Murrysville may let residents opt out of seeing door-to-door solicitors

MURRYSVILLE, Pa. — Leaders in Murrysville are weighing whether to provide residents with the option to opt out of being visited by solicitors.

“About this time of year, we begin to get inundated with requests for solicitation permits,” Jim Morrison, the municipality’s Chief Administrator told council members during the first meeting of May. “They have freedom of speech protection... more often than not, once they hit the streets, we get calls from residents, ‘why are they knocking on my door?’”

Morrison suggested council members consider a “Do Not Knock” registry, which other nearby municipalities have adopted.

During the recorded meeting, Morrison noted Cranberry’s policy specifically, where residents enroll on an annual basis.

Permitted solicitors are provided with a list of enrollees, and are instructed not to knock on those doors. Should they knock anyway, their permit is immediately revoked, according to the township’s ordinance.

During Murrysville’s council meeting, several members spoke up with questions or suggestions. One member suggested that violators should perhaps receive a warning before having their licenses pulled. Another member said that solicitors should be provided only with a list of resident addresses, and not names.

A resident we spoke with on Tuesday, Jim Purcell, said he thinks the registry is a “great idea.”

Morrison told Channel 11 the matter will be revisited next month.

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