Johnson County County Manager's Office

Article 7: Regulation of Ininerant Sales Activities and Auctions

Section I: Definitions
Section II: Conduct Prohibited
Section III: Permit Required
Section IV: Exceptions and Exclusions
Section V: Prohibited Activities
Section VI: Standards for Issuance of Permit
Section VII: Conduct of Itinerant Sales Activities
Section VIII: Lawful Authority to Sell
Section IX: Enforcement and Penalties

SECTION I. DEFINITIONS. For the purposes of this Regulation, the words and phrases defined in this Section shall have the following meaning:

The term “vendor” shall mean any person, including an employee or agent of another, who sells or offers to sell food, beverages, goods or merchandise on any public roadway or sidewalk, or from a stand, motor vehicle or from his person, and includes any person who travels from house to house or street to street selling or offering to sell food, beverages, goods or merchandise.
The term “transient merchant” shall mean any person, including an employee or agent of another, whether as owner or consignee, who engages in a temporary business of selling, distributing or delivering goods, wares, merchandise or services and who operates the business activities from a temporary or non-permanent business location.
The term “stand” shall mean any temporary structure, newsstand, table, bench, booth, rack, handcart, pushcart or any other fixture or device which is not constructed nor authorized at its location by the zoning and subdivision regulations of the County and which is used for the display, storage, transportation, and vending of articles offered for sale by a vendor or transient merchant.
The terms “garage sale”, “yard sale”, and “home sale” shall mean any sale or display for sale of goods, household furnishings or merchandise, which is operated from or out of a single-family dwelling, a multi-family dwelling, an accessory use building, or on the premises of such dwelling or building upon property which is zoned for residential or agricultural uses.
The term “farm sale” shall mean any sale, or the display for sale, of agricultural products or crops or farm implements or machinery or other household goods or furnishings conducted at or upon property which is zoned and used for agricultural farming purposes and the sale is being conducted by or on behalf of the owner or occupant of the real property.
The term “auction” shall mean an event where goods, wared, or merchandise are available and offered for sale, by item or by lot, whether by the owner or as consignee, upon received bit, whether open or sealed, to the highest or best bid.

SECTION II. CONDUCT PROHIBITED. No person shall conduct any business of itinerant sales, as a vendor or transient merchant, nor operate an auction or garage, yard, farm or home sale, within the unincorporated area of Johnson County, Kansas except as permitted and in the manner provided by these Regulations.

SECTION III. PERMIT REQUIRED. It shall be unlawful for any person to conduct or engage in any itinerant sales, as defined in this Article, without first having obtained a permit as required by this Regulation.

SECTION IV. EXCEPTIONS AND EXCLUSIONS. The provisions of this Article shall not apply to the following:

Any person who conducts no more than two (2) garage, yard, farm or home sales during any calendar year and such sale is conducted from his own personal residence or agricultural property, and all items offered for sale are property of the owners or occupant of the home or farm.
Any sale conducted or sponsored by a governmental entity or agency or by any public or private school or school district;
Door to door sales or solicitations conducted by a religious, charitable or educational organization which is registered in the State of Kansas or which is a not-for-profit corporation operating pursuant to Section 501 (c) (3) of the Internal Revenue Code;
Sales of agricultural products from or upon the property where the products were grown or raised and which is conducted by the owner or occupant of the property;
Sales of Christmas trees conducted from or upon property zoned for business or agricultural uses which occur during the Christmas Holiday season;
An estate sale of personal property or furnishings conducted as part of the disposition of the assets of a deceased person where the sale is conducted from the residence of the deceased person by family members or other authorized personal representative; and
The sale of any goods, wares or merchandise from any business location where the property is zoned for such sales and activities.

SECTION V. PROHIBITED ACTIVITIES.

USE OF PUBLIC PROPERTY OR RIGHT-OF-WAY.
No person shall conduct any itinerant sales, in whole or in part, upon public property of the County or upon any public roadway or right-of-way of the County.
USE OF VEHICLES. No sales shall be allowed, conducted or made from any vehicles while moving or from any vehicles while moving or from any vehicle stopped in the public roadway.
INTERFERENCE WITH TRAFFIC. No person shall conduct any itinerant sales or sales activities in any manner which interferes with or disrupts the normal flow of traffic.

SECTION VI. STANDARDS FOR ISSUANCE OF PERMIT. A permit to conduct itinerant sales shall be issued only satisfaction of the following qualifications:

The applicant for the permit is the owner or occupant of the property from or upon which all sales activities will be conducted or the applicant has submitted a written consent of the property owner for the sales activity.
The applicant for the permit has submitted a map or drawing showing the exact location or locations where the sales activities will occur, and the location or locations indicated comply with the site limitations and requirements of these Regulations.
The sales activities proposed by the applicant for the permit will comply with all limitations on the type of sales permitted, the number of sales events permitted in any given calendar year and the length of time for the sales event.
The person making application has not been convicted of a violation of these Regulations within the previous twelve (12) months.
The applicant has filed with the application a statement from the County Sheriff stating that the Sheriff has no information available to him that the applicant has ever been convicted of any violation of the laws of the State of Kansas or the United States relating to fraud or consumer protection.
The activities to be conducted by the applicant for the permit are not likely to cause interference with or disruption of the normal flow of traffic or pose any direct threat to the health or safety of the residents of the County.
The applicant is a resident of Johnson County, Kansas or is qualified to do business within the State of Kansas and has provided for a resident agent in the State who is qualified to accept legal service of process on behalf of the applicant.

