Ordinance No. 95-94-61 v ORDINANCE NO. 95-94-61
AN ORDINANCE AMENDING CHAPTER 18 OF THE ATLANTIC BEACH
CODE ADOPTING VARIOUS RULES AND REGULATIONS RELATED TO
DOOR-TO-DOOR SOLICITATIONS, AND PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE
DATE.
WHEREAS, Chapter 18 of. the Atlantic Beach Code applies to
charitable solicitors as defined therein and prohibits certain acts
upon residential premises in the City, and
WHEREAS, the City Commission desires to adopt various rules
and regulations with regard to all solicitations within the
corporate limits of the City, whether on residential or other
property, and
WHEREAS, the City Commission desires to require anyone engaged
in solicitations to obtain a permit, unless excepted from said
requirement herein, and to establish a method of appeal from the
denial or revocation of any such permit issued by the City.
NOW THEREFORE, be it ordained by the City Commission of the
City of Atlantic Beach, Florida.
SECTION 1. Chapter 18 of the Code of Ordinances of the City
of Atlantic Beach, Florida, is hereby amended to read as follows :
Chapter 18
EHARITABLE SOLICITATIONS
Sec. 18.1 . Definitions.
Charitable shall mean of or relating to any benevolent , civic ,
educational, fraternal, philanthropic , religious , humane,
patriotic , voluntary health or other eleemosynary activity or
cause.
Donation shall mean the act of making a gift or contribution
to a charitable activity or cause, including, but not limited to,
contributions of clothing, food, money, pledges , property,
subscriptions or anything else of value.
Person shall mean any individual, firm, partnership,
corporation, company, association, society, organization, trust ,
group or league.
Solicitation shall mean: (a) the request , either directly or
indirectly, for any donation or contribution for--eharitabie
purposes , including, but not limited to, any oral or written
request ; (b) -tire-safe; offer, to-seii , or attempt to sell any
article, service, publication, advertisement , subscription,
membership or other thing. for-eharitabie-purposes ; (c) the
making-of-any announcement to-or through the press or other media
concerning an appeal , drive or campaign to which the public is
requested to make a donation. A solicitation shall be deemed to
have taken place when the request is made, whether or not the
person making the request receives any donation or makes a sale.
Solicitor shall mean any individual who requests either
directly or indirectly any donation or contribution including, but
not limited to, any oral or written request , or any individual who
attempts to sell any article, service, publication, advertisement,
subscription, membership or other thing.
Sec. 18-2. Permit; registration and fingerprinting required.
Ail-peraarrs Each and every solicitor, before entering into or upon
a residential premises within the city for the purpose of
soliciting, shall register with the city clerk, obtain a permit ,
and furnish the city clerk with the following:
(1) The name, local and permanent addresses , age, race
weight , height, color of hair and eyes and any other
distinguishing physical characteristics of the applicant;
(2) The nature or purpose for which solicitations will be
made and the nature of the goods , wares and or
merchandise offered for sale;
(3) The name and address of the employer or organization
represented, if any.
(4) A statement as to whether the applicant has been
convicted of any felony or misdemeanor and, if so, the
nature of the offense, when and where convicted and the
penalty or punishment assessed therefor; and
(5) A complete set of fingerprints taken by the chief of
police or his designee.
(6) Authorization for a criminal background investigation.
Sec. 18-3. Fees .
A fee of fifteen--do-l-1-arm-(81.5r864 thirty-five ($35.00) to
cover the cost of investigation of the applicant and processing of
the application shall be paid to the city clerk when the
application is filed and shall not be returnable under any
circumstances . In addition to the aforementioned fee , each
solicitor shall be required to pay for a solicitor ' s permit as
provided in Section 20-59 of the City Code.
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Sec. 18-4. Regulations and prohibitions.
(a) Solieitors-shall-nto-t It shall be unlawful to solicit at ,
or enter upon, any premises within the city where a "No
Solicitation" sign is posted in accordance with the provisions of
this subchapter, unless otherwise invited onto the premises for
that purpose.
(b) While engaged in soliciting in or upon residential
premises , each solicitor shall mrist carry and prominently display
the permit issued by the city clerk which shall contain the name,
address and telephone number of the solicitor, as well as the name
of the person or organization for whose benefit or on whose behalf
the solicitor is acting.
(c) No solicitor shall in any way unlawfully obstruct , delay
or interfere with the free movements of any person against that
person' s will or seek to coerce or physically disturb any other
person.
(d) No solicitor shall in any way unlawfully obstruct, delay
or interfere with vehicular traffic within the city.
(e) No solicitor shall solicit door-to-door at any residence
between the hours of sunset and 9: 00 a. m.
(f) Solicitors--s-Yta-1-l--sfrl-iii-t--only--unrder--the--eonclltlens
permitted: No solicitor shall solicit except under the conditions
permitted if permit required by Sec. 18-2 .
(q) It shall be unlawful for any person in connection with
the planning, conduct or execution of any solicitation to:
(1) Make misrepresentations or misleading statements to the
effect that any other person or organization sponsors or
endorses such solicitation, approves of its purpose, or
is connected therewith, when that person or organization
has not given written consent to the use of its name.
(2) Represent that the contribution is for or on behalf of a
charitable organization or sponsor or to use any emblem,
device or printed matter belonging to or associated with
a charitable organization or sponsor, without first being
authorized in writing to do so by the charitable
organization or sponsor.
(3) Use a name, symbol , emblem, device, service mark or
statement so closely related or similar to that used by
another charitable organization or sponsor that the use
thereof would mislead the public.
