(A) County license required. No person shall conduct business as a peddler, solicitor, or transient merchant within the city limits without first having obtained the appropriate license from the county as required by M.S. Chapter 329, as it may be amended from time to time, if the county issues a license for the activity.
(B) City license required. Except as otherwise provided for by this subchapter, no person shall conduct business as either a peddler or a transient merchant without first having obtained a license from the city. Solicitors need not be licensed, but are still required to register pursuant to § 111.071.
(C) Application. Application for a city license to conduct business as a peddler or transient merchant shall be made at least 14 regular business days before the applicant desires to begin conducting business. Application for a license shall be made on a form approved by the City Council and available from the office of the City Manager. 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 the 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 the 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 the applicant, or for which the applicant is an employee or agent;
(7) Full address of the applicant’s regular place of business (if any);
(8) Any and all business related telephone numbers of the applicant;
(9) The type of business for which the applicant is applying for a license;
(10) Whether the applicant is applying for an annual or daily license;
(11) The dates during which the applicant intends to conduct business, and if the applicant is applying for a daily license, the number of days he or she will be conducting business in the city (maximum 14 consecutive days);
(12) 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;
(13) 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;
(14) A list of the three most recent locations where the applicant has conducted business as a peddler or transient merchant;
(15) Proof of any requested county license;
(16) Written permission of the property owner, or the property owner’s agent, for any property to be used by a transient merchant;
(17) A general description of the items to be sold or services to be provided;
(18) All additional information deemed necessary by the City Council;
(19) The applicant’s driver’s license number or other acceptable form of identification; and
(20) 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 subchapter shall be accompanied by the fee established in the ordinance establishing fees and charges, adopted pursuant to this code, as it may be amended from time to time.
(E) Procedure. All applications will require criminal history data as described in § 111.02(C). Within 30 days after receipt of the completed application and the criminal history background has been completed, the Police Department will make a written report and recommendation to the City Council as to the issuance or non-issuance of the license. If the City Manager or designee denies the license, 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 a 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 State Court of Appeals for a writ of certiorari.
(F) Duration. An annual license granted under this chapter shall be valid for one calendar year from the date of issue. All other licenses granted under this subchapter shall be valid only during the time period indicated on the license.
(G) License exemptions.
(1) No license 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 license shall be required of any person going from house-to-house, door-to-door, business-to-business, street-to-street, or other type of place-to-place 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.
(3) Professional fund raisers working on behalf of an otherwise exempt person or group shall not be exempt from the licensing requirements of this subchapter.
(Prior Code, § 113.03) (Ord. 2009-008, passed 6-23-2009; Ord. 2012-08, passed 10-23-2012) Penalty, see § 115.999