(A) County permit required. No person shall conduct business as a peddler, solicitor or transient merchant within the city limits without first having obtained the appropriate permit from the county as required by M.S. Ch. 329 as it may be amended from time to time.
(B) City permit required. Except as otherwise provided for by this chapter, no person shall conduct business as either a peddler or a transient merchant without first having obtained a permit from the city.
(C) Application. Application for a city permit to conduct business as a peddler or transient merchant shall be made available from the office of the City Clerk. All applications shall be signed by the applicant. All applications shall include the following information:
(1) Applicant's full legal name.
(2) All other names under which the applicant conducts business or to which applicant officially answers.
(3) A physical description of the applicant (hair color, eye color, height, weight, distinguishing marks and features, and the like).
(4) Full address of applicant's permanent residence.
(5) Telephone number of applicant's permanent residence.
(6) Full legal name of any and all business operations owned, managed or operated by applicant, or for which the applicant is an employee or agent.
(7) Full address of applicant's regular place of business (if any).
(8) Any and all business related telephone numbers of the applicant.
(9) The dates during which the applicant intends to conduct business, and if the applicant is applying for a daily permit, the number of days he or she will be conducting business in the city (maximum 14 consecutive days).
(10) Any and all addresses and telephone numbers where the applicant can be reached while conducting business within the city, including the location where a transient merchant intends to set up business.
(11) A statement as to whether or not the applicant has been convicted within the last five years of any felony, gross misdemeanor, or misdemeanor for violation of any state or federal statute or any local ordinance, other than traffic offenses.
(12) A list of the three most recent locations where the applicant has conducted business as a peddler or transient merchant.
(13) Proof of any requested county license.
(14) Written permission of the property owner or the property owner's agent for any property to be used by a transient merchant.
(15) A general description of the items to be sold or services to be provided.
(16) All additional information deemed necessary by the City Council.
(17) The applicant's driver's license number or other acceptable form of identification.
(18) The license plate number, registration information and vehicle identification number for any vehicle to be used in conjunction with the licensed business and a description of the vehicle.
(D) Fee. All applications for a license under this chapter shall be accompanied by the fee established in the Ordinance Establishing Fees and Charges, and which may be listed in § 34.01, as it may be amended from time to time.
(E) Procedure. Upon receipt of the completed application and payment of the permit fee, the City Clerk, within two regular business days, must determine if the application is complete. An application is determined to be complete only if all required information is provided. If the City Clerk determines that the application is incomplete, the City Clerk must inform the applicant of the required necessary information that is missing. If the application is complete, the City Clerk must order any investigation, including background checks, necessary to verify the information provided with the application. Within ten regular business days of receiving a complete application the City Clerk must issue the permit unless there exist grounds for denying the permit under § 113.04, in which case the Clerk must deny the permit. If the City Clerk denies the permit, the applicant must be notified in writing of the decision, the reason for denial, and of the applicant's right to appeal the denial by requesting, within 20 days of receiving notice of rejection, a public hearing before the City Council. The City Council shall hear the appeal within 20 days of the date of the request. The decision of the City Council following the public hearing can be appealed by petitioning the Minnesota Court of Appeals for a Writ of Certiorari.
(F) Duration. All permits granted under this chapter shall be valid only during the time period indicated on the permit.
(G) Permit exemptions.
(1) No permit shall be required for any person to sell or attempt to sell, or to take or attempt to take orders for, any product grown, produced, cultivated, or raised on any farm.
(2) No permit shall be required of any person going from house-to-house or door-to-door, when the activity is for the purpose of exercising that person's State or Federal Constitutional rights such as the freedom of speech, press, religion and the like, except that this exemption may be lost if the person's exercise of Constitutional rights is merely incidental to a commercial activity.
Penalty, see § 10.99