The West Penn Township supervisors are getting closer to enacting a revised peddling ordinance.

The beefed up ordinance will require peddlers to apply for a license if they intend to go door-to-door selling goods or services.

If the ordinance is approved, the applications will be available from the township municipal building. Once complete, they’ll be filed with the township police department, which will conduct background checks on the applicants.

“What do you do with the kid that wants to mow your lawn or shovel snow and is knocking on doors?” supervisor Tim Houser asked.

Solicitor Paul Datte said they would not need an application.

“What this is designed to do is prevent unwanted (business),” he said. It also helps officials keep a check on who’s visiting the township.

“From the property’s owner perspective, they can call the township if somebody comes in before they do anything,” Datte explained. “They should be asking for a license because the person is supposed to present that if they knock on the door.”

Furthermore, Datte said, “It should provide some level of solace, I guess, that there’s been some background checks on this individual. It’s not just some fly-by-night person.”

Datte hoped it would stop scammers, including people who prey on the elderly.

He noted that residents can also place a sign on their properties, saying that no peddlers or solicitors are welcome.

The ordinance hasn’t been revised since 1993.

Supervisors’ Chairman Anthony Prudenti said he is against peddling altogether but Datte said the township cannot outlaw it.