Highlands workshop advances stronger solicitation ordinance after merchants describe harassment and fraud

Town of Highlands commissioners at a workshop agreed by general consensus to bring a draft ordinance tightening rules on solicitation and street peddling to the next formal meeting for a vote, after more than an hour of public comment from merchants and residents who said itinerant vendors and door-to-door solicitors are harassing pedestrians, disrupting businesses and sometimes obtaining large payments through high‑pressure sales.

The draft ordinance was presented by Nick, the town attorney, who said the proposal consolidates existing categories—peddler, solicitor and transient vendor—into a single definition of “solicit,” adds a definition of “aggressive manner,” and gives the town enforcement options against either an individual or a business entity. "We cannot stop somebody from shouting, you know, 'Hey. Come into my store,'" Nick said, adding that the ordinance is aimed at conduct that targets people located on public property even when the solicitor stands on adjacent private property.

The issue…