[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town Board of the Town of Tonawanda 12-19-1994
by L.L. No. 8-1994. Amendments noted where applicable.]
The purpose of this chapter is to protect and promote the health, safety
and general welfare of the residents of the Town of Tonawanda by reducing
the number of avoidable alarms of fire, intrusion, robbery/holdup or other
emergencies which contribute to ineffective utilization of police, fire and
medical emergency agencies requiring emergency responses, which are susceptible
to high accident rates, interfere with genuine emergencies (responses) and
produce unnecessary alarm noise to the surrounding community.
For the purpose of this chapter, the terms used herein are defined as
follows:
A device or an assembly of equipment which is designed to identify
a robbery/holdup or intrusion or detect smoke, abnormal rise in temperature,
fire, medical emergency or an entry into or exit from a building, structure
or facility and by reason thereof emits an audible response intended to alert
persons outside of the premises and/or transmit a signal or message to an
emergency agency either directly or through a private answering point.
A device that automatically dials and relays a prerecorded message
to an emergency agency.
The activation of an alarm system through mechanical failure, malfunction,
improper installation or the negligence or carelessness of the owner, user,
custodian, operator or lessee of an alarm system or that person's employee(s),
guest(s) or agent(s) requiring an emergency response from an emergency agency
when in fact an emergency requiring such a response does not exist. An avoidable
alarm is also the intentional activation of an alarm system when the person
activating it knows an emergency does not exist as well as all alarm system
activations in which an investigation by the Police Chief and/or Code Enforcement
Officer of the Town reveals no evidence of the existence of an emergency.
An avoidable alarm is not deemed to include the activation of an alarm system
by violent conditions of nature, acts of God or similar causes beyond the
control of the owner, user, custodian, operator or lessee of an alarm system
or that person's employee(s), guest(s) or agent(s), nor is an avoidable
alarm deemed to be the activation of an alarm system under any circumstances
in which the person activating the alarm system reasonably believes that an
emergency situation exists.
[Amended 3-26-2007 by L.L. No. 2-2007]
The Town Police Department, the Town Emergency Medical Unit, any
fire company or any emergency dispatch center.
Any person, partnership, firm, corporation or any unincorporated
association.
The Town of Tonawanda, New York.
The Town Board of the Town of Tonawanda, New York.
[Amended 3-26-2007 by L.L. No. 2-2007]
Owners, users, custodians, operators or lessees of an alarm system and
owners, lessees and occupants of the premises in which an alarm system is
installed, shall be deemed to have consented to inspection of the alarm system
and premises in which said alarm system is installed at reasonable hours by
the Police Chief and/or Code Enforcement Officer of the Town, or their designated
representatives.
A.
No person shall install or maintain an external audible
alarm system which does not contain an operational automatic cutoff system
which turns off the external audible alarm after a period not to exceed 10
minutes.
B.
An automatic dialer connected directly to an emergency
agency shall automatically disconnect and/or terminate its message after the
message has been transmitted a maximum of two times. Notwithstanding the foregoing,
however, the total transmission time of all messages shall not exceed five
minutes.
A.
No alarm system shall have an automatic dialer feature
or other type of alarm alert which connects automatically to Enhanced 911
or the 911 Emergency Telephone System.
B.
There shall be no automatic alarm system with direct
communication of any type to an emergency agency without prior written authorization
from the emergency agency where the alarms terminate or connect.
A.
General provisions.
(1)
It shall be a violation of this chapter to cause or permit
an avoidable alarm. The owner, user, custodian, operator or lessee of the
alarm system from which an avoidable alarm emanates shall be held accountable
for all avoidable alarms emanating from that alarm system and shall be fully
liable for all fines arising therefrom.
(2)
The Police Chief and/or Code Enforcement Officer of the
Town shall keep a record of all avoidable alarms relayed by all alarm systems
installed within the Town.
[Amended 3-26-2007 by L.L. No. 2-2007]
B.
Fines.
(1)
An owner, user, custodian, operator or lessee of an alarm
system from which an avoidable alarm emanates shall pay a fine for each such
avoidable alarm in each calendar year as follows in accord with which emergency
agency responds and the classification of premises:
(a)
The Town Police Department, the Town Emergency Medical
Unit and any emergency dispatch unit response:
[1]
Residential properties.
