Practice of going in and upon private residences in the City by solicitors, peddlers, hawkers, itinerant merchants and transient vendors of merchandise (hereinafter “solicitors”) for the purpose of soliciting orders for the sale of goods or merchandise or for the purpose of disposing of or peddling or hawking the same, not having been invited to do so by the owners or occupants of such private residence, is allowed under the following conditions:

A.    All such solicitors shall first apply for a license with the City Clerk, the fee for which shall be $100.00 per day for each individual person acting as a solicitor as described herein regardless of whether such solicitor is one of many solicitors working for the same employer or under the auspices of the same employer or whether solicitor is working alone. All such solicitors shall carry with them at all times while engaged in the type of solicitation covered by this ordinance the license issued to them by the City Clerk.

B.    All door-to-door solicitation as described in subsection A is prohibited at all times where the occupant of any residence has posted a sign or notice at such residence indicating that such occupant does not wish to be visited or approached by solicitors.

C.    All door-to-door solicitation as described in subsection A shall occur between the hours of eight o’clock (8:00) a.m. and eight o’clock (8:00) p.m., Monday through Saturday.

(Code 2015)

This ordinance does apply to solicitations from non-profit charitable, service, or educational organizations such as the Girl Scouts, Boy Scouts, Jaycees, Kiwanis, Rotary, Lions Club, Franklin County Historical Society, or similar organizations, or churches or church-related organizations engaged in fund raising to promote the aims of such organizations or institutions, but such organizations or institutions shall not be required to pay a fee.

(Code 2015)

A.    It shall be unlawful for any person to display for sale, trade or barter or to offer for sale, trade or barter upon any street, alley, sidewalk or public place within the City, by auction or otherwise, any goods, wares, merchandise, drugs, medicines, machinery, implements, motor vehicles or tractors, or merchandise or commodities of any description, unless such practice is authorized by action of the Board of Commissioners for certain special occasions or events as the Board of Commissioners may deem appropriate.

(Code 1982)

For the purpose of this article, the following words as used herein shall have the following meanings:

Itinerant solicitors- an itinerant solicitor is defined as any individual, whether resident of the City of Ottawa or not, traveling by any means, going door-to-door, house-to-house, or from street to street, taking or attempting to take orders for the sale of goods, wares or merchandise, personal property of any nature whatsoever for future delivery, or for services to be furnished or performed in the future, whether or not such individual has, carries, or exposes for sale a sample of the subject of such sale or whether s/he is collecting advance payments on such sales or not, provided that such definition shall include any person who, for himself, or for another person, firm, or corporation, hires, leases, uses or occupies any building, structure, tent, railroad box car, boat, hotel room, lodging house, motel room, apartment, shop, or any other place within the City for the purpose of exhibiting samples and taking orders for future delivery.

Itinerant merchant or itinerant vendor- for the purpose of this article an itinerant merchant or itinerant vendor is defined as any person, firm or corporation, whether as owner, agent, consignee or employee, whether a resident of the city or not, who engages in a temporary business of selling and delivering goods, wares and merchandise within said City, and who, in furtherance of such purpose, hires, leases, uses or occupies any building, structure, motor vehicle, tent, motel, lodging houses, apartments, shops, or any street, alley, or other place within the City for the exhibition and sale of such goods, wares and merchandise, either privately or at public auction provided that such definition shall not be construed to include any person, firm, or corporation who, while occupying such temporary location, does not sell from stock, but exhibits samples only for the purpose of securing orders for future delivery only.  The person, firm or corporation so engaged shall not be relieved from complying with the provisions of this ordinance merely by associating temporarily with any local dealer, trader, merchant or auctioneer, or by conducting such transient business in connection with, as part of, or in the name of any local dealer, trader, merchant or auctioneer.

       For the purpose of this article, the words “itinerant salesman” shall mean any person, firm, or corporation, whether a resident of the City or not, who engages in any manner in selling merchandise of any kind from a wagon, automotive vehicle, or stand temporarily located on the public streets or sidewalks of this City.

Premises- premises is defined as any building or property used for residential, commercial, educational, or industrial activity.

Charitable- charitable means and includes patriotic, philanthropic, social service, welfare, benevolent, educational, civic or fraternal, either actual or purported.

Religious- religious means and includes charitable as herein defined, but shall be given its commonly accepted meaning.

Residence- residence shall mean and include every separate living unit occupied for residential purposes by one or more persons, contained within any type of structure.

