Agenda - Council - 05/11/1999 - Laserfiche WebLink

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be ~xempt from the Ii.rising re~ir~n~nt~ of ~ ord~nan~. (Not~: It has been a common practice for cities to simply exempt all non-profit organi:~tlons from all licensing requirements for peddlers, solicitors and transient merchunts. Some cities would also like to exempt minors. While such exemptions are generated, out of good intentions, they could present serious legal trouble for a city. Under current casehw, any attempt to treat one classification differently from another classification when both classifications are essentlally doing the same thing, makes tho regulation highly susceptible to being overturned for being arbitrary and capricious. When the nuisance sought to be reguhted is door-to-door type sales, the courts have not cared who is making the sale. It appears that a city would have a hard time convincing the courts that, from a legal perspective, a non-profit group going door-to-door to sell their goods is any less annoying than a business doing the same thing. Perhaps an argument could be made based on the difference in the public's perception of non-profit door to door sales versus those of retail merchants, but given the fact that the courts have stated that those exempt for constitutional reasons could lose their exemptions if their activities took on a commerchl appearance, even when th~ group in que.~fion was a non-profit church, such an argument does not seem likely to prevaiL) Section 220. Ineligibility for License. :: The following shall be grounds for denying a license under this ordinance: 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 viohtion of any Federal or State statute or reguhfion, 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 or that will not adversely affect the health, safety, and welfare of the residents of the City. Such 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 determined to have a bad business reputation. Evidence of a bad business reputation shall include, but not be limited to, the existence of more than. complaint(s) against the applicant with the Better Business Bureau,. the Attom6y General's Office, or other similar business or consumer rights office or agency, within the preceding twelve (12) months, or such complaints filed against the applicant ! I I I I ! " I I I $1 I I I I I I $1 I