Mike Davis

@byMikeDavis

The new solicitation ordinance changes strictly define the language a canvasser can use.

Residents can register for the township's "no-knock" registry and receive a decal to display.

Fines of up to $1,250 and 90 days in county jail can be handed down after a violation.

JACKSON – It begins with a knock at the door and could end with 90 days in jail.

The visitor is identified as a representative of a business group or simply as a private investor. After a few minutes, his purpose becomes clear: “Have you ever considered selling your home?”

“Here I am enjoying my weekend, and I’ve got someone knocking on my door asking if they can take a tour of my house,” said Jessica Court resident John Fordham, recalling his own encounter with a solicitor. “There are (strange) practices going on, some wheeling-and-dealing real estate negotiations. And you don’t even know if they’re real estate agents.”

The council on Tuesday is expected to introduce its revamped “no-knock” ordinance, which would establish strict canvassing and solicitation rules and guidelines, along with fines of $1,250 and 90 days in county jail for violators.

Currently, violations can cost the solicitor $500 to $1,250 without any jail time. Residents on the township’s no-knock list are given a window decal to tell solicitors to stay away.

Proponents of the measure are at times vague or opaque in articulating what solicitations, or whose, they aim to curb. But nearby is Lakewood and its burgeoning Jewish community, with 4,000 births annually. Some on the receiving end of the solicitations have been complaining to council members that their homes are being specifically targeted to accommodate such growth — sometimes in inelegant fashion.

Addressing the council last month, Arizona Avenue resident Vitina Hamilton was not the least bit vague: She said a real estate agent she described as an a Hasidic man told her, “You really should sell your house. I’m sure you don’t want to be surrounded by Jews,” Hamilton said.

“They peruse the neighborhood three, four, five times per day,” Hamilton told the council. “It’s not just real estate agents: They say things to me, ‘At your age, what do you want this house for?’ I started out polite. I'm done being polite.”

Calls to several local religious and real estate leaders seeking comment on Monday were not immediately returned. But Rabbi Aaron Kotler, president of Lakewood-based Beth Medrash Govoha, the largest yeshiva in the U.S., said recently that along with Jackson, Brick and Howell have been taking steps to restrict where schools can be built for Jewish communities.

“When an Orthodox school or synagogue tries to open up in an adjacent town, there’s a pattern of community opposition,” Kotler said.

If the ordinance is introduced, a public hearing will be held later in August when it could be adopted into law.

The ordinance is based closely on a Toms River ordinance passed in June, but Jackson Councilman Rob Nixon, a proponent of the stiffened measures, said Jackson took extra steps to strengthen its ordinance after months of reported harassment by persistent real estate agents.

Council President Barry Calogero said a majority of the cases brought up by residents involve members of the Jewish community in Lakewood. But he said the council was concerned about privacy, not who is doing the asking.

“The concerns are moreso about the intrusion of privacy by these [real estate solicitors]. Coincidentally, the majority of the ones they talk about happen to be of that persuasion, but that's not the intention of the no-knock ordinance,” Calogero said.

"Every place I go, they'll (Jackson residents) come over very concerned about people knocking on their door. The ordinance is concerned with the intrusion of privacy."

PROPOSED RESTRICTIONS

Under the proposed law, any person or business interested in canvassing must register with the township and can only knock on doors during late morning and afternoon hours.

The ordinance also aims to govern what a solicitor can say. While simply inquiring about the sale of a home is permitted, implying that the neighborhood could undergo an “adverse” change — and pushing the resident to leave before that happens — is strictly prohibited.

The federal Fair Housing Act already includes such anti-discrimination language, prohibiting real estate transactions when the buyer states that people of certain races or religions will enter the neighborhood.

“We’re not going to stand for threats or implied statements that will force people to make decisions they’re otherwise uncomfortable with,” Nixon said. “There’s enough anecdotal evidence that shows this has been keeping our residents up at night."

Activities protected under free speech laws — such as door-to-door political campaigning, petitioning and non-profit fund-raising —would not be affected by the ordinance.

Though real estate transactions are the main driver behind the ordinance, they are not the only practice covered: All vendors and businesses would be subject to the same restrictions and regulations.

Nixon defended the stiff fines: “But if you're going to repeatedly violate someone's private property, you are going to face a much tougher penalty in Jackson than anywhere else.”

He added: “We needed some hammering here to make sure no one would laugh and say, ‘Big deal, I'll pay the fine.’”

Mike Davis: (732) 643-4223 mdavis@gannettnj.com

WHAT: Jackson Township Council meeting

WHEN: 7:30 p.m. (6:30 p.m. closed session)

WHERE: Town Hall, 95 West Veterans Highway, Jackson, NJ 08527