AUBURN - ITINERANT VENDORS
CHAPTER 112: ITINERANT VENDORS
| Section | |||||||||||||||||
| 112.01 GENERAL PROVISIONS |
| A) | All licenses issued under this chapter shall only be granted upon the terms hereinafter provided. All licenses shall be signed by the Mayor and countersigned by the Clerk-Treasurer under the corporate seal of the city, and shall only be issued to persons who strictly comply with the various provisions of the ordinances of the city relating thereto. | |
| B) | Licenses issued shall be made out by the Clerk-Treasurer upon a special license blank furnished by the city, and shall distinctly state the kind of employment, occupation, or privilege licensed, defining the time a license is to run and the amount paid therefore. For every license issued the Clerk-Treasurer shall be entitled to collect a fee of $.50, to be paid by the person procuring the license. | |
| C) | No license granted or issued under the provisions of this chapter shall be for a longer period than one year, and it is not transferable. No person other than the person named in the license shall be permitted to use it, nor shall any license protect any person from incurring penalties, except the licensee named in each license. When requested so to do a licensee shall, at any time, produce his license for the inspection of the City Marshal or his deputies. | |
| D) | All licenses granted under the provisions of this chapter shall be numbered as issued, and a record thereof shall be made by the Clerk-Treasurer in a book kept for that purpose. | |
| E) | Upon failure on the part of the licensee to conform to the terms of his license or the provisions of this chapter, or if, for any reason, the licensee shall be found by the Mayor or Common Council to be an unfit person to exercise the privileges of the license, the license shall be subject to revocation and the fee paid therefore forfeited. | |
| F) | Special licenses for the sale of liquor, plumbers' registrations, scavenger's licenses, licenses for the moving of buildings upon the public streets and alleys, and attachments to and use of the sewer and water mains and electric lights, shall be issued in accordance with the provisions of the general and special ordinances and regulations governing these privileges and employments. | |
| Such ordinances are continued in force. | |
| 112.02 HAWKERS AND PEDDLERS |
| A) | The following shall constitute "HAWKING" and "PEDDLING" under the terms of this section: Any method of selling goods, wares, or merchandise by outcry on the streets, alleys, avenues, or public places in the city, or by attracting persons to purchase goods exposed for sale at these places by placards or signals, or by going from house to house selling or offering for sale, goods, wares, or merchandise at retail to individuals who are not dealers in these commodities, whether the goods are carried along for present delivery, whether the sales are made for future delivery, or whether the goods are delivered upon payment in whole or upon some plan or partial payment therefore. | |
| B) | Sellers of goods which at the time of the sale are from outside the state and owned and manufactured by persons or firms outside of the state and sold subject to future order upon nonresident parties for delivery, shall not be subject to the payment of the license fees enjoined by this section. | |
| C) | No person shall carry on the business of hawking and peddling within the corporate limits of the city, at wholesale or retail, by carrying, exposing, or crying for sale, either on foot or in vehicles, within any street, avenue, alley, or public place or square, or by going from house to house within the city, any article of commerce, wares, goods, merchandise, jewelry, watches, clocks, drugs, toilet articles, soaps, medicines, groceries, clothing, or produce without a license from the city for that purpose. However, this section shall not apply to the sale of newspapers, produce, provisions and fruits of the peddler's own raising, wholesale traveling merchants or agents who sell only to retail dealers in like commodities. | |
| D) | Before any hawker or peddler may sell, vend, peddle, or hawk any article of value, he shall pay a license fee as follows: | |
| 1) | For carrying goods by hand a minimum fee of $5, covering a period not exceeding six consecutive working days, $15 per month, or $30 per year. | |
| 2) | For selling from any kind of vehicle, for each vehicle, a minimum fee of $10 covering a period not exceeding six consecutive working days, $25 per month, or $50 per year. | |
| 112.03 BOOTHS AND STANDS |
| A) | License required | |
| No person shall erect, maintain, locate or conduct any stand, booth, or tent for the sale of refreshments; goods; wares; merchandise; groceries or provisions; books and stationery; glass or crockery ware; notions, jewelry, watches, or | ||
