By BRENNA DONNELLY
WISH-TV | wishtv.com
A proposed ordinance in Carmel would create a “No Knock” list of homeowners in the city and fine solicitors who try to visit those homes.
City councilors discussed the measure Monday evening before sending the proposal to committee. Council Vice President Jeff Worrell explained the No Knock List is similar to the Do Not Call List that protects the rights of homeowners looking for privacy.
He said Carmel residents could add their names to the list and receive No Knock stickers to put in their windows or walkways. A full list of No Knock homes would also able be available to solicitors, and they would be responsible for knowing who they can visit.
Worrell says the reason for the list isn’t because Carmel residents are being bombarded with solicitors day and night. Instead, corporate counsel has told the city they were lax in balancing solicitors’ and residents’ rights.
“That’s really all we’re doing, is trying to avoid any potential for lawsuits,” said Worrell. “Making sure solicitors still had the right to knock, but our citizens also had the right to be off the list and the solicitor would know that.”
In federal law, “solicitor” covers anyone selling commercial goods, whether it’s a business or a charity.
“If the Girl Scouts knock on my door selling cookies, they’re obviously nonprofit. They would still fall under the rules,” said Worrell. “So if I had the sticker, they would not be allowed.”
The Girl Scouts of Central Indiana released the following statement on Tuesday regarding the proposal:
“Girl Scouts now have fabulous e-commerce tools to participate in the Girl Scout Cookie Program, the largest girl-led entrepreneurial program in the world. Digital Cookie provides an opportunity for girls to set up their own webpage to sell cookies to their friends and family. And girls now can take credit card payments at cookie booths in front of stores across central Indiana.
Actively participating in the Girl Scout Cookie Program gives girls the opportunity to not only learn the valuable life skills of goal setting, decision making, money management, people skills, and business ethics, but to gain confidence and make new lifelong friends. When you buy cookies from a Girl Scout, you are investing in so much more than a box of treats-you are investing in a girl’s future, and the future leadership of our country.”
The ordinance would still allow for political, religious and noncommercial goods visitation to homes and apartments in Carmel. For example, a high school sports team would be able to ask residents for donations door-to-door but would not be able to sell items for a fundraiser door-to-door.
Some Carmel residents said they wish they could choose which organizations could bypass the sticker. Others said they were all for the proposed ordinance.
“I would be more than happy to support it,” said Al Temple, a 14-year Carmel resident. “It’s privacy. In today’s world, if you don’t need anything and you can shop online or whatever, you don’t need to see people. And you see your neighbors anyway.”
Temple’s neighbor, Jim Tank, said he would consider going on the list but says there’s value in children soliciting door-to-door.
“We used it with our five daughters to train them to speak to adults, to remember their lines, to not be afraid of adults; it was a good training ground for them,” he said. “[But] there’s lots of ways to train your kids to not be afraid of adults.”
Laurel Slade lives in a neighborhood with “No Soliciting” signs out front and said that hasn’t stopped all solicitors from knocking on her door.
“I’m a little skeptical,” she said. “We really didn’t see a drop in solicitors until we gated the community.”
The ordinance is sponsored by all seven Carmel city councilors and is likely to pass, according to Worrell. He said the details about the fine and potential enforcement will be discussed in-depth in the committee meeting on June 13.
If the three-person committee approves the measure, Worrell expects to see the ordinance take effect within 60 days.