Cupertino Municipal Code Ch. 5.20 Solicitors

For the purposes of this chapter the following words and phrases shall have the meanings respectively ascribed to them by this section:

“Solicitor” means any person, including salesman and vendor, who engages in the business of going from house to house, place of business to place of business, or to any one house or to any one place of business, within the City, not at the request or invitation of the occupant thereof, to sell or take orders for, or offering to sell or take orders for, immediate or future delivery of, goods, wares, merchandise, services, or other things of value, to persons other than manufacturers, wholesalers, jobbers, or retailers in such commodities or services. Sidewalk vendors operating as described in Chapter 5.48 do not come within the definition of solicitor provided they operate solely on a public sidewalk or other pedestrian path, not on private property.

(Ord. 21-2220, § 1 (part), 2021; Ord. 1505, § 1 (part), 1989; Ord. 516, § 1, 1971)

The provisions of this chapter shall not apply to:

A. Any person soliciting on behalf of any religious, charitable, educational, or political organization or to any person who is exempt from the provisions of this chapter by virtue of the Constitution or statutes of the United States of America or of the state.

B. Any persons operating in accordance with Chapter 5.48, Sidewalk Vendors, provided they do not come within the definition of solicitor. Any persons operating as both a sidewalk vendor and a solicitor must satisfy the requirements for both.

(Ord. 21-2220, § 1 (part), 2021; Ord. 1505, § 1 (part), 1989; Ord. 1472, 1988; Ord. 810, (part), 1977; Ord. 516, § 11, 1971)

A. No person shall act as a solicitor, as defined by this chapter, within the City, without an identification permit, as hereinafter provided.

B. In addition to any information required by the City for the issuance of a business license for the conduct of the business or occupation of a solicitor as defined by this chapter, and for which a business license is required by the business licensing code, the applicant for a business license shall first submit an application for an identification permit to the City Manager. The permit shall only be issued by the City Manager after an investigation is made by him, and in making the investigation the City Manager shall be furnished by the applicant with the following information and records:

1. Name, date of birth and description of applicant;

2. Address, legal and local (if any);

3. A brief description of the nature of the business, and the goods, wares, merchandise and services to be sold or furnished;

4. If employed, the name and address of the employer, together with credentials establishing the exact relationship;

5. The length of time applicant wishes to do business within the City;

6. If a vehicle is to be used, a description of the same, together with license number or other means of identification;

7. Two recent photographs of the applicant, which show the head and shoulders of the applicant in a clear and distinguishing manner;

8. Fingerprints of the applicant to be taken by the Sheriff’s Department of the County or a designated agency; and

9. A statement as to whether or not the applicant has been convicted of a crime, felony or misdemeanor, the nature of the offense and the punishment or penalty assessed therefor.

(Ord. 1505, § 1 (part), 1989; Ord. 516, § 2, 1971)

The information required by Section 5.20.020 shall be furnished to the City Manager in conjunction with the application for a business license for the occupation of a solicitor of goods or services. The furnishing of such information and the investigation by the City Manager shall be necessary conditions precedent to the granting of such a permit or business license.

(Ord. 1505, § 1 (part), 1989; Ord. 516, § 3, 1971)

The City Manager, upon being advised of the application of an applicant for a business license for the occupation of a solicitor of goods or services in the City, and upon being furnished with the information and records required by the provisions of this chapter shall investigate the applicant. If, as a result of the investigation, the character and business responsibility of the applicant are found to be satisfactory, the City Manager shall grant an identification permit in favor of the applicant for the carrying on of the business or occupation of a solicitor of goods or services in the City, which permit shall be valid for a period of ninety days only, and subject to the revocation provisions of this chapter.

(Ord. 1505, § 1 (part), 1989; Ord. 516, § 4, 1971)

If, as a result of the investigation as provided by this chapter, the applicant’s character or business responsibility is found to be unsatisfactory, the City Manager shall make written findings and reasons for disapproval and shall notify the applicant that his application is disapproved and that no identification permit or business license will be issued. Upon the disapproval of the application, as a result of the findings of the City Manager, any person aggrieved by the action of the City Manager, and the denial of the application for an identification permit and a business license, shall have the right to appeal to the City Council. Such appeal shall be taken by filing with the City Council, within ten days after notice of the action complained of has been mailed to the applicant’s last known address, or to the applicant’s address as appearing on his application, a written statement setting forth fully the grounds of appeal. The City Council shall set a time and place for a hearing of such appeal and notice shall be given to the appellant by mail, postage prepaid, to his address, as aforesaid, at least five days prior to the date set for a hearing. The disposition and order of the City Council shall be final and conclusive.

