Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutAgenda Statement 1981/10/20 Item 15COUNCIL AGENDA STATEMENT • ITEM TITL SUBMITTED Our val. res~~ Item Meeting Date ~~ ~ _. Ordinance ~y,~,~ Amending §9.20.110 of the Municipal Code dealing with the period of validity of a solicitor's permit c .' II I q I va : ~^ /! T A"s~` ' ~'~..,~.~~-~ e..r ii..r~ii't~ ~i~bLJ l-Y.~/rd ~~yV BY: City Attorney (4/5ths Vote: Yes No~_) solicitor's permit ordinance presently limits the period of dity of a permit to 90 days, which constitutes an unconstitutional riction on religious and charitable solicitation. RECOMMENDATION: Place Ordinance on First Reading deleting the 90 day limitation upon the validity of solicitation permits /COMMISSION RECOMMENDATION: DISCIUSST.ON: N/A The ity Council recently amended the solicitation ordinance as it applies to religious and charitable organizations in order to con- for to recent case law. One section was overlooked when these amend- men were made and that section, 9.20.110, which limits the validity of permit to a 90 day period, constitutes an unconstitutional re- • stri tion on religious and charitable solicitation. Both Cali- forn'a and U. S. Supreme Court cases have held that the First Amen ment protects the right of religious and charitable organiza- tion to solicit funds. Any limitation upon this right may only be b sed upon a compelling governmental reason which must outweigh the rganization's right to freely exercise their religious rights. Our rdinance presently allows us to identify the solicitors and to a sure ourselves that the money solicited is used for religious or c aritable purposes, There appears to be no compelling reason why uch an organization should not be allowed to solicit at any time once these concerns have been addressed. Therefore, tYie limi ation appears to be an unconstitutional restriction on First Amen ment rights and staff would recommend that it be deleted from the unicipal Code. SubsE reviE relic the E does upon quent to the Council meeting of October 6, 1981, the City Attorney wed the proposed limitation of the 90 day period of validity for ious and charitable solicitation permits. Z would concur with arlier opinion given to the City Council.in the A-113 that there not seem to be a compelling reason to impose a 90 day restriction the exercise of this First Amendment right. continued on page two Form A-11~ (Rev. 11/79) R • • • /~_/f~ Agenda Item No. }4~'~" Meeting Date of Page Two r~~// he permit application itself requires that the time frame or the solicitation be stated indicating the preferred dates or the beginning and ending of such solicitation. I believe hat this gives adequate control to a legitimate policing Aeration. urther, it must be remembered that a permit is not required y an established religious or charitable organization, e.g., he Baptist Church, Salvation Army or the Red Cross. Such rganizations have an ongoing program of solicitation. The bvious intent of the ordinance from its inception was to aintain some record of persons operating within the community ho may, in fact, not constitute legitimate religious or haritable organizations and monies collected may not be evoted to the purpose for which the solicitation is conducted. ~wever, the permit process may not now set up any impediments .ich were previously presumed to act as a deterrent to fraudu- nt solicitations and the best that can be hoped for is that .rough an awareness of persons carrying out solicitations the community, that law enforcement officials can monitor ch programs and through investigative work, establish fraudu- nt conduct. Such a program is certainly not enhanced by the day limitation on the validity of permits and notification the police and any other law enforcement agencies is as fectively secured through other provisions of the ordinance ich require the stipulation of the time frame during which e solicitation is to be carried out. I would also note that the City of San Diego in its pre-1981 o dinance although setting a period of three months validity t the permit, did grant the discretion to the Chief of Police t authorize a twelve month period of validity as distinguished f rm our six month maximum. Therefore, the validation period o the permit is clearly an arbitrary one with little reference t a factual basis. FISCAL IMPACT: N/A ~~ )L : lgk ~~ ~/'~ \~ V' /~ ~ ~~ r ~j _ __._ ~ ~..