Oxford Permits Door-To-Door Salesmen

BY ALEX McKEON
Miami University Journalism Student

A new Oxford law will allow sales representatives to go door to door for 12 hours a day.

Beginning Oct. 20, Oxford residents may be visited by door-to-door sales reps, with Oxford City Council passing the measure unanimously, 7-0, on Tuesday. The measure allows vendors access to sell their products from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.

Who Can Sell

The proposal was developed by Douglas R. Elliott, Oxford city manager, and will affect not only commercial solicitors but also those with political and religious affiliations who engage in non-commercial solicitation.

Citizens who don't want to deal with solicitations will have the option of putting up a “no solicitation” sign of some kind. If rules are violated by vendors, the city will step in.

“If someone knocks on the door and you have that sign up, you would call the police on their administrative line and we will come out and take care of it,” Elliott told Council Sept. 6, when Council considered a first reading of the new law.

1963 Law Repealed

The original law against door-to-door sales reps was implemented in 1963 but wasn't enforced due to constitutional rights of free speech. Now that Oxford has repealed that law, individuals considered "commercial" who want to go door-to-door must pay a $50 registration fee to do so. Non-commercial vendors -- such as religious groups and non-profit organizations -- will not have to pay the fee.

The issue has been debated for many years in many places. In 2013, the city the Canton, Ohio, dealt with numerous complaints about people trying to get around solicitation rules there, according to an article in the Canton Repository.

In 2012, there was a court case on this very issue -- Ohio Citizen Action v. City of Englewood. The court agreed that free speech could be infringed upon, but also cited other cases that limited this power.

“Because that court case turned out the way it turned out, this ordinance is in compliance with the conclusions of that case, and that’s what gave me the belief that one can be certain it is workable,” City Council Member Steve Dana said.

Photo: The Chestnut Place apartment complex is one of many in Oxford where all-day door-to-door solicitation is now allowed. -- Contributed photo

Note: This story was updated Sept. 26 to indicate the start date of the new law.