Home Soliciting Hours Extended

An ordinance extending to 10 p.m. the hours that door-to-door solicitors can work was tentatively approved by the City Council this week.

In its approval of the first reading of the law, the City Council cited a U.S. Supreme Court decision establishing 10 p.m. as a reasonable cutoff time for residential solicitors and fund-raisers. A private organization soliciting funds for the Sierra Club had complained to city officials about the 8 p.m. deadline.

“I was always taught in my home that it was inconsiderate to call people after 8:30 at night,” Councilwoman Marilyn Bruce Hastings said. “And you didn’t call your relatives after 9. I don’t want people knocking on my door at night.”

But Hastings and her council colleagues unanimously gave preliminary approval to the ordinance after City Manager Jerry L. Bankston said the city could be challenged in court for restricting solicitation hours earlier than 10 p.m. “Basically, the council’s hands are tied on this,” Bankston said.

Mayor George Brown asked the city manager if the prohibition on solicitation in the gated community of Leisure World could also be vulnerable to a court challenge. But City Atty. Quinn Barrow said gated communities are allowed to ban door-to-door solicitation.

Barrow said residents can fend off late-night door-knockers by posting a “no solicitors” sign.