Council reviews tighter solicitor permits, higher fees and ID requirements

City officials presented draft changes to the city's solicitor ordinance that would require a permit for any person or company soliciting door-to-door and would tighten enforcement through a combination of new ID requirements, higher fees and limited hours.

"Some of the changes we're looking at is making the applicant responsible for their own background checks instead of us doing them," one staff member said, adding the city would require a photograph on a lanyard and raise the permit fee from $150 to $200 so the program could cover IT costs. The draft also proposes limiting soliciting to between 11 a.m. and 5 p.m. daily and making adherence to the do-not-knock registry mandatory.

Council members asked staff for more detail on enforcement and penalties and whether a single organizational permit should cover large canvassing efforts or whether the city should require individual permits. Staff noted existing criminal penalties for noncompliance and said officers'calls for service and residents'complaints would help identify unregistered activity.

Next steps: staff will circulate the redlined ordinance to council members for review and return the item to committee for possible formal introduction and a vote. The council did not adopt the ordinance at the meeting.