[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Supervisors of the Township of
Willistown 6-23-1987 by Ord. No. 2-1987.
This ordinance also repealed former Ch. 61, Alarm Devices, adopted 5-8-1979
by Ord. No. 2-1979, as amended. Amendments noted where applicable.]
This chapter shall be known as the "Willistown Township Automatic Protection
Device Ordinance."
The following definitions shall apply to the interpretation and enforcement
of this chapter:
Any device, bell, horn or siren which is attached to the interior
or exterior of a building, structure or facility and emits a warning signal
audible outside the building, structure or facility and is designed to attract
attention when activated by criminal act or other emergency requiring Police
or Fire Department response.
An electrically or battery-operated instrument composed of sensory
apparatus and related hardware which automatically transmits any form of alarm
or signal, including but not limited to a prerecorded voice alarm, from the
premises to the Chester County Department of Emergency Services (DES) upon
receipt of a stimulus from a sensory apparatus that has detected a physical
force or condition inherently characteristic of intrusion, fire, hazard or
medical emergency requiring urgent attention and to which police or fire units
should respond.
Any individual, partnership, corporation or other entity engaged
in the business of selling, leasing, maintaining, servicing, repairing, altering,
replacing, moving or installing any automatic protection device to be sold,
leased, maintained, serviced, repaired, altered, replaced, moved or installed
in or on any building, structure or facility.
The head or acting head of the Police Department of Willistown Township.
An alarm activated in the absence of an emergency, whether willfully
or by inadvertent negligence or unintentional act, including the malfunction
of the automatic protection device to which the Willistown Township Police
Department or Fire Department responds. The definition excludes alarms caused
by malfunctions of the Chester County DES receiving equipment if such alarm
is directly connected to the alarm board; testing or repairing of telephone
or electrical lines or equipment outside the premises; acts of God, such as
earthquake, flood, windstorm, thunder or lightning; an attempted illegal entry
of which there is visible evidence; a crime in progress or, in the case of
an emergency medical alarm, an actual medical emergency requiring police,
fire and/or medical personnel. If doubt exists as to the cause of the false
alarm, the Chief of Police or his designee shall make a decision regarding
the circumstances of the activation.
Multiple alarms received by the Police Department or a Fire Department
before the system can be deactivated within a reasonable period of time shall
be considered a single alarm.
The definition of a false alarm also includes the intentional activation
of a holdup alarm for other than a holdup in progress, the intentional activation
of a burglary alarm for other than a burglary, the intentional activation
of a medical alarm for other than a medical emergency or the intentional activation
of a fire alarm for other than a fire or hazard.
The Goshen Fire Company, the Malvern Fire Company, the Newtown Square
Fire Company or the Paoli Fire Company.
To use a telephone or recording equipment to transmit a message either
directly or indirectly by an automatic protection device.
The Township of Willistown, Chester County, Pennsylvania.
A.
Automatic protection devices with audible alarms on or
within buildings may be installed in township residences and business establishments
so long as they are registered and comply with the provisions of this chapter.
B.
Automatic protection devices must be equipped with a
timing device which will disconnect the continuous sounding after a maximum
period of 15 minutes. Audible alarms without such devices are prohibited in
the township and must be disconnected by the owner or lessee within 60 days
from the effective date of this chapter.
Automatic protection devices that transmit messages directly to police
must be keyed to the Chester County DES.
Automatic protection devices may be keyed to a telephone which is available
to the owner or lessee of the device or to a private agency so long as the
devices are registered with the Chief of Police and comply with the provisions
of this chapter.
A.
Licensing.
(1)
On and after the effective date of this chapter, no one
except an automatic protection device supplier holding a valid license from
the township shall sell, install or service any alarm system within the township.
