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Elk REQUEST FOR ACTION River TO ITEM NUMBER Mayor and City Council 6.4 AGENDA SECTION MEETING DATE PREPARED BY Work Session May 13, 2013 Tina Allard, City Clerk ITEM DESCRIPTION REVIEWED By Review of Solicitor Ordinance Cal Portner, City Administrator REVIEWED BY ACTION REQUESTED 1. Review and discuss the peddler, solicitor, and transient merchant ordinance (referred to as solicitor ordinance throughout this report). 2. Provide direction on the changes Council would like staff to review. BACKGROUND/DISCUSSION At the April 1, 2013, meeting, the City Council requested a review of the solicitor ordinance. Councilmembers can feel caught in the middle of a struggle with balancing the concerns some homeowners may have regarding their privacy,property rights, and scams and the need to be careful to not violate solicitor's rights (such as freedom of speech/religion or the Commerce Clause),which are protected by the state and federal constitutions. The solicitor ordinance tries to balance consumer protection but the city's authority is limited by the US Constitution and state statutes. The goal of the city ordinance is to create reasonable restrictions which do not conflict with rights of freedom of speech, religion, and interstate commerce. Cities can regulate peddlers, solicitors,and transient merchants each to varying degrees. Regulations are typically restricted to time,place, and manner and must be reasonable and neutral. Reasonable Can't narrowly tailor restrictions to make it difficult or prohibitive. Neutral Can't target or treat individuals or types of businesses differently because of who they are or due to their particular message. Time Restrictions can be placed on times when soliciting activities can occur,but they have to be reasonable. It may not be advisable to set solicitor hours to timeframes for when the average worker would not be home. P O W E R E D BY N:\Public Bodies\Agenda Packets\05-13-2013\Final\6.4 sr SolicitorKdocx Na U R E