Person- person may be plural or singular and shall mean and include any individual person, firm, or corporation, association, club, partnership, or society, or any other organization and the agents, servants, or representatives thereof, including religious or charitable organization.

Licensed solicitor or peddler- this phrase shall mean and include any person who has obtained a valid permit and license as hereinafter provided, which permit and license is in the possession of the solicitor or peddler on his or her person while engaged in soliciting or peddling.

Seasonal business operation- seasonal business operation is hereby defined as any person, firm, corporation, whether as owner, agent, consignee or employee, who engages in the seasonal business of selling or delivering goods, wares, merchandise, within said City, who furtherance of said purpose, hires, leases, uses or occupies and building structure, motor vehicle, tent, motel, lodging house, apartment, shops on any street, alley or any other place within the City for the exhibition or sale of such goods, wares, or merchandise, either privately or public auction..

A.    This section shall not include the following activities:

1.    Door-to-door, house-to-house, or place-to-place sales, canvassing, or soliciting.

2.    Exhibitions, street fairs, expositions, promotional ventures, or entertainment where a special use permit has been obtained, or where such activity is sponsored in part by the City.

3.    Auctions where the items being auctioned are from a permanent business or residence and are being auctioned at that business or residence.

4.    Garage sales.

5.    Sales of agricultural products grown and sold or offered for sale by the individual raising or growing such products.

6.    Sales conducted within the following structures:  hotels, motels, trade centers, convention centers, and shopping malls.

7.    After application and approval by the Ottawa City Commission, any activity sponsored or approved by the Ottawa Chamber of Commerce is specifically exempted from this ordinance.

(Code 2015; Ord. 3985-18)

A.    It shall be unlawful for any person or for any agent, servant or employee to engage in, carry on, or conduct the business of an itinerant solicitor, itinerant merchant, itinerant vendor, licensed solicitor or peddler, or seasonal business operation, without first having obtained a license from the office of the City.

B.    Expiration of license; non-transferable.

1.     Itinerant licenses issued by the City shall be for a period of either thirty (30) days, or ninety (90) days, depending on the classification of the license. Licenses for the seasonal business operation shall be for a period of thirty (30) days, ninety (90) days, all other licenses issued by the City pursuant to this section shall be for a period of thirty (30) days.

2.     A license is not transferable to any other person, firm or corporation and cannot be used for any activity or at any location other than those listed on the application and approved for licensing.

C.    License application. All persons, agents, corporations or employees subject to this ordinance may obtain licenses through the City Clerk’s office. A license may be issued only upon the completion of a license application provided by the Office of the City Clerk. The application shall require the following information:

1.     Name and permanent address of applicant, showing proof of identification;

2.     A description of the nature of the business and the items, goods, merchandise, or services being offered.

3.     A description of the proposed site, including the dimensions of the area being used, the proximity to buildings, parking lots, rights-of-way or other such areas, and description of any structure, implement, stand, display prop, or other such items used for the activity including signs, banners or other attention getting devices.

4.     A current sales tax license from the State of Kansas or exempt status from state sales tax.

5.     The name, address, telephone number, and authorized signature of the owner or manager of the property where the activity is to take place.

6.     Identification of zoning classification for the area of the proposed activity as provided by the Planner or other authorized City official. Such identification shall not constitute approval of such activity in that zoning classification by the City.

7.     Dates and time the activity will be conducted or carried on.

8.     Name and permanent address of any agents, employees, partners, companies or organizations being represented in relation to the transient merchant activities.

9.     Signature of applicant indicating that all of the information provided is true and correct.

D.    License fee:

1.     The license fee for engaging in, carrying on, or conducting business as a merchant, peddler, itinerant merchant, itinerant vendor, as defined in this ordinance for 30 days or less shall be the sum of ($25.00) to be paid prior to receiving a license.

2.     In the case of seasonal business operation, the license shall be for a period of ninety (90) days and the license fee shall be fifty dollars ($50.00).

E.    Any person engaged in activities as described in the definitions of this ordinance shall exhibit his or her or its license at the request of any citizen or law enforcement officer.

(Code 2015; Ord. 3985-18)

Any person, firm or corporation violating any of the provisions of this ordinance shall, upon conviction thereof, be punished by a fine of not less than one hundred dollars ($100.00) nor more than five hundred dollars ($500.00) or by imprisonment not to exceed sixty (60) days or both such fine and punishment.

(Code 2015)