(2)
The Chief of Police shall issue an automatic protection
device supplier's license to an automatic protection device supplier
meeting the requirements of this section upon the filing of the required application
and payment of a fee of $50. Each license shall bear the signature of the
Chief of Police and be valid for a period of one calendar year. A copy of
the license shall be physically displayed upon each of the premises using
the automatic protection device and shall be available for inspection solely
by the Chief of Police or his designee.
(3)
Each automatic protection device supplier that installs
one or more automatic protection devices in the township shall make service
available directly or through an agent on a twenty-four-hour-per-day basis,
seven days a week, to repair such devices and to correct malfunctions as they
occur. Any person using an automatic protection device shall make arrangements
for service to be available for such device on a twenty-four-hour-per-day,
seven-day-per-week basis.
(4)
No license shall be issued to any person, sole proprietor,
partner, joint venturer, trustee, executor, administrator, employee, fiduciary
or corporation, which has any stockholder with a 5% or greater interest in
the corporation (except a corporation whose stock is publicly traded and registered
with the Securities and Exchange Commission or with a State Securities Commission)
who or which has been convicted of a felony or pleaded nolo contendere to
a felony charge or indictment within the immediately preceding 10 years.
(5)
The applicant shall furnish an insurance certificate
annually confirming that the applicant has in force general liability insurance
coverage in an amount of not less than $300,000 for each occurrence. An applicant
who self-insures such coverage shall furnish evidence of financial responsibility.
(6)
The licensee shall pay an annual license fee of $50.
(b)
A license may be revoked or renewal denied if:
[1]
The licensee fails to meet the requirements necessary
to obtain a license;
[2]
The license fee is not paid;
[3]
The Chief of Police has reason to believe the licensee's
installations are the cause of false alarms; or
[4]
The licensee fails to provide emergency services that
are required by this chapter.
B.
List of installations.
(1)
Within 90 days from the effective date of this chapter,
each automatic protection device supplier who has installed an automatic protection
device in the township shall furnish to the Chief of Police a current list
of such installations which shall include the following information:
(a)
The name, address and telephone number of the owner or
lessee.
(b)
The name and address where the device is installed and
the telephone number of that address.
(c)
The name, address and telephone number of a central station
protective system or any other person or firm who is authorized to respond
to an emergency and gain access to the address where the device is installed.
(d)
The name and telephone number of any person, firm or
corporation, if any, other than the automatic protection device supplier,
who is responsible for maintenance and repair of the automatic protection
device.
(2)
By the fifth working day of each month following the submission of the initial list, each automatic protection device supplier shall furnish the Chief of Police with a supplemental list of any additions, corrections or deletions from lists previously furnished. An automatic protection device supplier who enters into the business after the effective date of this chapter shall furnish a list containing the information specified in Subsection B(1) above by the fifth working day of the month following a first installation and shall thereafter furnish supplemental lists as required by this section.
(3)
All information furnished pursuant to these sections
shall be kept confidential and shall be for the use of the township.
A.
No automatic protection device shall be installed without
a permit. Application for a permit to install an automatic protection device
shall be made to Willistown Township. If the applicant is not the property
owner, the owner shall also sign the application. The owner, by his signature,
shall be deemed to have agreed to be bound by the requirements of this chapter.
B.
The permit shall bear the signature of the Chief of Police
and be valid for the period that the owner owns the premises upon which the
automatic protection device is installed. The permit shall be physically present
upon the premises using the device and shall be available for inspection by
the Chief of Police or his designee.
C.
The permit shall contain the address of the property,
the name of the business (if applicable), the name of the owner, tenant or
agent responsible for the property, the automatic protection device supplier
or other entity responsible for maintaining the system (if applicable), the
type of alarm (burglary, holdup or medical), how the alarm signal will be
received by the communications center (tape, central station, etc.), at least
two alternate emergency numbers of persons to be contacted to secure the property
and any additional information as may be determined to be necessary. It shall
be the owner's responsibility to amend the foregoing information whenever
the information changes.
D.
