CORONA DEL MAR TODAY

Plans to Limit Solicitors’ Hours Not Looking Good

Legal hurdles might make it impossible for Newport Beach to limit solicitors’ hours, City Councilwoman Nancy Gardner told the Corona del Mar Residents Association board today.

Currently, solicitors are permitted to ring doorbells until 9 p.m. Gardner had requested that city staff research whether the hours could be changed so that door-to-door peddlers couldn’t ring your bell after dark.

The city attorney, however, has said that limiting the hours becomes a First Amendment issue in many court cases.

“It’s not looking good,” Gardner said. The city attorney’s report is not complete, and the topic may not be discussed in a council study session until early 2010.

Gardner added that if the city can’t limit the hours, city employees will work with residents to educate them on their rights. If you put up a sign that says “No Solicitors” for example, they are breaking the law if they bother you. Also, neighbors can call police if they see a suspicious person.

Corona del Mar Today readers have complained of aggressive solicitors this fall. Gardner herself recently had a solicitor who refused to leave and cursed her. Read our earlier stories here and here.