Riverside Enacts No Knock/No Soliciting Ordinance

Riverside Residents,

In an effort to address the complaints made by our residents regarding unwanted solicitations by private contractors, the Township of Riverside has passed Local Ordinance 2017-14, titled "No Knock List".

This Ordinance will afford Riverside Residents the opportunity to advise unwanted solicitors that their presence is violating a Township Ordinance.

This will also ensure that solicitors have a list of properties withing Riverside Township that are registered as, "No Knock" residences.

The procedure for obtaining the stickers will be as follows:

1) The "No Knock" stickers will be obtained at the Riverside Township Police Station between the hours of 9:30 am and 1:30 pm from the Riverside Township Police Clerk.

2) If you are unavailable to get to the police station during those hours, you can e-mail Police Clerk Angela Ledman at aledman@riversidepolicenj.org. When you e-mail our Police Clerk you must provide your name, address, and telephone number. Our clerk will mail the sticker to a Riverside address only.

3) The initial "No Knock" sticker is provided at no cost. If a second or subsequent sticker is requested for the same address, a fee of $5.00 per sticker will be imposed.

4) The addresses of our residents that request the "No Knock" stickers will be kept on file and distributed to the Township Administrative Offices on a monthly basis. The Township Administrative Offices will in turn keep a master file that will be provided to all businesses that request a Solicitation Permit to operate and solicit in Riverside Township. If a business/solicitor violates the Township "No Knock" Ordinance #2017-14, they will be issued a summons for the violation. The summons will have a mandatory court appearance and may be subject to a fine of $1,000 for each violation.
In accordance with Local Ordinance 201-5, the restriction of the "No Knock" Ordinance shall not pertain to persons soliciting for a "charitable, religious, patriotic or philanthropic purpose."
We hope this will limit the amount of unwanted solicitation in Riverside Township.
Please keep in mind that our Officers may not see the solicitors while they are in the Township, so if you observe anyone soliciting please contact Burlington County Central Dispatch at (856)461-3434 and report the incident. Please do not call the main police number (856)461-8820 as we do not have someone answering that phone number at all times.
If anyone has a question, I can be reached at: weliason@riversidepolicenj.org.

Thank you,

William T. Eliason
Chief of Police