Change to GR Ordinance sought

A suggested amendment to the city’s historic Green River Ordinance was suggested during the Green River City Council meeting Tuesday evening, resulting in Mayor Pete Rust calling for a workshop meeting to discuss the potential change.

Green River resident Rachelle Morris approached the Council to speak about the city creating a list of residences that do not want to be solicited to. Morris said she recently had a suspicious person visit her house while no one was home. Seeing the person on her doorbell camera, she talked to neighbors about if someone was marketing door to door at the time. She said her neighbors didn’t receive similar visits and she reported the incident to the Green River Police Department.

Under the Green River Ordinance’s current form, residents can choose one of three signs to post on their property. One prohibits commercial solicitation, while another bans all solicitation from being conducted at the property. The third sign, a no trespassing sign, bans all but emergency services and government employees conducting their duties from stepping foot onto the property.

Morris said the list would let residents avoid posting signs on their homes and help the city save on expenses.

“If we had a registry, it would save the PD time and resources,” she said.

Councilman Robert Berg voiced support for the idea, saying the signs are confusingly worded and can be misleading. Speaking about his election campaign, Berg said there were instances while he campaigned door to door where he did not see a posted sign before knocking.

“I messed up a couple of times,” he said.

Berg said a list would be helpful for candidates as they’re often working from an election list and under the assumption people on that list would like to speak with candidates.

Councilman Gary Killpack also supports the idea, though he questions how effective a list would be. Having worked in sales for more than 40 years, Killpack said he has seen a number of listings that did not work.

Rust voiced support for the idea as well, also voicing concerns he received about telephone solicitation in Green River. For Rust, many of the city’s residents work shift schedules and both calls and visits to the home can interrupt a person trying to rest. Rust called for a workshop to allow the Council a chance to discuss Morris’ no contact list and ways the city can address phone solicitation.

The Green River Ordinance is the city’s most-known act, originally enacted in 1931 to protect railroad workers from salesmen soliciting door to door. The city was forced to amend the ordinance and require residents to post signage at their homes and businesses due to a legal threat.

Some courts have ruled the ordinance is unconstitutional because it entails a government entity inhibiting a salesperson’s freedom of speech by prohibiting the salesperson from speaking with people who might be interested in their products.

 

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