| clocks; fruit or confectionery; medicines or medicinal preparations; tobacco or cigars; soap or toilet articles; nor any booth, stand, tent, or location for doll racks; cane racks; striking machines; shooting galleries; or legitimate mechanical appliances for sports or games for hire or pay without first having obtained a license therefore. | ||
| B) | Basis for license charges | |
| The elements entering into the basis for charges on licenses for booths and stands shall be the character of the business, the duration of time for which the privilege is granted, and the space occupied in extent of frontage of the booth or stand. | ||
| 1) The space occupied shall be divided and designated as: |
| Class first. | |
| Frontage of ten feet or less. | |
| Class second. | |
| Frontage over ten and less than 20 feet. | |
| Class third. | |
| Frontage 20 feet and over and less than 30 feet. | |
| Class fourth. | |
| Frontage of 30 feet and over. | |
| 2) | The charges per week of six days shall be four times the charges per day, charges per month of four weeks shall be twice that per week, and the charge per year shall be twice the charge per month. No booth or stand shall extend into the street more than 12 feet from the curb. | |
| C) | Fees | |
| Every person before erecting, maintaining, or operating any booth, stand, or location shall pay the following license fees, subject to adjustment on the foregoing gradations: | ||
| 112.04 AUCTIONEERS |
| A) | Definition of auctioneer | |
| Any person who shall offer for sale at public outcry any article of goods, wares, or merchandise on any of the streets, alleys, or public places or store buildings | ||
| or shops of the city where the sale of goods is made to competing bidders either upon an ascending or descending scale of prices or bids, or upon a price fixed by the seller asking for the acceptance thereof by the bystanders, shall be deemed an "AUCTIONEER," and subject to the provisions of this section. | ||
| B) | Exemptions | |
| All sales made by executors, administrators, or public officers in the discharge of their legal duties, all sales made by any person of his household goods, farming utensils, machinery, and livestock passing with these sales and heretofore used by him, and all sales for religious, benevolent, or literary benefits, are exempted from the provisions of this section. | ||
| C) | Obstruction of sidewalk | |
| No person shall sell or cry for sale at public auction any goods, chattels, wares, or merchandise from any door, window, or other opening in any store, shop, or other building within the city, so as to collect persons upon any sidewalk or street in the city, whereby the passage of persons along the sidewalk or street shall be hindered or in any manner impeded. | ||
| D) | License fees | |
| No person shall engage in the sale of goods, wares, or merchandise at auction without procuring a license. A license shall be issued by the Clerk-Treasurer upon payment of the following charges and fees: | ||
| Per Day | Per Week | Per Month | Per year | ||||||||||||||
| Street Auctioneers: | |||||||||||||||||
| Books, stationery, notions, | |||||||||||||||||
| jewelry, medicines, and soap | |||||||||||||||||
| and toilet articles | $25 | ||||||||||||||||
| Dry goods, carpets, cloth- | |||||||||||||||||
| ing, hardware, boots and | |||||||||||||||||
| shoes, and groceries and | |||||||||||||||||
| provisions | $25 | ||||||||||||||||
| Auction Sales in Stores, | |||||||||||||||||
| Shops, and Buildings: | |||||||||||||||||
| Books, stationery, notions, | |||||||||||||||||
| jewelry, medicines, and soap | |||||||||||||||||
| and toilet articles | $3 | $10 | $25 | $50 | |||||||||||||
| Dry goods, carpets, clothing, | |||||||||||||||||
| hardware, boots and shoes, | |||||||||||||||||
| groceries and provisions | $5 | $20 | $50 | $100 | |||||||||||||
| E) | Giving notice of auction | |
| No person shall give notice of auction sales by ringing a bell, blowing a bugle, or creating a noise by any other devise, instrument, or method except in front of the building where the sales are to take place. | ||
| 112.05 TRANSIENT MERCHANTS |
| A) | Purpose | |
| It is the purpose and intent of this section to protect the public from improper sales techniques by providing for the licensing and regulation of transient merchants. | ||
| B) | Definitions | |
| For the purpose of this section the following definitions shall apply unless the context clearly indicates or requires a different meaning. | ||
| 1) | TRANSIENT MERCHANTS | |
| Any person, firm, corporation, partnership, or other entity which engages in, does, or transacts any temporary or transient business in the city, either in one locality or in traveling from place to place in the city, offering for sale or selling goods, wares, merchandise, or services, including those merchants who, for the purpose of carrying on such business, hire, lease, use, or occupy any building, structure, motor vehicle, railroad car, or real estate. | ||
