Ord 94-2006 12/5/2006 .
ORDINANCE NO. 94-2006
ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF WICHITA
FALLS, TEXAS, AMENDING CHAPTER 26, BUSINESS REGULATIONS,
AT ARTICLES I THROUGH IV, REGULATING SOLICITATION;
PROVIDING FOR SEVERABILITY; FINDING AND DETERMINING THAT
THE MEETING AT WHICH THIS ORDINANCE WAS PASSED WAS
OPEN TO THE PUBLIC AS REQUIRED BY LAW.
WHEREAS, the City Council is seeking the simplification and streamlining of the
application and permitting process for solicitor's permits, which will be beneficial to
citizens as well as to the City Clerk's Office; and,
WHEREAS, the City Council believes that the presence of child solicitors under
the age of 16 on streets and medians within 300 feet of busy intersections is deemed a
safety hazard which endangers both the children and the driving public at large; and,
WHEREAS, the City's permitting of Itinerant Merchants who sell merchandise on
private property creates unnecessary regulation upon businesses, which results in an
undue paperwork burden upon both the business and the City Clerk's Office, which is
charged with the application and permitting of said merchants.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY
OF WICHITA FALLS, TEXAS, THAT:
SECTION 1. Chapter 26 of the Code of Ordinances, Business Regulations, is
hereby amended at Articles I through IV, so that such portions of Chapter 26 shall
hereafter read as follows:
"ARTICLE I. IN GENERAL
Sec. 26-1. Permits generally.
All permits shall be issued by the city clerk, after payment of the specified fee
and approval by the city council if required by ordinance. All applications shall be made
out on forms furnished by the city clerk and verified under oath. All permits may be
revoked by the city council. No deduction in the fee shall be made when the license or
permit is terminated, either by revocation or by expiration, within less than a year after
its issuance. All permits shall be publicly displayed in the place of business.
ARTICLE II. PERMIT BOARD*
Sec. 26-31. Establishment, composition and general duties.
There is established a permit board for the city, which shall be composed of the
city clerk, who shall be chair of the board, and the chief of police. The permit board shall
perform all duties incumbent upon it under this chapter.
Secs. 26-32--26-60. Reserved.
ARTICLE III. SOLICITORS
DIVISION 1. GENERALLY
Sec. 26-61. Definitions.
The following words, terms and phrases, when used in this article, shall have the
meanings ascribed to them in this section, except where the context clearly indicates a
different meaning: Solicitor means any individual, firm or corporation who, either by
telephone or in person:
(1) Attempts to sell or take orders for the sale of goods, wares, services,
merchandise or personal property, including tickets for shows and books
of coupons which may be traded in for goods or services, for immediate or
future delivery; or
(2) Collects or attempts to collect money, property or any item of value.
Sec. 26-62. Exemptions from article.
Subsections 26-93(1) and (2), section 26-98, and the fee requirement in section
26-94 shall not apply to sales or soliciting of orders for sales by members of any
fraternity or sorority sanctioned and approved by the local schools or Midwestern State
University when such members are soliciting as a part of a program sponsored by the
organization, but the organization must obtain a permit.
Sec. 26-63. Standing or stopping on streets.
It shall be unlawful for any solicitor, who is selling or offering for sale goods,
services, wares or merchandise from an automobile or other type of vehicle, to take a
stand or stop or stand his vehicle on any public street or public right-of-way within the
city for longer than ten minutes.
Sec. 26-64. Prohibitions Against Solicitation on Streets, Curbs and
Medians.
Within 300 feet of an intersection controlled by a traffic control signal that emits
colored light(s), as recognized by the TEXAS TRANSPORTATION COMMISSION, no person
under the age of sixteen (16) shall be upon or go upon any street or roadway, or shall
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be upon or go upon any shoulder of any street or roadway, nor shall any person be
upon or go upon any median of any street or roadway for the purpose of soliciting any
item of value, selling or distributing any material to any occupant of any motor vehicle,
or advertising any good or service.
Secs. 26-65--26-90. Reserved.
DIVISION 2. PERMIT
Sec. 26-91. Required.
(a) It shall be unlawful for any solicitor to go in or upon any private residence,
public property, or any business, commercial, industrial or governmental
establishment in the city without having been requested or invited so to do
by the owner, occupant or lessee thereof, for the purpose of engaging in
the business of solicitor as defined in section 26-61, without first securing
a permit from the city clerk. However, this section shall not apply to a
solicitor making sales to or taking orders from the owner or lessee for
goods or services used in the business.
(b) It shall be unlawful for any solicitor in the city to engage in any solicitation
as defined in section 26-61 by telephone to a private residence without
first securing a permit from the city clerk.
(c) It shall be unlawful for any person to solicit from any vacant lot or from any
lot on which all structures are vacant, unoccupied, or not in current
commercial use by the owner or tenant. It shall be a defense to
prosecution that the person, at the time of solicitation, had written
permission from the property owner authorizing him to solicit from the
private property.