Exception. An automatic protection device user who is
over the age of 65 and is the primary occupant of a residence, and if no business
is conducted at the residence, may obtain a user's permit from the township
without paying the stated fee.
E.
Users who fail to obtain a permit within 60 days after
the alarm system is activated or within 60 days after the effective date of
this chapter, if later, shall be liable to pay a late charge penalty of $20
for each calendar year for which the permit should have been obtained prior
to the calendar year next following the calendar year in which the application
for such permit is actually made.
F.
Upon change of property ownership or tenancy, if the
service for the automatic protection device is continued by the new user with
the automatic protection device supplier, it will be the responsibility of
the automatic protection device supplier to advise the new user that a permit
renewal application is required, for which there is a fee of $10.
G.
All locations in the Township of Willistown equipped
with automatic protection devices, except as stated in this chapter, must
secure and possess a valid permit for the same.
The fee for an automatic protection device permit shall be $25. The
fee shall be nonrefundable.
Automatic protection devices installed in the township that are keyed
to the Chester County DES shall meet the following requirements:
A.
The type and content of recorded messages must be intelligible
and in a format approved prior to the installation by the Chief of Police.
B.
No more than one call shall be made to the Chester County
DES as a result of a single activation of the automatic protection device.
C.
The time for transmitting each recorded message shall
not exceed 15 seconds, and it may not be repeated more than once.
D.
Recorded messages repeated during the one call shall
have an interval between them of no more than five seconds.
E.
The sensory mechanism used in connection with an automatic
protection device must be adjusted to suppress false indications of intrusion
so that the device will not be activated by impulses due to fleeting pressure
changes in water pipes, short flashes of light, the rattling or vibrations
of doors and windows, vibrations to the premises caused by the passing of
vehicles or any other force not related to genuine alarms.
F.
All components comprising such a device must be maintained
by the owner or lessee in good repair to assure maximum reliability of operation.
Each automatic protection device supplier who sells or leases an automatic
protection device in the township after the effective date of this chapter
shall furnish operating instructions and a maintenance manual to the buyer
or lessee.
The public safety requires that the incidence of false alarms and malfunctioning
automatic protection devices be kept to a minimum so as to reduce unnecessary
calls to the Police Department and Fire Department and to increase the effectiveness
of properly functioning automatic protection devices. In order to enforce
this chapter and to reduce the incidence of false alarms and malfunctioning
automatic protection devices, it is necessary that appropriate township officials
have the right to inspect the installation and operation of an automatic protection
device, and subsequent installation of such a device pursuant to a permit
issued or the continuance of the installation of any automatic protection
device already installed at the effective date of this chapter shall constitute
consent by the owner or lessee thereof and authorization for the inspection
of any such installation and/or operation of any such automatic protection
device by the Chief of Police, Township Building Official or any other designated
agent of the township. All such entries upon the premises upon which an automatic
protection device is installed and all such inspections of the installation
and operation of automatic protection devices shall be at reasonable times
and upon reasonable notice, except in emergency situations.
Automatic protection devices, suppliers and installers must conform
to the requirements contained in the National Electrical Code as they pertain
to installations, inspections and testing of such devices.
A.
Each automatic protection device supplier who sells or
leases an automatic protection device in the township shall make service available
directly or through an agent on a twenty-four-hour-per-day basis, seven days
a week, to repair such devices and to correct malfunctions as they occur.
Such service shall be made available to any person using an automatic protection
device at such user's expense. Any person using an automatic protection
device shall make arrangements for service to be available to such device
on a twenty-four-hour-per-day, seven-day-per-week basis.
B.
At the time of installation, an automatic protection
device supplier shall furnish to any buyer or lessee using a repair service
written information as to how service may be obtained at any time, including
the telephone number of the automatic protection device supplier or agent
responsible for service. The buyer or lessee and the automatic protection
device supplier or agent supplying a service shall be responsible for having
the device disconnected or repaired as quickly as possible after notice that
the automatic protection device is not functioning properly.
