Door-Soliciting Concerns Trustees
By Stephanie Mariel Petrellese

Several trustees at the December 7th Board of Trustees meeting voiced concern over door-to-door solicitation and what is allowable under the Village ordinance.

Their concern stemmed from a request by the group Citizens Campaign for the Environment, who requested authorization to conduct a door-to-door solicitation campaign between January 2nd and February 28th.

Village Counsel Gerard Fishberg said that although it is difficult to restrict charities and those who wish to speak about a cause, solicitation hours can be regulated. In a 6 to 0 vote, the Board voted to limit the solicitation time from 9 p.m. to 7 p.m. Trustee Peter Bee was absent, and Trustee John Watras was late.

Trustee John Mauk expressed concern that the organization will argue that the time should be 8 p.m. However, other trustees said that the solicitation should end at 7 p.m. because, due to the limited number of daylight hours in the winter, it will be dark by that time.

The Village's solicitation law prohibits all unwanted commercial solicitations and distributions on all private residential property in the Village and prohibits non-commercial solicitations and distributions on private property to the extent desired by the resident. Any resident requesting not to be solicited should complete a "Notice of Objection" form at Village Hall.