Neighbors urge regulation of salespeople

TULSA - Tulsa could soon have a city ordinance that regulates door-to-door salespeople.

The idea was sparked after group of Midtown residents noticed a spike in door-to-door salespeople in the area, some of whom they say would become aggressive or acted as though they may be casing homes for burglaries.

Jennifer Harmon was used to the occasional door-to-door salesmen in her Midtown Tulsa neighborhood. But she says, since the spring, it has been non-stop and sometimes scary.

"They said they are still coming two or three times a week", says Harmon. "When I don't answer the door, they walk around the back of my house or they get aggressive, or they are taking notes about certain things."

Harmon joined with forces with Midtown Tulsa Alert Neighbor block captains to do something about it. With their support, Thursday night she asked the City Council to pass an ordinance regulating the practice in Tulsa.

Her idea was met with support from the council. Councilor GT Bynum says the timing is perfect, because he and City staff had been taking a look at ordinance in other cities to see what may work for Tulsa. Bynum plans to model Tulsa's ordinance after one in Oklahoma City.

He tells 2NEWS, "In Oklahoma City, they can only sell door to door between 9 am and 9 pm. They have to have a license to be operating. You can only get a license by going through a background check. That's going to cut down big time on the bad actors we have out there that are doing this."

Officer Jason Willingham of the Tulsa Police Department says registering salespeople will help police crack down on the ones who are committing burglaries or scams. "It's going to keep the honest ones honest. It's certainly going to be an asset and it's certainly going to help. It will give us an idea of who is in our city going from door to door doing this type of business."

There will exceptions for non-profit groups. Bynum says, "You're not going to have an eight-year-old kid needing to get a background check. It's a good balance and I think that's why it's been so widely accepted by other cities around the country. Tulsa is just playing catch up with this."

The first reading of the ordinance will be this Thursday night. The council could vote on the issue as early as next week.