The Cheyenne City Council is weighing changes to its “no soliciting” ordinance to bolster the city’s rules against unwelcome door-to-door soliciting in the wake of an aggressive sales push by roofing companies this past summer.
After baseball-sized hail caused widespread damage throughout the city in August, some roofers disobeyed posted “no soliciting” signs while pushing to land repair contracts with homeowners.
City council members said Monday that the ensuing backlash from constituents was so fierce, it now warrants a municipal response.
Councilwoman Michelle Aldrich, who sponsored the ordinance, told Cowboy State Daily she hopes the broadened rules will help bring peace to local homeowners who hope to remain unbothered while showing solicitors the city means business.
“We had constituents reach out and just say, ‘I have a no soliciting sign, they're still coming into the door,’” she said. “A lot of [solicitors] may or may no, have been licensed, which is a requirement in our community.”
Councilman Pete Laybourn agreed, saying the summer storm proved current city regulations for soliciting are too lenient.
“I mean, those people are coming around immediately within a day of that storm,” he said. “There's some regulation that should happen there so that you don't have initiation of a contract with fly-by-night roofing companies.”
City Code
Cheyenne’s current city code includes a section on unwanted soliciting that states no one can conduct door-to-door business in the city without a license. Licensed solicitors may only conduct business at houses where they are invited to visit.
Under the new ordinance, the definition of solicitation would be expanded to include seeking donations, selling goods and services, delivering flyers or religious materials, and political canvasing.
While the code currently states solicitors must receive an invitation to visit a homeowner with a “no soliciting” sign before 10 a.m. and after 7 p.m., the new rules would change this window from 7 a.m. until sunset.
The city charges $100 dollars to apply for a solicitation license and collects $15 per badge issued to door-to-door salespeople.
Cheyenne City Clerk Kylie Soden told Cowboy State Daily the number of applicants for licenses varies by year. She added that the city saw a rush of applicants for soliciting licenses this summer following the hailstorm.
In addition to local roofers, most applicants are from Bluepeak, Charter and Vivent broadband providers, she said.
While door-to-door visitors had been required to identify themselves and the company for which they work, the ordinance additions now add they must do so “clearly.”
The additions are on the Monday City Council meeting agenda without discussion and referred to the Public Services Committee for further discussion.
Illicit Soliciting
Aldrich referenced existing state laws that encourage homeowners to defend themselves and their property if they feel threatened.
She said the central theme of these laws is the desire among Wyomingites to be left alone, which should be respected by solicitors.
“In Wyoming, we're a stand your ground (state), and the castle law is in effect,” she said. “If somebody has posted 'no soliciting' and you're going to their front door, there is a risk involved.”
The councilwoman said residents have complained that solicitors repeatedly disregard posted “no soliciting” signage, leading to disruptions and annoyances. Some homes are especially sensitive to unwanted visitors, such as those where nap time is at a premium, she said.
“Sometimes it's because they have a baby that’s sleeping,” Aldrich said. “Maybe they're working a night shift and they're sleeping during the day. Maybe they have mobility issues with getting to the front door.”
Politicking
Aldrich’s ordinance would also apply to political figures ahead of a busy coming campaign season. She said she always obeys posted “no soliciting” signage when conducting her door-to-door campaigns, adding that others should take care to do the same.
“I'm a big believer that ‘no soliciting’ means ‘no soliciting,’” she said. “I try and respect that when I'm campaigning, and as I think all other candidates should as well.”
Councilman Laybourn said he shares concerns about politicians overstepping their boundaries while on the campaign trail, given his own experience making house calls throughout Cheyenne.
“When I'm out going door to door and I see a ‘no soliciting’ sign, I don't try to knock on the door and visit with the people there,” he said. “I think if someone doesn't want us to come to the door and talk to us, then you're probably not going to get their vote, right?”
Laybourn acknowledged, however, “enforcement is difficult,” given a law enforcement agency must be called to the scene.
“Who's going to do it?” he asked. “When are they going to do it? I mean, is someone going to call? What's the enforcement arm going to be?”
Girl Scouts And Politicians
Currently exempted under the ordinance are those participating in nonprofit fundraising for educational or religious reasons and charity groups, meaning Girl Scouts or other young salespeople would not be required to obtain a license.
Mayor Patrick Collins told Cowboy State Daily he believes all solicitors should observe “no soliciting” signs. The impact on a household is not changed by the motivation of the salesperson, he said.
“I don't know that we do need an exception,” he said. “I think when you're in your home, I think you have the right to let people know you're either available or not available for that.”
Collins said he sees the issue from a resident’s perspective, adding that he also has been impacted by salespeople who ignore his own signs.
“I'm very frustrated that people would not honor a resident who says that,” he said. “We had my grandchildren at our house, and they were knocking, they're ringing the doorbell, and we put a sign up there, ‘Please don't ring the doorbell.’ We have grandkids sleeping, and they ring the damn doorbell, wake the grandkids up. Very frustrating.”
The mayor also said he is aware of the impact the changes could have on politics, given the inclusion of political candidates in the ordinance. This will be a critical topic to discuss in committee, he said.
“And then the other question is, you know, the political process is really important,” he said. “Do you enforce that for candidates running for office that are trying to educate voters, or is it more for a business purpose?”
Read The Sign
The proposal comes in the wake of concerns from Cheyenne residents that door-to-door salespeople are not obeying posted “no soliciting” signs. Cheyenne resident Daryl Orr told Cowboy State Daily in September that salespeople continue to visit him despite posting several “no soliciting” signs around his house, including one that lights up.
“We’ve had these Vivint people, big broadband companies moving in and every ten minutes they’re banging on your doors,” he said of his experience with solicitors. “We have a pretty well-lit 'no soliciting' sign on the glass of our front door, and everybody says ‘oh, we didn’t see it,’ so I ended up buying a ten or twelve-inch octagon silver sign that says ‘no trespassing,’ ‘no soliciting.’”
Orr also shared a video in which a solicitor had claimed he was not selling anything, but “just wanted to watch the game with you guys.” The solicitor then disclosed he had seen Orr's "no soliciting sign" and was actually a salesperson from Vivint Security.
A Vivint spokesperson confirmed to Cowboy State Daily the individual in the video was one of its employees and said it had brought the video to the attention of its internal leadership.
"Thank you for bringing this matter to our attention,” a spokesperson wrote via email. "We train our sales agents to be respectful of all homeowner requests and to follow all rules and regulations around solicitation when representing our company.
"We have escalated these concerns to leadership and contacted our teams in the area to reinforce and ensure compliance with our policies and procedures."
Cheyenne Resident Madori Presley told Cowboy State Daily she was frustrated by the persistence of roofing companies this summer who visited her and her parents’ homes in hopes of landing a deal.
“I’m basically going to tell them all to go away and to F off,” she said of her approach to solicitors. “An ‘if I need you, I’ll call you’ type of deal.”
Jackson Walker can be reached at walker@cowboystatedaily.com.
