[HISTORY: Adopted by the Common Council of the City of North
Tonawanda 12-20-1994. Amendments noted where applicable.]
This ordinance shall be known as the "Alarm Ordinance of the
City of North Tonawanda."
The purpose of this ordinance is to protect and promote the
health, safety and general welfare of the residents of the City of
North Tonawanda by reducing the number of avoidable alarms of fire,
intrusion, holdup or other emergencies which contribute to ineffective
utilization of police and life emergency agencies, require 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 ordinance, the following words and phrases
shall have the meanings respectively ascribed to them by this section:
A device or an assembly of equipment which is designed to
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 Police Department or Fire Department Central Fire Dispatch
or other emergency dispatch center.
The owners and lessees of premises having alarm systems shall
comply with all provisions of this ordinance on or before the first
day of January 1995.
No person shall install or maintain an external audible alarm
device which does not contain an operational automatic cutoff system
which turns off the external audible alarm after a period not to exceed
10 minutes. 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.
No alarm system shall have an automatic dialer feature or other
type of alarm alert which connects automatically to enhanced 911 or
911 emergency telephone system. 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.
The activation of an alarm system through mechanical failure,
malfunction, improper installation or the negligence of the owner,
user, custodian or lessee of an alarm system or of his employees requiring
an emergency response when in fact an emergency does not exist constitutes
an avoidable alarm. An avoidable alarm also includes intentional activation
of an alarm system when the activator knows an emergency situation
does not exist. Avoidable alarm does not include an alarm activated
by violent conditions of nature or similar causes beyond the control
of the user, owner or operator of the alarm system. The activation
of an alarm system under any circumstances in which the activator
reasonably believes that an emergency situation exists shall not be
deemed to be an avoidable alarm.
An owner or lessee of real property to which an emergency agency
responds as a result of an avoidable alarm shall pay a fee for each
such response each calendar year as follows:
The owner or lessee of real property which received an emergency
response by reason of an avoidable alarm shall be notified in writing
by means of first class mail of all avoidable alarms up to five police
alarms and/or one fire alarm in a calendar year. The letter shall
inform the owner or lessee of the times and types of emergency responses
provided to the address location and shall contain a copy of this
ordinance.
The Chief of Police and the Fire Chief shall establish a policy
and procedures whereby an owner of real property or lessee thereof
on which an alarm system has been installed and who has been notified
of an avoidable alarm may present evidence as to why any such alarm
should not be classified as an avoidable alarm. The Chief of Police
and the Fire Chief may designate members of their departments, not
to exceed three in total, to receive such evidence and make recommendations
and findings of fact concerning such classification. The Chief of
Police and the Fire Chief shall make the final determination concerning
a classification, which determination shall be reviewable only pursuant
to procedures under Article 78 of the Civil Practice Law and Rules.
To challenge the classification of an alarm as an avoidable alarm,
the real property owner or lessee thereof shall in writing notify
the Chief of Police and/or the Fire Chief within 20 days after receipt
of notice of the avoidable alarm. The failure to give timely notice
shall be deemed a waiver of the right to review the determination.
Avoidable alarm charges shall be paid to the City Treasurer
of the City of North Tonawanda at 216 Payne Avenue, North Tonawanda,
New York 14120.
Failure of a real property owner or lessee of property on which
an alarm system is installed to pay the avoidable alarm charge, within
30 days following notice of the amount due, shall be served with an
appearance ticket and shall be deemed in violation of this ordinance.
The Chief of Police or his designee shall enforce this ordinance
for alarm systems which detect medical emergencies and entry or exit
from a building, structure or facility. The Fire Chief or his designee
shall enforce this ordinance for alarm systems which detect smoke,
fire or abnormal rise in temperature.
Any person, business, firm, corporation, partnership, association
or other entity that does not pay the fee as established in this ordinance
or who violates any other provisions of this ordinance shall be guilty
of a violation and be subject to a fine of not more than $250 or imprisonment
for a period not to exceed 15 days or by both such fine and imprisonment.
In lieu of or in addition to such fine and imprisonment or both, each
such violation shall be subject to a civil penalty not exceeding $1,000
for any one case, to be recovered in an action or proceeding brought
by the City Attorney of the City of North Tonawanda in a court of
competent jurisdiction. A separate offense shall be deemed committed
upon each day during which a violation occurs, continues or is permitted
and shall be punishable as such.
If any section, clause or provision of this ordinance or the
application thereof to any persons is adjudged invalid, the adjudication
shall not effect other sections, clauses or provisions or the application
thereof which can be sustained or given effect without the invalid
section, clause or provision or application, and to this end the various
sections, clauses or provisions of this ordinance are declared to
be severable.
This ordinance shall become effective January 1, 1995, after
approval by the Common Council and publication in the official newspaper
of the city.