SECTION VII. CONDUCT OF ITINERANT SALES ACTIVITIES.

HOURS OF OPERATION. Itinerant sales activities shall be conducted only between the hours of 7:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m.
DURATION OF OPERATIONS. Any permit issued pursuant to these regulations for the conduct of any auction, sale or garage, yard, farm or home sale shall be valid only for a period of two (2) days, which shall run consecutively, and no auction sale or garage, yard, farm or home sale shall be conducted for any period of time in excess of two (2) consecutive days. Any permit issued pursuant to these Regulations for any vendor or transient merchant for the conduct of any itinerant sales, other than an auction or garage, farm, yard, or home sale, shall be calid only for a period of fourteen (14) days, which shall run consecutively, and no itinerant sales shall be conducted by any vendor or transient merchant for any period of time in excess of fourteen (14) consecutive days. Any permit issued under these Regulations which has expired due to the time limitations of this Section may be renewed, upon reapplication, for an additional like period of time, and any such renewal shall be considered as a new and separate permit, subject to the terms and condition of these Regulation and shall be counted separately for purposes of part (C) of this Section.
LIMITATION ON NUMBER OF PERMITS. No more than four (4) separate permits for any or all types of itinerant sales activities shall be issued under this Article during any calendar year period to any one vendor, transient merchant or other person, whether directly or indirectly through an agent or representative, and no more than four (4) such separate permits shall be issued under this Article during any calendar year for the conduct of any or all types of itinerant sales activities at any one site location or upon one property ownership.
PARKING AND TRAFFIC. During the operation of any itinerant sales activity conducted pursuant to a permit issued under this Article, no person shall be allowed to park or let stand any vehicle upon any public roadway or road right-of-way, unless or until such person obtains permission from the Sheriff to allow such parking, and the Sheriff shall not permit such parking except upon a finding that it will not prevent nor substantially interfere with the normal flow of traffic upon the roadway nor inhibit the free access of emergency vehicles to or by the site. In the event that the Sheriff does permit parking upon the public right-of-way or roadway, then such parking shall be restricted and limited to one side of the roadway only, and the applicant shall post, at its cost, signs which state “Parking on this side only” and “No parking this side.” The person conduction the sales activity or event shall provide such traffic and parking control as necessary to prevent obstruction or disruption of the normal flow of traffic at the site location of the sale.
LIGHTING AND SOUND. No outdoor, artificial lighting shall be erected or used as a part of the operations of any itinerant sales except as may be compatible with or allowed upon the site location by the applicable provisions of the County zoning and subdivision regulations.
No public address system or other sound generating or amplification equipment shall be used during or as a part of any itinerant sales activities other than an auction sale, and then only that equipment normally used and necessary for announcing and receiving of bids.
SITE ARRANGEMENT. Any vendor, transient merchant, or other person conducting itinerant sales pursuant to a permit issued under this Article shall not erect any stand or other structure nor store or display any goods, wares or merchandise, not conduct any sales activities within any public right-of-way or upon any sidewalk or within any set-back area established for the normal use of that property location by the County zoning and subdivision regulations.
SANITATION AND RESTORATION. At all times during and throughout any itinerant sales activity conducted pursuant to a permit issued under this Article, the vendor, transient merchant, or other operator of the sale shall provide acceptable and appropriate sanitation facilities and rubbish collection receptacles and shall keep the site, and any area within one hundred feet of the site, free and clean of any trash, rubbish or other debris accumulated or resulting from the sales activity. Upon completion of the sale event, the vendor, transient merchant or other operator of the sale shall have all trash or rubbish removed from the site and shall have the premises restored to the condition existing prior to the sale.
Any and all handbills, signs, markers, or other advertisements, notices or posters used for or during the operation of the sales activity shall be collected, removed and appropriately disposed of within twenty-four (24) hours after completion of the sale event.
CODE COMPLIANCE. Any vendor, transient merchant, or other person conducting itinerant sales pursuant to a permit issued under this Article shall comply, where applicable, with all building, electrical, plumbing, fire, safety, sanitation, public health, zoning and other codes, laws or regulations which apply to any activity conducted as a part of the sale.
SIGNS. No permanent business or advertising sign shall be erected, placed or maintained for or as a part of any itinerant sales activities conducted pursuant to a permit issued under these Regulations, and no mobile, temporary or other non-permanent sign, of any kind or nature, shall be placed, erected or posted upon any public roadway or within any public right-of-way as advertisement for or as a part of the conduct of the sales activity.

SECTION VIII. LAWFUL AUTHORITY TO SELL. Any vendor, transient merchant, or other person conducting itinerant sales shall have lawful authority to possess and to sell any and all goods, wares, services and merchandise offered for sale and shall comply with all state and federal laws relating to the authority to sell any such articles. Nothing contained within these Regulations shall be deemed or construed as granting authority to possess or to sell any or to sell any particular item or type or class of items, and these Regulations shall only apply to the permitting of holding a sale and not to any sales made.

SECTION IX. ENFORCEMENT AND PENALTIES. Violation of any provision of this Regulation shall be a public offence, punishable upon conviction by a fine in an amount not less than twenty-five dollars ($25.00) and not more than one-hundred dollars ($100.00) for each offense.

JOHNSON COUNTY MANAGER'S OFFICE
111 S. Cherry St., Suite 3300
Olathe, KS 66061-3468
(913) 715-0725