Today's Courier has a letter from Claremont City Manager Jeff Parker explaining the city's solicitation ordinance. Both the Courier and the Insider had received comments from readers who asked about the ordinance and if it had anything to do with Claremont Mayor Ellen Taylor's cookie tantrum.
(Our reader's email and a link to the Courier letter Parker seemed to be responding to are here.)
Parker's letter explains that Claremont's prior solicitation ordinance was "overbroad" and that similar laws had been deemed unconstitutional by the U.S. Supreme Court. After the rapes of two Claremont women by door-to-door magazine salesmen, the city figured they needed the new ordinance, which Parker says is more concerned with commercial solicitors rather than non-profit groups like the Girl Scouts:
Stringent regulations were developed for those applying to engage in commercial solicitation within the city. Each applicant is required to pay an application fee. Applicants and their employers are subjected to thorough background checks by the police department. Solicitation identification cards, valid for only 90 days at a time, will be issued to those applicants who meet the demanding permit criteria. Any indication of involvement in crimes of theft, sexual assault or a number of other crimes will result in rejection of a commercial solicitation permit.
Less stringent regulations were developed for nonprofit organizations, including school clubs. Nonprofit organizations must only provide documentation to the City of their nonprofit status on an annual base. Those soliciting for nonprofit organizations are not required to obtain an individual permit and need only verify their affiliation with the organization. No fee is charged to nonprofit organizations for a solicitation permit. This will have little impact on legitimate, nonprofit organizations, but will prohibit solicitation by groups that are not legitimate nonprofits.
The Claremont solicitation ordinance also created a "Do Not Knock Registry" that appears to apply to all door-to-door sales, commercial and non-profit alike. So, that part of the new city law may affect how the Girl Scouts and other non-profits have been doing some of their community contacts.
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