Patton Township Considers ‘Do Not Knock’ Program

Patton Township residents may soon be able to opt in to a list that prevents commercial vendors from knocking at their doors.

The Board of Supervisors on April 10 will consider amending the township’s peddling and soliciting ordinance to create a “Do Not Knock” program. The amendment would allow residents to add their addresses to a list of homes where commercial solicitation is not permitted, and the list would be provided to solicitors when they acquire a license from the township.

Township Manager Amy Farkas said that while commercial solicitors are required to obtain a license to operate in the township, there is currently little the township can do to prohibit them from visiting residences where they are not wanted.

“We’ve received some complaints recently about solicitors not following ‘no soliciting’ signs that are placed on private property, and that’s problematic for us because that’s not something we readily can enforce,” Farkas said at the board’s Feb. 28 meeting, when the proposal was first introduced.

The list would not apply to nonprofit, political and religious organizations, which are exempt from such restrictions under state and federal law.

At the board’s two meetings in March, the amendments to the ordinance and how the program would work were further refined. Farkas said staff reviewed “do not knock” programs in other second-class townships in Pennsylvania as well as in Bellefonte.

Residents who wish to be on the list would be required to enroll annually and would able to do so through an online form. The list would be provided to all solicitors who obtain a license from the township, and the term of the licenses would be reduced from one year to six months.

“This would help keep our vendors up to date with the status of the ‘do not knock’ list so they’re pulling the most recent information,” Farkas said, noting that the township is “a very transient community” and a change in ownership might mean a change in list status.

Residents who enroll in the program would not be required to post a “no soliciting” sign. Violators of the “do not knock” program would have their licenses immediately revoked, but would not be subject to prosecution for trespassing.

Whether they are enrolled in the program or not, however, residents can post “no soliciting” signs and call the police for possible trespassing prosecution of unwanted vendors who come to their doors.

A list of vendors with active licenses and their expiration dates will be made available on the township website.

“I know a lot of times residents see a solicitor come through their neighborhood and they don’t know if they’re legitimate and this would be a way they can pull it up on our website and check,” Farkas said.

Because the soliciting and peddling ordinance has not been updated since the 1970s, the amendments will include several other revisions.

Among those, soliciting will not be permitted on Sundays or legal holidays.

The ordinance also will be updated to clarify that it does not require “persons under the age of 18 who take orders for and deliver newspapers, greeting cards and candy or who represent a scouting organization to obtain a license.”

It will further clarify that the chief of police, not the township manager, is responsible for issuing soliciting licenses — a practice already in effect.

Police Chief Tyler Jolley said the township currently has about 10 to 15 active soliciting licenses. Background checks are conducted before licenses are issued, according to Jolley.

Supervisors will hold a public hearing and potentially vote on the ordinance amendments during their meeting at 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday, April 10, at the Patton Township Municipal Building, 100 Patton Plaza.