- By Dan Veaner
- News
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After much discussion the Village of Lansing decided not to pursue an anti-solicitation law in their meeting at the Village Office last Monday. The law would have required door to door solicitors to obtain a permit from the Village. The idea was raised late last year by Trustee John O'Neill, who says that a handful of residents in his neighborhood have complained to him about door to door salesmen. "Pesky little things," O'Neill said. "The only thing that would change is the occasional resident who wants something to back him or herself up in saying 'go away' to a peddler."O'Neill charged that so-called magazine salespeople, 'putting themselves through college' are suspect, but that the annoyance of having solicitors come to your door is more a problem in the Village than dishonest salespeople. He also said that the New York Public Interest Research Group (NYPIRG) representative that appeared in his neighborhood was unpleasant and persistent. "That upset two or three of our neighbors, because the individual that came to our neighborhood was exceedingly pushy," he said.
But Mayor Donald Hartill feared that such a law would be more trouble than it is worth. While the neighboring Village of Cayuga Heights has a solicitation law, that Village also maintains a police force. In the Village of Lansing licensing and enforcement would fall to Code Enforcement/Zoning Officer Ben Curtis, who is already busy enough, especially with new storm water laws and their enforcement. "My concern is that it would be a huge burden to evolve a licence," Hartill said. "It would be more load on Ben to accomplish something that we don't really find is a problem. I don't like to solve things that aren't a problem."
 Village Trustees (Left to right) Deputy Mayor Larry Fresinski, Lynn Leopold, village Clerk Jodi Dake, Mayor Donald Hartill, Village Attorney David Dubow, Frank Moore, John O'Neill |
Village Attorney David Dubow noted that the law could cause more problems than it might solve. "Any time you look at these things you look at them from two perspectives," Dubow said. "One is there's an enforcement issue which imposes an obligation on municipalities. You've created a duty for yourself and if you don't perform it consistently it can cause general dismay, or a legal issue on occasion. The other thing is whether you are fixing a problem for the one in a hundred and then precluding the other 99 good things that could happen."
The issue appeared to come down to residents having a hard time telling solicitors to leave. Most people have a hard time closing the door on solicitors, not wanting to be disturbed, but not wanting to be rude. Some pedlars take advantage of that to keep a conversation going, or to pressure residents to listen to their pitch. In the worst cases unscrupulous salespeople con people into buying items that are never delivered.
But Village Trustees said that residents already have the ability to deal with solicitors without the need for licensing and a law. "It's a solution in search of a problem," said Trustee Frank Moore. "Having to deal with door to door peddlers produces a certain wariness. I can't imagine either of my grandmothers actually getting snookered by a peddler. They were tougher than that. I don't feel sorry for people that have to deal with a peddler."It's a solution in search of a problem.
"The people for whom this is a problem have at their disposal the right to buy a sign that says, 'No Soliciting and This Means You'," added Trustee Lynn Leopold.
And Trustees were hesitant to create a law that might inadvertently prohibit girl scouts from selling cookies, or local high school students from raising money. Dubow said that confusion would arise while determining who could go from door to door and who couldn't.
O'Neill said he would alert his neighbors to what they can do about solicitors, and plans to write an article about it in the next Village newsletter.
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