[2]
Commercial and industrial properties.
[a]
First through fifth avoidable alarm responses: no charge;
written notice of warning to issue for each avoidable alarm.
[b]
Sixth through 10th avoidable alarm responses: fine of
$25 for each avoidable alarm.
[c]
Eleventh through 25th avoidable alarm responses: fine
of $50 for each avoidable alarm.
[d]
Twenty-sixth and more avoidable alarm responses: fine
of $100 for each avoidable alarm.
(b)
Fire Department response, all properties.
(2)
The Police Chief and/or Code Enforcement Officer of the
Town shall cause written notice of any warning or fine imposed by this section
to be mailed to the owner, user, custodian, operator or lessee of the alarm
system by first-class mail.
[Amended 3-26-2007 by L.L. No. 2-2007]
(3)
Fines shall be paid by the owner, user, custodian, operator
or lessee of the alarm system to the Town of Tonawanda Justice Court at 1835
Sheridan Drive, Kenmore, New York 14223.
(4)
All fines imposed by this section shall be paid no later
than 30 days from the date of mailing of the aforesaid notice. Upon the failure
of any owner, user, custodian, operator or lessee of an alarm system to pay
a fine imposed pursuant to this chapter within the time period so designated,
the Police Chief and/or the Code Enforcement Officer of the Town may seek
to recover said fine in the Justice Court of the Town of Tonawanda.
[Amended 3-26-2007 by L.L. No. 2-2007]
C.
Notice of avoidable alarm. The written notice of any
warning or fine sent pursuant to this chapter shall advise the owner, user,
custodian, operator or lessee of that alarm system that any further avoidable
alarms emanating from that alarm system during the remaining calendar year
shall be subject to the warnings and fines contained in this chapter, shall
detail the time, date and place where the avoidable alarm(s) occurred, specify
the emergency agency that responded and shall further direct the owner, user,
custodian, occupant or lessee of that alarm system to take appropriate remedial
action to result in the elimination of further avoidable alarms emanating
from that alarm system. The notice described herein shall be sent by first-class
mail to the owner, user, custodian, occupant or lessee of the alarm system.
[Amended 3-26-2007 by L.L. No. 2-2007]
A.
In the event that the owner, user, custodian, occupant
or lessee of an alarm system receiving written notice of an avoidable alarm
desires to challenge the determination made by the Police Chief and/or the
Code Enforcement Officer of the Town that an avoidable alarm occurred, the
owner, user, custodian, occupant or lessee of the alarm system shall, in writing,
notify the Police Chief and/or the Code Enforcement Officer of the Town, as
appropriate, within 30 days after receipt of any notice of avoidable alarm.
The failure to give timely notice shall be deemed a waiver of the right to
review the determination.
B.
The Police Chief and the Code Enforcement Officer of
the Town shall establish a procedure whereby the owner, user, custodian, occupant
or lessee of an alarm system who duly notifies the Police Chief and/or the
Code Enforcement Officer of the Town of his desire to challenge a determination
of avoidable alarm may present evidence as to why any such alarm should not
be deemed an avoidable alarm. The Police Chief and the Code Enforcement Officer
of the Town shall designate a member or members of their Departments, not
to exceed five in number, to receive and review such evidence and make recommendations
and findings of fact to the Police Chief and the Code Enforcement Officer
of the Town regarding such determination. The Police Chief and the Code Enforcement
Officer of the Town shall then make the final determination as to whether
the alarm in issue was in fact an avoidable alarm. Such final determination
shall be reviewable only pursuant to procedure under Article 78 of the New
York Civil Practice Law and Rules.
[Amended 3-26-2007 by L.L. No. 2-2007]
A.
The Police Chief and/or the Code Enforcement Officer
of the Town shall enforce this chapter for avoidable alarms emanating from
alarm systems.
B.
The Police Chief and the Code Enforcement Officer may,
from time to time, promulgate rules and regulations in order to provide for
the efficient recordkeeping and the management of this chapter.
