.
C. No motor vehicle -based or mobile unit peddler or itinerant merchant shall stop to
conduct his or her business or activity from a motor vehicle or mobile unit within two hundred feet
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of another motor vehicle -based or mobile unit peddler or itinerant merchant who has already
stopped to conduct business.
10.48.190 -- Interstate Commerce.
None of the fees provided for by this chapter shall be so applied as to occasion an undue
burden upon interstate commerce. In any case where a fee is believed by a peddler or itinerant
merchant to place an undue burden on interstate commerce, he or she may apply to the City
Manager, before or up to six months following payment of the fee, for an adjustment of the fee so
that it shall not be discriminatory, unreasonable, or unfair as to such commerce. The applicant
shall, by affidavit and supporting evidence, show his or her method of business and the gross
volume or estimated gross volume of business, and other information as required by the City
Manager to determine the extent of the burden on interstate commerce. The decision of the City
Manager may be appealed to the City Council.
10.48.200 -- Violations and penalties.
Any violation of this chapter shall be punishable either as an infraction or as a
misdemeanor, or by any remedy available to the City under this Code, or under State law.
DIVISION 4.
If any section, subsection, sentence, clause or phrase of this Ordinance is for any reason held
to be invalid, such decision shall not affect the validity of the remaining portions of this Ordinance.
The Council hereby declares that it would have adopted the Ordinance and each section, subsection,
sentence, clause or phrase thereof, irrespective of the fact that any one or more sections,
subsections, sentences, clauses or phrases be declared invalid.
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DIVISION 5.
A summary of this Ordinance shall be published and a certified copy of the full text of this
Ordinance shall be posted in the office of the City Clerk at least five (5) days prior to the Council
meeting at which it is adopted.
This Ordinance shall be in full force and effect thirty (30) days after its final passage, and
the summary of this ordinance shall be published within fifteen (15) days after adoption, together
with names of the Councilmembers voting for or against same, in the Marin Independent Journal, a
newspaper of general circulation published and circulated in the City of San Rafael, County of
Marin, State of California.
Within fifteen (15) days after adoption, the City Clerk shall also post in the office of the
City Clerk, a certified copy of the full text of this Ordinance along with the names of those
Councilmembers voting for and against the Ordinance.
ALE(ERT J. B6RO, Mayor
ATTEST:
JEAME M. LEONCINI, City Clerk
The foregoing Ordinance No. 1811 was read and introduced at a Regular Meeting of the City
Council of the City of San Rafael, held on the 18th day of August, 2003 and ordered passed to print
by the following vote, to wit:
AYES: Councilmembers:
NOES: Councilmembers:
ABSENT: Councilmembers
Cohen, Heller, Miller and Mayor Boro
None
Phillips
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and will come up for adoption as an Ordinance of the City of San Rafael at a Regular Meeting of
the Council to be held on the 2nd day of September, 2003.
�i �.e8'3�cvu
JE M. LEONCNI, City Clerk
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