West Haven approves $250 fines for late-night solicitors

People in West Haven are complaining of solicitors knocking on their doors late at night and multiple times a day.

Mayor Dorinda Borer said she’s received multiple complaints, and even got a Ring doorbell camera video from a resident showing a solicitor showing up on their doorstep at 10 p.m.

“I had gotten a call from one gentleman who was 80 years old with cancer, and he said he felt this person was soliciting and coming back to his house several times. The same week, I had gotten a ring camera of 10 p.m. someone soliciting,” the mayor said. “Solar companies, phone, cell phone companies, and people coming wanting to buy your home. You know, it starts to impact the quality of life because it starts to borderline harassment.”

Borer teamed up with the police department to introduce a new ordinance that raises the fine for late-night visits and makes the rules around soliciting in residential neighborhoods a bit stricter.

“This new ordinance says at dusk, you cannot solicit at all. We’ve had people at dark, and that’s scary when somebody’s knocking at your door, especially when you live alone,” Borer said. “I actually had someone at my house. It was pitch black, rang the doorbell, stepped back from the Ring camera, but I wasn’t about to open the door.”

Resident Craig Kennedy said a solicitor visited his home twice in one day recently, and left his wife scared.

“They’ve been coming by numerous times…during the daytime, when my wife was here,” he explained, “and he came back again later on that night. He came to the back door that time. It was like 9:00 p.m. [My wife] was pretty scared. He knocked on the door with one of those real light knocks, she said.”

The new ordinance raises the fine to $250 for visiting after dusk and requires businesses to pay a registration fee with the police department. It also limits companies to five solicitors at any given time, and requires them to wear photo identification, pass a background check, and only visit homes once every six months.

“It’s a $150 registration fee,” the mayor explained, “it’s a $250 fine if you violate it. There’s been some aggressive teams from some companies that have been here, and, you know, a little invasive.”

One resident who wished to remain anonymous said solicitors ignore the ‘no soliciting’ sign on her front door.

“We’ve experienced a lot of solicitors coming to the house, especially in the evening hours, and they don’t take our no solicitors sign seriously,” she said. “[They visit] as late as 8, 8:30, and I mean, my kids are in bed by 8 so that’s annoying.”

Some residents think the fine should be even higher than $250.

“It needs to be $1,000,” Kennedy added. “If you get into a person’s pocket, then they wouldn’t want to do the crazy stuff that they’re doing in the first place.”

There are exceptions to the ordinance, including groups like Girl Scouts, and people door-knocking for religious and political reasons.