[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town of North Haven 4-6-1988
Special Town Meeting. Amendments noted where applicable.]
It is the intent and purpose of this ordinance to provide minimum standards
and regulations applicable to users and installers of burglar, fire, holdup
and automatic telephone-dialer alarms within the Town of North Haven, to provide
penalties for noncompliance and to encourage the installation of protective
alarm systems in all dwellings and commercial structures.
The following definitions shall apply to this ordinance:
An assembly of equipment and devices (or a single device, such as
a solid-state unit, which may operate from a one-hundred-ten-volt AC line)
arranged to signal the presence of a hazard requiring urgent attention and
to which Police or Fire Department personnel are expected to respond. This
includes all burglar alarms, fire alarms, holdup alarms and automatic telephone-dialer
alarms but does not include smoke detectors which do not signal outside an
alarmed premises or "alarm systems" on motor vehicles.
Any person, firm or corporation on whose premises any alarm system
is maintained within the town.
An alarm system which automatically sends over regular telephone
lines, by direct connection or otherwise, a prerecorded voice message indicating
the existence of the emergency situation that the alarm system is designed
to detect.
The activation of an alarm system through mechanical failure, malfunction,
improper installation or the negligence of the owner or lessee of an alarm
system or of his employees or agents. "False alarm" does not include alarms
caused by hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes or other normally infrequent
violent natural conditions or acts of God. Also excluded from the definition
of "false alarm" are false alarms that are transmitted with a criminal, malicious
or mischievous intent. Such violations will be prosecuted under the applicable
General Statutes of the State of Connecticut.
Any person, firm or corporation installing an alarm system, with the
exception of alarms to detect fire hazards or emergencies (fire alarms), within
the town shall register with the North Haven Police Department at least 10
days prior to the anticipated installation. All existing alarm systems, except
for fire alarms, shall be registered with the North Haven Police Department
within 60 days of the effective date of this ordinance. Any person, firm or
corporation installing an alarm system designed to detect fire emergencies
or hazards within the town shall register with the North Haven Fire Department
at least 10 days prior to the anticipated installation. All existing alarm
systems designed to detect fire emergencies or hazards shall be registered
with the North Haven Fire Department within 60 days of the effective date
of this ordinance.
A.Â
No alarm system shall be installed by other than a licensed
person or other person meeting the requirements set forth in the Building
and Electrical Codes of the State of Connecticut. No alarm system shall be
installed unless an electrical permit to install an alarm system has been
obtained from the Town Building Official or his designated representative,
as is required by the Building and Electrical Codes of the State of Connecticut.
B.Â
Alarm users having existing automatic telephone-dialing
devices shall comply with Section 7-282b of the General Statutes of the State
of Connecticut.
C.Â
Automatic telephone-dialing devices in existence as of
the effective date of this section shall be programmed to a special telephone
number or numbers, which are to be designated by the Chief of Police, within
60 days of the effective date of this ordinance.
D.Â
No person, firm or corporation shall install an automatic telephone-dialing device within the Town of North Haven terminating at any number other than the numbers referred to in Subsection C above after the effective date of this section.
E.Â
All alarm systems, as defined in this section, which
sound an audible signal which may be heard outside of the protected premises
shall be equipped with a device which shall limit the duration of such audible
signal to not more than 30 minutes.
F.Â
A maximum of two false alarms per calendar year shall
be allowed from any alarm system of any person, firm or corporation. Upon
receipt of a third false alarm and for each false alarm thereafter during
the calendar year, a user fee shall be assessed by the Chief of Police or,
in the case of fire alarms, by the Fire Chief in the amount of $50. Said fee
shall be paid to the Treasurer, Town of North Haven. Alarms originating from
any building owned by any federal, state or local government shall be exempt
from the user fee requirement. The determination of whether a particular alarm
was false shall be made by the Chief of Police, except that, with respect
to fire alarms, the determination shall be made by the Fire Chief.
B.Â
Any person, firm or corporation who shall fail to pay a user fee which has been assessed as provided in § 77-4F of this ordinance within 30 days shall be fined $100. Each delinquent user fee shall constitute a separate offense.
C.Â
Any person, firm or corporation found to
be in violation of any other provision of this section shall be fined $50.