| 2) TEMPORARY OR TRANSIENT BUSINESS | ||
| Any business conducted for the sale or offer for sale of goods, wares, or merchandise which is carried on in any building, structure, motor vehicle, railroad car, or real estate for a period of less than 30 days in each year. | ||
| C) | License required | |
| It shall be unlawful for any transient merchant to transact business in the city unless the merchant and the owners of any goods, wares, or merchandise to be offered for sale or sold, if such are not owned by the merchants, shall have first secured a license and shall have otherwise complied with the requirements of this section. | ||
| D) | Application | |
| Any transient merchant desiring to transact business in the city shall make application for and obtain a license at the office of the Clerk-Treasurer. The application shall include the following information: | ||
| 1) | The name and permanent address of the transient merchant making the application, and if the applicant is a firm or corporation, the name and address of the members of the firm or the officers of the corporation, as the case may be. | |
| 2) | If the applicant is a corporation, there shall be stated on the application form the date of incorporation and the state of incorporation. If the applicant is a corporation formed in a state other than Indiana, the date on which the corporation qualified to transact business as a foreign corporation of the state shall be stated. | |
| 3) | A statement showing the kind of business proposed to be conducted, the length of time for which the applicant desires to transact business, and the location of the proposed place of business. | |
| 4) | The name and permanent address of the transient merchant's registered agent or office. | |
| 5) | The applicant has acquired all other required city, county, state, and federal permits and licenses. | |
| 6) | There shall be attached to the application a receipt or statement showing that any personal property taxes or sales taxes due on goods, wares, and merchandise to be offered for sale have been paid. | |
| E) | Forms and certificates | |
| The Clerk-Treasurer shall design and cause to be printed appropriate forms for applications for licenses and for the license certificates to be issued to applicants under this section. | ||
| F) | Registered agents | |
| Each registered agent designated by a transient merchant in the application for a license shall be a resident of this state and shall be agent of the transient merchant upon whom any process, notice, or demand required or permitted by law to be served upon the transient merchant may be served. The registered agent shall agree in writing to act as such agent and a copy of the agreement shall be filed by the applicant with the application for a license. | ||
| G) | License fee; bond | |
| Each application for a transient merchant license shall be accompanied by a license fee of $150 and by a cash bond or a surety bond issued by a corporate surety authorized to do business in the state or an irrevocable bank letter of credit by a bank doing business in the state in the amount of $5,000. The surety bond shall be in favor of the city and shall assure the payment by the applicant of any fines that may be assessed against the applicant, or its agents or employees for violation of the provisions of this section and for the satisfaction of all judgments that may be rendered against the transient merchant or its agents or employees in any cause of action commenced by any purchaser of goods, wares, merchandise, or services within one year from the date of the sale by the transient merchant. | ||
| H) Exemptions | ||
| 1) | The provisions of this section shall not apply to: | |
| a) | Sales at wholesale to retail merchants by commercial travelers or selling agents in the usual course of business. |
| b) | Wholesale trade shows and conventions. |
| c) | Sales of goods, wares, or merchandise by sample catalogue or brochure for future delivery. |
| d) | Fairs and convention center activities conducted primarily for amusement and entertainment. |
| e) | Any general sale, fair, auction, or bazaar sponsored by any church, civic, school, or service club organization. |
| f) | Garage sales held on the premises devoted to residential use. |
| g) | Sales of crafts or items made by hand and sold or offered for sale by the person making the crafts or handmade items. |
| h) | Sales of agricultural products. |
| i) | Sales made by seller at residential premises pursuant to an invitation issued by the owner or legal occupant of the premises. |