(Ord. 1505, § 1 (part), 1989; Ord. 516, § 5, 1971)

Identification permits issued under the provisions of this chapter may be revoked by the City Manager for any of the following reasons:

A. Fraud-misrepresentation or false statements contained in the application for the permit;

B. Fraud-misrepresentation or false statement made in the course of carrying on the business of peddling or soliciting;

C. Conviction of any crime or misdemeanor involving moral turpitude;

D. Conducting the business of peddling or soliciting of goods or services in an unlawful manner, or in such a manner as to constitute a breach of the peace and to constitute a menace to the health, safety or morals or general welfare of the public; and

E. Any violation of this chapter or of the business license provisions of any other ordinances of the City.

(Ord. 1505, § 1 (part), 1989; Ord. 516, § 9, 1971)

Upon revocation of any identification permit issued under the provisions of this chapter, the City Manager shall make written findings and reasons for revocation and transmit them to the permittee, whose identification permit has been revoked, and a copy thereof to the City Clerk. Revocation of an identification permit automatically revokes the business license to which the permit applies. The permittee whose identification permit has been revoked shall have the right of appeal to the City Council in the same manner and conformity with the same procedure as set forth in Section 5.20.050.

(Ord. 1505, § 1 (part), 1989; Ord. 516, § 10, 1971)

A. It is unlawful for any solicitor, delivering or offering for sale, any goods, wares, merchandise or other products from any vehicle or conveyance within or upon any public street to:

1. Permit any vehicle, or other conveyance from which the solicitor is soliciting to remain standing or stopped, for soliciting purposes, at any place on any public street in the City for a period of time exceeding five minutes, except that the provisions of this subsection Al shall not apply to the sale of foodstuffs to employees of industrial establishments at or adjacent to such establishments, or to workmen or employees at any construction job site, if the foodstuffs so sold to such persons at such places are so sold to such employees or workmen for immediate consumption at such places;

2. Make any stop, for the purpose of making any sale upon any public street or other public place within five hundred feet measured along the traveled way of any public street or streets, of any school property; or

3. Make any stop, for the purpose of selling any product, within five hundred feet, measured along the traveled way of any public street or streets, of any commercial establishment which sells such products at retail, except that the provisions of this subsection A3 shall not apply to the sale of foodstuffs to employees of industrial establishments at or adjacent to such establishments, or to the workmen or employees at any construction job site, if the foodstuffs so sold to such employees at any construction job site, if the foodstuffs so sold to such employees or workmen are for immediate consumption at such places.

B. It is unlawful for any solicitor to sell any goods, wares, merchandise or other products from any vehicle or conveyance within or upon any public street except from or at the side of such vehicle or other conveyance which is nearest to the curb of such street.

(Ord. 1505, § 1 (part), 1989; Ord. 516, § 12, 1971)

No person shall act as a solicitor as defined by this chapter, within residential areas of the City, between the hours of six p.m. and nine a.m. of the following day.

(Ord. 1505, § 1 (part), 1989; Ord. 1437, 1988; Ord. 810, (part), 1977)

There is conferred upon the City Manager those powers and duties necessary for the administration of this chapter. In addition, there is also conferred upon the City Manager the authority and power to designate such City officers and employees as may be required to carry out the intent and purpose of this chapter.

(Ord. 1505, § 1 (part), 1989; Ord. 516, § 13, 1971)

No identification permit issued under the provisions of this chapter shall be transferable and the same, as issued, shall be personal to the person to whom issued.

(Ord. 1505, § 1 (part), 1989; Ord. 516, § 6, 1971)

Any identification permit issued under the provisions of this chapter shall be kept in the possession and on the person of the solicitor to whom it is issued, and upon demand of the City Manager, a member of the Sheriff’s Department or a citizen to whom they are soliciting, must be produced for examination.

(Ord. 1505, § 1 (part), 1989; Ord. 516, § 8, 1971)

Any person violating any of the provisions of this chapter or knowingly or intentionally misrepresenting to any officer or employee of the City any material fact in procuring the permit herein provided for shall be deemed guilty of an infraction, and upon conviction thereof shall be punishable as provided in Chapter 1.12.

(Ord. 1505, § 1 (part), 1989; Ord. 810, (part), 1977; Ord. 516, § 14, 1971)

No person shall solicit or attempt to solicit at any residential premises where the occupant has posted a sign clearly and obviously visible from an access way used by the solicitor which states, in letters at least three-fourths inch in height on a contrasting background, “No Soliciting Allowed” or words to that effect.

(Ord. 1505, § 1 (part), 1989; Ord. 810, (part), 1977)