Residents on the registry will be given a non-solicitation sticker for their home that solicitors must adhere to.
Knock knock. Who’s there?
Not solicitors, so long as Evesham residents apply to have their addresses added to a new “Do Not Knock” registry kept by the township clerk’s office.
As outlined by the clerk’s office, a recently approved “Do Not Knock” ordinance gives residents the chance to stop solicitors, vendors and peddlers from knocking on their doors for sales purposes.
Residents can now apply for a special “non-solicitation sticker” that will let solicitors know those living at a residence do not want solicitors to knock on their door.
According to the clerk’s office, any solicitor found to have solicited at a residence where one of the non-solicitation stickers was placed in an area visible to the public would be in direct violation of the ordinance.
According township code, any person violating the terms of the chapter governing “peddling and soliciting” in Evesham Township shall, upon conviction, be subject to a fine up to $2,000 or to imprisonment up to 90 days, or each, at the discretion of the court.
The ordinance also continues to prohibit any person to engage in the business of “canvasser, hawker, peddler, solicitor or vendor” without first having secured a license from the township as outlined in township code.
However, as noted by the clerk’s office, the U.S. Constitution protects the solicitation rights of religious and nonprofit organizations, as well as political campaigns, therefore the “Do Not Knock” ordinance does not apply to such representatives.
To request an non-solicitation sticker from the clerk’s office, residents must fill out an application available through the township’s website.
The application only requires residents submit their name, address and name of the owner of the address if different from the resident.
Residents must then return the application to the clerk’s office in the Evesham Township Municipal Building, located in Room 201 at 984 Tuckerton Road.
At that time, residents must also show their driver’s license as proof of residency to receive their non-solicitation sticker.
The township will not accept applications or send the non-solicitation sticker through the mail.
Only one resident from a household needs to register for the non-solicitation sticker, as the township will only provide one non-solicitation sticker per household.
There is no fee to be added to the “Do Not Knock” registry.
Once a resident has their address added to the “Do Not Knock” registry, the township clerk will keep the address on the list, with the registry updated once every two years.
According to the clerk’s office, the full list of residents who have successfully applied for stickers and do not wish to have solicitors knock at their doors will also be provided to those solicitors who have been issued a licensee to conduct door-to-door sales inside the township.
