Know Your Door-to-Door Solicitation Rights

Under threat of litigation, the Sanford City Council has updated its Peddlers/Itinerant Merchant ordinance. Effective immediately, the change allows residents in the city of Sanford to post a “No Soliciting” sign to prevent door-to-door sales at their homes.

Previously, the City of Sanford required peddlers to secure a permit and receive the occupant’s permission before going to the door of a private residence to sell or take orders for goods, wares, or merchandise. The goal was to protect residents from annoyance or interference by those who might use unscrupulous tactics, fear, or intimidation when selling door to door.

However, recent court decisions have narrowed the ability of government to regulate commercial speech, making restrictions on soliciting easy to challenge. To avoid a lengthy legal battle that would likely side with businesses that rely on soliciting, the City of Sanford has amended its ordinance.

New Rules

• Each person who goes door to door to take orders or sell goods, wares, or merchandise must apply to the City of Sanford for a Peddlers/Itinerant Merchant license. There is a nonrefundable fee and the license runs on the fiscal year of July 1 to June 30. Solicitors must show their valid license upon request.
• Residents are allowed to post a “No Soliciting” sign on their property to prevent solicitors from knocking on their door. Any solicitor who ignores the sign will be in violation of the ordinance.
• Neighborhoods with a property owners’ association may post a “no soliciting” sign at the entrance to the neighborhood if the association has the proper authority to do so. Any solicitor who knocks on doors in the neighborhood for purpose of selling will be in violation of the ordinance.
• Any resident may ask a solicitor to leave, regardless of whether a “no soliciting” sign is posted. Peddlers who do not leave when asked are trespassing. Residents should call 9-1-1 if they feel threatened or harassed. Remember that no resident has to open the door for a stranger, including solicitors.

Enforcement

Residents should call the Sanford Police Department at 919-777-1000 to file a report if any solicitor cannot produce the Peddlers/Itinerant Merchant license, refuses to leave when asked, or otherwise fails to comply with the ordinance’s rules. Violators will be fined $50. After two violations, solicitors may lose their license for a period of 12 months.

The ordinance specifically applies to solicitation for the purpose of selling goods and merchandise and does not prohibit canvassing by religious groups, civic or non-profit groups, and political campaigners, which is considered free speech.

Questions?

To obtain a Peddlers/Itinerant Merchant license, visit the Business Licenses section of our website, found under Billing and Collections.

For more information, contact Ebony McLean at 919-777-1144.

Sec. Kluttz To Tour Downtown Sanford

Sec. Susan Kluttz of the NC Department of Cultural Resources will be in Sanford on Tuesday, March 17 at 2:00 p.m. to show support for the possible return of historic preservation tax credits, which were not renewed by the General Assembly in January.

During the visit, Sec. Kluttz will tour local historic buildings that have benefited from historic preservation tax credits, including the Buggy Factory and Lee Furniture Building. Her goal is to show the opportunities for future investment if the tax credits are restored.

Historic preservation tax credits are being used currently to renovate the Buggy Factory, a project that was approved before the program ended.

Once complete, the renovated building will house the Sanford Area Growth Alliance and the Sanford/Lee County Planning and Development Department, creating a one-stop-shop for development and revitalization in Lee County.

The public is welcome to attend the tour. Following, there will be a gallery display of historic preservation tax credit projects and a short reception on the top floor of the Lee Furniture Building.

For more information, contact Kelly Miller, public information officer for the City of Sanford, at 919-777-1133 or kelly.miller@sanfordnc.net.

WHO: NC Sec. of Cultural Resources Susan Kluttz, Mayor Chet Mann, NC Board of Realtors, and government and community leaders

WHAT: Tour of historic downtown Sanford

WHEN: Tuesday, March 17, 2015 at 2:00 p.m.

WHERE: Historic Buggy Factory, 115 Chatham Street, Sanford

Sanford Helps Arden Companies Win Manufacturing Innovation Grant

Arden Companies is set to receive a boost of more than $600,000 to help bring manufacturing back to the United States – and it has its Sanford location to thank.

In combination with NC State University’s College of Textiles, Arden Companies is one of seven grantees of the Walmart U.S. Manufacturing Innovation Fund. The Fund will award a total of $4 million to the seven winners to “create new processes, ideas, and jobs that will foster America’s growing manufacturing footprint.”

The College of Textiles and Arden will use the grant to develop an innovative digital printing system that will bring Arden’s soft goods production back to the United States while remaining globally competitive. Locally, that translates to more job opportunities for Sanford’s manufacturing base.

A crucial factor for the grant application’s success was Arden’s location. Only cities with mayors who are members of the US Conference of Mayors were eligible for the grant – and Sanford Mayor T. Chet Mann is one of those mayors.

“The City of Sanford believes in the resurgence of manufacturing in our area and nationwide,” Mann says. “We are in full support of this initiative and look forward to seeing its results in our community.”

Walmart’s goal for the grant is to “bring more jobs and more production back into American communities,” says Michelle Gloeckler, the company’s executive president of consumables and U.S. manufacturing.

Other awardees include Indiana University-Purdue University at Indianapolis for implementation of metal 3-D printing, Oregon State University to develop alternative mold fabricating approaches, and Texas Tech University to support research on cotton production and biotechnology.

For more information on the grant, visit Walmart's U.S. Manufacturing website.