Palm Springs Wants To Curb Door-To-Door Sales People

The Palm Springs City Council is expected today to adopt an ordinance that would put stricter limits on door-to-door solicitors.

City Attorney Douglas Holland reviewed the city’s code in response to complaints from residents and property managers about solicitors at several shopping centers and stores, according to a city staff report.

Lawyers in the City Attorney’s Office recommended that the council add a provision that would make door-to-door soliciting unlawful if the owner has a sign stating “No solicitors.”

Under state law, property owners have the right to prohibit soliciting, except in areas meant for people to gather and not to shop, Holland said.

The updated ordinance would also bar solicitors from entering areas at shopping centers designated for petition signature-gatherers, according to the report.

The code would expand a ban on “aggressive” soliciting to all types of solicitors, not just groups seeking donations, according to the report.

WestJet Incentive

Separately, the council will consider approving a $30,000 incentive agreement with WestJet, which has expanded its service to provide summertime flights out of Palm Springs International Airport.

The Canadian airline is the first to take part in the city’s Airline Marketing Incentive Program, which aims to encourage carriers to add more flights at the airport, City Manager David Ready said.

The marketing program has allocated $1 million from the airport fund, Ready said.

WestJet will begin offering flights to and from its Calgary hub on Thursdays and Sundays, beginning in June and continuing through the end of the summer.

The airline now offers daily service to Calgary, Edmonton and Vancouver. That flight schedule run October-May.