The Board of Supervisors finds that the ability
of police, fire, ambulance, and other emergency providers and personnel
to communicate with each other within buildings and structures, and
to communicate from within structures and buildings to personnel and
locations outside the building and structure, is of vital public importance.
A breakdown in communications among emergency providers and personnel
creates a serious risk of harm to and is a serious threat to the safety
and welfare of emergency personnel, the citizens of Uwchlan Township
and the public in general. Therefore, pursuant to the police power,
the Board enacts this chapter to protect the public health, safety,
and welfare.
The following words and terms shall, for the
purposes of this section and as used elsewhere in this chapter, have
the meanings shown herein.
APCO
Association of Public Safety Communication Officials International.
CCDES
Chester County Department of Emergency Services.
FCC
Federal Communications Commission.
NABER
National Association of Business and Education Radio.
NPSPAC
National Public Safety Planning Advisory Committee.
PCIA
Personal Communications Industry Association.
Buildings and structures which cannot support
the required level of radio coverage shall be equipped with either
a radiating cable system or an internal multiple antenna system with
or without FCC-type accepted bidirectional eight-hundred-megahertz
amplifiers, as needed. If any part of the installed system or systems
contains an electrically powered component, the system shall be capable
of operating on an independent battery and/or generator system for
a period of at least 12 hours without external power input. If used,
bidirectional amplifiers shall include filters to reduce adjacent
frequency interference at 35 dB below the NPSPAC band. Settings used
should not attenuate the NPSPAC frequencies, and further provided
that they are not more than one megahertz from the NSPAC frequencies.
Police and fire personnel, after providing reasonable
notice to the owner or his representative, shall have the right to
enter onto the property to conduct field testing to be certain that
the required level of radio coverage is present.
This chapter shall not apply to structures in
Use Groups R-3 and R-4 of the International Building Code, any building
constructed of wood frame, any building 35 feet high or less, as long
as none of the aforementioned buildings make use of any metal construction
or any underground storage or parking areas. For purposes of this
section, parking structures and stairwells are included in the definition
of "building" and stair shafts are included in the definition of "all
parts of a building," but elevators may be excluded.
Any nonexempt building or structure existing, under construction or for which a building permit application is pending or has been provided as of the effective date of this section, shall comply with the requirements of this section if the CCDES, the fire companies serving Uwchlan Township or Uwchlan Township Police Department determines that adequate radio coverage as defined in §
119-3A does not exist in the building or structure. The owner of the building or structure shall be notified, in writing, of the inadequacy of the coverage and shall have a period of 90 consecutive calendar days from the date of the notice to comply with this section, including, but not limited to, enhancing radio coverage and bringing it within the acceptable limits of this section.
Any person who violates or commits the violation
of any provision of this chapter shall be subject to a fine in an
amount not to exceed $1,000, plus all court costs, including reasonable
attorneys' fees. In default of payment thereof, the defendant may
be sentenced to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 90 days. In
addition, the Township, through its Solicitor, may institute injunctive,
mandamus or any other appropriate action or proceeding at law or in
equity for the enforcement of this chapter.