| 2) | A transient merchant not otherwise exempted from the provisions of this section shall not be relieved or exempted from the provisions of this section by reason of associating himself temporarily with any local dealer, auctioneer, trader, contractor, or merchant or by conducting any temporary or transient business in connection with or in the name of any local dealer, auctioneer, trader, contractor, or merchant. | |
| I) | Limitations | |
| A transient business license shall be issued only when all requirements of this section have been met. The license shall not be transferable, shall be valid only within the territorial limits of the issuing city, shall be valid only for a period of 30 days, and shall be valid only for the business stated in the application. A license so issued shall be valid only for one person, unless the person shall be a member of a partnership or employee of a firm or corporation obtaining the license. | ||
| 112.06 TRAVELING TENT SHOWS |
| A) | No person within the corporate limits of the city shall conduct or assist in conducting any traveling tent show or exhibition without having procured a license so to do. | |
| B) | The term "TRAVELING TENT SHOW" or "EXHIBITION" means all shows and exhibitions, held in tents or under canvas, which travel from place to place and are operated for a profit or financial gain. However, this section shall not apply to shows, exhibitions, or other ceremonies which are held and conducted as a part of a community celebration, to other ceremonies not conducted for gain or profit, to what are commonly known as chautauquas, nor to religious, benevolent, or charitable enterprises. | |
| C) | The license fees must be paid in advance of issuing the license and shall be as follows: for conducting a traveling tent show or exhibition, $25 per day for all shows which have a seating capacity of 500 people or less, and $50 per day for all shows which have a seating capacity for over 500 people. | |
| D) | Licenses shall be procured under this section by making application therefore to the Clerk-Treasurer. The application shall state the nature of the business intended to be conducted and the time and place of conducting business on blanks provided by the city, and payment shall be made to the Clerk-Treasurer for the license fee. The Clerk-Treasurer shall then issue a license on forms provided by the city specifically setting out the kind of business to be conducted, the time and place of conducting the business, and the license fee paid therefor. The license shall become effective only when countersigned by the Mayor of the city. | |
| 112.07 POPCORN STANDS |
| A) | No person shall operate or conduct a public popcorn stand or wagon on any public street in the city without procuring a license so to do from the Clerk-Treasurer by paying a fee of $10. | |
| B) | Licenses issued under this section shall permit the licensee to operate the business for one year. | |
| 112.08 SELLING PHOTOGRAPHS THROUGH THE USE OF COUPONS |
| A) | Every person, firm, or corporation engaged in any business pertaining to photography or copying or enlarging pictures, before selling these goods or merchandise by means of coupons or tickets, or orders distributed or secured by soliciting, peddling, or canvassing from house to house or in or about the streets of the city, shall secure a license from the Clerk-Treasurer so to do. | |
| B) | The Clerk-Treasurer shall, upon application, have the authority to issue this license upon payment by the applicant of $25 for the first day, $15 for the second day and $10 for each day thereafter. | |
| 112.99 PENALTY |
| A) | Whoever sells or offers for sale within the corporate limits of the city, any article of commerce in violation of the provisions of 112.01 or 112.02, regulating the sale of goods by hawkers and peddlers, shall for every offense, upon conviction, forfeit and pay as a penalty not less than $10 nor more than $50. | |
| B) Any person violating any of the provisions of 112.03 shall, upon conviction, be fined not less than $1 nor more than $25. | ||
| C) | Any person who violates 112.04 shall be fined not more than $100. | |
| D) | Any person violating the provisions of 112.05 shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and, upon conviction, shall be fined not more than $500 for each offense. The penalty shall be in addition to any other penalties prescribed by law for any criminal offense committed by the licensee. Each day's violation shall constitute a separate offense. | |
| E) | Any person who violates any of the provisions of 112.06 shall, upon conviction, be fined in any sum not less than $5 nor more than $50 to which shall be added the costs of the prosecution, and each day the violation continues shall constitute a separate offense. | |
| F) | Any person who violates or fails to comply with any of the provisions of | |
| 112.08 shall be fined in any sum not less than $25 nor more than $100 for each violation. | ||