When messages evidencing failure to comply with the operational requirements
as set forth in this chapter are received by the township or the Chester County
DES and the township concludes that the automatic protection device sending
such messages should be disconnected in order to relieve the Police Department
or Fire Department of the burden of responding to false alarms, the township
may require that the owner or lessee of the device, or his representative,
disconnect the device until it is made to comply with said operational requirements.
If disconnection of the defective device is not accomplished promptly and
the township determines that the malfunctioning device is repeatedly sending
false alarms without any intermittent valid alarms, the township may then
take any action necessary to terminate the receiving of alarms.
No person shall conduct any test or demonstration of an automatic protection
device without first notifying the shift supervisor of the Chester County
DES, unless the device is keyed through an intermediary, in which case no
such notification is necessary unless the alarm or signal is to be relayed
to the Police Department, Fire Department or Chester County DES.
Automatic protection device suppliers and installers shall furnish,
at their own expense, at or prior to the time of contracting, a copy of this
chapter to owners, lessees or users of the equipment or services to be supplied.
A.
Consent to pay costs; schedule of costs. For the purposes
of defraying the costs of responding to false alarms and administrating the
Alarm Ordinance regulations, the owner, lessee or user of any automatic protection
device, persons using the services of an intermediary, users of audible automatic
protection devices and users of any other kind of automatic protection devices
or any other kind of direct or indirect connection with the police or fire
communications center, except persons using the two-way live voice communication
by telephone, shall, as a condition to installation and continued operation
of such equipment or service, be deemed to consent to pay the township for
all false alarms upon the following schedule for each false alarm originating
from the owner's, lessee's or user's premises:
B.
Any owner, lessee or user of an automatic protection device may revoke or refuse to consent as set forth in Subsection A above only by disconnecting the automatic protection device. With respect to such devices installed at the effective date of this chapter, the owner, lessee or user can refuse or revoke the aforesaid consent by disconnecting such automatic protection device within 90 days from the effective date of this chapter.
C.
Any police officer responding to an alarm which is determined
to be false shall promptly notify the person in whose name the automatic protection
device is registered of the false alarm. Prompt notice of a false alarm penalty
shall be issued by the Police Department.
D.
By submitting an application for a permit for the installation
of fire alarm and/or emergency medical alarm system and the subsequent installation
of such a system or by the continuation of the use of an automatic protection
device already installed at the effective date of this chapter, the owner,
lessee or user thereof shall agree that such permit application constitutes
a waiver by such person of the right to bring or file any action, claim or
complaint whatsoever based upon such entry into subject premises against any
police officer or fireman who makes such entry in response to such an alarm
from the premises on which such an automatic protection device is installed.
In the event that the owner of such premises is a person other than the permit
applicant, as in the instance of a lessee or other user not the owner of the
premises on which the automatic protection device is installed, such permit
application shall constitute an indemnification agreement by the applicant
to hold harmless any such police officer or fireman, the township, the Police
Department and the Fire Department, as appropriate, from any and all damages
whatsoever claimed by the lessor or owner of the premises on which the automatic
protection device is installed.
A.
Violation of any provision of this chapter shall constitute
an offense punishable by a fine of not more than $300, plus the costs of prosecution,
or, in default of payment thereof, by imprisonment for a term of not more
than 30 days, in the discretion of the District Justice before whom the conviction
is obtained. Such fine and costs shall be collectible before any District
Justice as like fines and penalties are now by law collectible. Each twenty-four-hour
period during which failure to comply continues shall constitute a separate
offense.
B.
Any person found guilty of misuse, false
activation or continual accidental activation of an automatic protection device
shall be liable for a fine of not more than $300, plus the costs of prosecution,
for each and every such activation or, in default of payment thereof, by imprisonment
for a term of not more than 30 days, in the discretion of the District Justice
before whom the conviction is obtained. Such fine and costs shall be collectible
before any District Justice as like fines and penalties are now by law collectible.