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(4) Falsely state that the person is a member of or a
representative of an charitable organization or sponsor,
or falsely state or represent that the person is a member
of or represents a law enforcement or emergency service
organization.
(5) Misrepresent or mislead anyone by any manner, means ,
practice or device whatsoever to believe that the person
or organization on whose behalf the solicitation or sale
is being conducted is a charitable organization or
sponsor, or that any of the proceeds of the solicitation
or sale will be used for charitable or sponsor purposes ,
if that is not the fact .
(6) Represent that a charitable organization or sponsor will
receive a fixed or estimated percentage of the gross
revenue from a solicitation campaign greater than that
identified in any filings required under Chapter 496 ,
Florida Statutes , or that a charitable organization or
sponsor will receive an actual or estimated dollar amount
of percentage per unit of goods or services purchased or
used in the charitable or sponsor sales promotion that is
greater than that agreed to by the commercial coventurer
and the charitable organization or sponsor.
(7) Use or exploit the fact of registration or the filing of
any report with any governmental agency so as to lead any
person to believe that such registration in any manner
constitutes an endorsement or approval by the state .
(8) Make misrepresentations or misleading statements to the
effect that the-dariatiQr -of a contribution or the display
of any sticker, emblem or insignia offered to
contributors will entitle such other person to any
special treatment by emergency service employees or law
enforcement officers in the performance of their official
duties .
(9) Solicit contributions from another person or organization
while wearing the uniform of an emergency service
employee or law enforcement officer, or while on duty as
an emergency service employee or law enforcement officer,
except where the solicitation is for an organization
exempt from federal income tax under s . 501 (c) (3) of the
Internal Revenue Code or except when soliciting
contributions to benefit an emergency service employee or
law enforcement officer who has been injured in the line
of duty or to benefit the family or dependents of an
emergency service employee or law enforcement officer who
has been killed in the line of duty.
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(10) Solicit contributions on behalf of another person or
organization using any statement that the failure to make
a contribution shall result in a reduced level of law
enforcement services being provided to the public or the
person solicited.
(11) Employ in any solicitation any device, scheme or artifice
to defraud or to obtain a contribution by means of any
deception, false pretense, misrepresentation or false
promise.
(12) Notify any other person by any means , as part of an
advertising scheme or plan, that the other person has won
a prize, received an award or has been selected or is
eligible to receive anything of value if the other person
is required to purchase goods or services , pay any money
to participate in or submit to a promotion effort .
(13) Fail to provide complete and timely payment of the
proceeds from a solicitation campaign to a charitable
organization or sponsor organization te--a--c*a-r-rta*le
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selfeitatien-eampaign-er- --c alrl7e--o-r--spe aor-sales
premotion-
(14) Fail to apply contributions in a manner substantially
consistent with the solicitation.
(15) Fail to identify his professional relationship to the
person for whom the solicitation is being made.
Sec. 18-5. Posting of "No Solicitation" sign.
Any person in possession or in charge of any premises within
the city who desires to remain undisturbed by the visit of
uninvited solicitors may post or place in a conspicuous place near
or at the entrance of the premises a sign containing the words "No
Solicitation" or a substantially similar message in letters easily
read by a person approaching the premises .
Sec. 18-6. Inspection of books and records.
Upon request of the city clerk, the holder of a permit shall
make available for inspection, by any agent of the city, all books ,
records and papers pertaining to the registered solicitation at any
reasonable time while the permit is in effect or after it has
expired.
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Sec. 18-7. Revocation.
The city clerk or his or her designated agent shall revoke any
permit issued under this article if he or she finds that the
permittee has given false information or has knowingly withheld
information in obtaining same or upon violation of any portion of
this chapter.
Sec. 18-8. Exceptions.
The provisions of subsections 18-2 (4) , (5) , and (6) and
section 18-3 shall not apply to:
(1) Any person who visits any residence or apartment at the
request or invitation of the owner or occupant thereof;
(2) Unpaid members of any civic or charitable organization
who are registered as such with the city clerk and the
names of the solicitors have been listed as such members
and the organization has provided each person listed with
an approved means of identification with the organization
represented;
(3) Newsboys soliciting subscriptions to any newspaper for
home delivery within the city;
(4) Route deliverymen who make deliveries to regular
customers and whose solicitation is only incidental to
their regular deliveries;
(5) Solicitors or agents of life or other insurance companies
who hold a license issued by the insurance commissioner
of the state; and
(6) Any charitable, religious , fraternal , youth, civic ,
service or other organization when the organization makes
occasional sales or engages in fundraising projects when
the projects are performed exclusively by the members
thereof and when the proceeds derived from the activities
are used exclusively in the charitable, religious ,
fraternal, youth, civic and service activities of the
organization.
Sec. 18-9. Penalties.
Any person violating any of the provisions of this chapter
shall, upon conviction thereof, be subject to a fine not exceeding
five hundred dollars ($500 . 00) or by imprisonment not exceeding
ninety (90) days , or both.
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SECTION 2: The provisions adopted herein shall prevail over
any existing sections of the Atlantic Beach Code to the extent said
existing sections are contrary or inconsistent herewith.
SECTION 3: This Ordinance shall take effect immediately upon
its final passage and adoption.
PASSED by the City Commission on first reading this 22nd
day of August , 1994.
PASSED by the City Commission on second and final reading this
12th day of September , 1994 .
ATTE T:
/
MAU EEN KING CC` ty CYerk `ice T. FLETCHER.
Y �!!
ayor, Presiding Officer
App oved as, to form and correctness :
/ AN C. NSEN, ESQUIRE
City A: orney
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