Sec. 26-92. Application.
(a) Any individual, firm, association or corporation desiring a permit required
by this division shall make written application to the city clerk, on a form to
be furnished by the city clerk. The application shall show the following:
(1) The full name and address of the applicant, and a copy of his
driver's license or state identification, if an individual.
(2) The occupation in which the applicant desires to engage and for
which he desires a permit.
.
(3) The description and license number of all vehicles to be used by
the applicant.
(b) The application shall be signed by the applicant if an individual, by a
partner if a partnership, by the president or vice-president if a corporation,
and by an authorized officer if an association.
Sec. 26-93. Attachments to application.
There shall be attached to each application for a solicitor's permit the following:
(1) If the applicant is other than an individual, a list of all the employees who
will be working as solicitors under this permit, giving their full names and
copies of their drivers' licenses.
(2) If, while a permit is in effect, the applicant desires to hire more employees
as solicitors, the applicant shall furnish to the city clerk an additional list,
containing the information described in subsection (1) of this section. Such
new employees may not work under this permit until they are approved by
the permit board.
(3) A reference letter or report from the Better Business Bureau in which the
applicant resides or the business is located. The permit board may deny
an application based upon the contents of the Better Business Bureau
reference letter or report.
Sec. 26-94. Fees; term.
Each applicant for a solicitor permit shall be charged a fee of $100.00. If the
applicant is other than an individual, the applicant will be charged an additional fee of
$10.00 for each employee working as a solicitor under the permit. All permits shall
expire on the last day of the month one year from issuance.
Sec. 26-95. Consideration of application by permit board.
Upon the filing of an application for a solicitor's permit, it shall be the duty of the
city clerk to circulate the application to the other member of the permit board for its
consideration. The members of the board may consider the application either in a
meeting or individually. The Board must authorize or deny the issuance of the permit
within ten days from the date the city clerk received the application.
Sec. 26-96. Issuance of permit.
If, upon consideration, it shall appear to the permit board or a majority thereof
that the statements contained in the application for a solicitor's permit are true, that the
applicant has the right, under the constitution and laws of this state and under this
article, to engage in business, the permit board shall authorize the issuance of the
permit by the city clerk.
Sec. 26-97. Contents.
Each solicitor's permit issued shall contain the folldwing:
(1) The name and address of the applicant.
(2) The date of issuance and date of expiration of the permit.
Sec. 26-98. Possession.
If the holder of a solicitor's permit is an individual, it shall be unlawful for him to
engage in any activity for which the permit is granted unless he carries such permit on
his person while so engaged. If the permit holder is other than an individual, it shall be
unlawful for any of its employees to engage in activity as a solicitor unless he carries on
his person while so engaged an identification card issued by the city clerk.
Sec. 26-99. Revocation.
After the solicitor's permit has been issued, the permit may be revoked by the
permit board if:
(1) The permit board or other city official finds that the permit was obtained by
false representation in the application.
(2) It shall appear to the permit board that the holder of such permit has
violated any city ordinance or any state law in connection with any
soliciting by such holder or in connection with the collection or attempted
collection of any account due to the permit holder or his employee or in
connection with the repossession or attempted repossession of goods
sold by the permit holder or any other person employed by the employer
of the permit holder.
(3) It is determined that the permit holder is guilty of fraud, misrepresentation
or false statement made in the course of carrying on his business under
the permit or that his employees carry on a pattern of fraud,
misrepresentation or false statement made in the course of carrying on
business under the permit.
Sec. 26-100. Appeals from findings of permit board.
If the applicant for a permit required under this division or the holder of such a
permit is dissatisfied with any holding or finding of the permit board, he shall have the
right to appeal to the city council by filing a written notice of such appeal with the permit
board within ten days from the making and filing of such decision of the permit board.
Upon the filing of such notice of appeal, the application for the permit and all papers
possessed by the permit board in connection with such application and the permit shall
be delivered to the city council. Such matters as may be in controversy shall be heard
by the city council at its next regular meeting after the filing of the notice of appeal. The
city council shall have the same powers and authority at such hearing on such appeal
as is vested in the permit board by this article.
ARTICLE IV. PENALTY
Sec. 26-101. A violation of any part of Chapter 26, Articles I, II or III, constitutes a
violation of the law and is a class C misdemeanor, punishable by a fine as provided in
section 1-14.
Secs. 26-102--26-195. Reserved.
SECTION 2. Should any word, phrase, paragraph, section or portion of this
ordinance or the Code of Ordinances, as amended hereby, be held to be void or
unconstitutional, the same shall not affect the validity of the remaining portions of said
ordinance or the Code of Ordinances, as amended hereby, which shall remain in full
force and effect.
SECTION 3. It is hereby officially found and determined that the meeting at
which this ordinance was passed was open to the public as required by law.
PASSED AND APPROVED this the 5 day of December, 2006.
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ity Clerk
Affidavit of Publication
THE STATE OF TEXAS #176065
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