[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Commissioners of the Township of Radnor 3-13-1989 as Ord. No. 89-11 (Ch. 40 of the 1974 Code). Amendments noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Noise — See Ch. 200.
A. 
The singular shall include the plural, and the plural shall include the singular. Words used in the present tense shall also include the future.
B. 
As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the meanings indicated, unless otherwise expressly stated:
ALARM SUPPLIER
The business of any individual, partnership or corporation of selling, leasing, maintaining, servicing, repairing, altering, replacing, moving or installing an alarm system.
ALARM SYSTEM
Any assembly of equipment, mechanical, electrical or battery operated, arranged to signal the occurrence of a police, fire or medical emergency requiring urgent attention and immediate response by the Police or Fire Department.
ANSWERING SERVICE
A service whereby trained employees, in attendance at all times, receive prerecorded voice messages from automatic dialing devices reporting an emergency at a stated location, where such employees have the duty to relay immediately by live voice any such message to the Police or Fire Department which must immediately respond.
AUDIBLE ALARM
Any device, bill, horn or siren which is attached to the interior or exterior of a building, structure or facility and emits a warning signal audible outside which is designed to attract attention and signal a police or fire emergency.
AUTOMATIC DIALING DEVICE
A device which is interconnected to a telephone line and is programmed to transmit a signal by voice or coded message to an answering service to indicate an emergency which requires an immediate response by the Police or Fire Department.
CENTRAL STATION
A protective system or group of such systems owned privately for customers by a person, firm or corporation, having operators and guards in attendance at all times who accept emergency messages and transmit notification of such emergency to the Police or Fire Department.
CHIEF OF POLICE
The administrative head of the Police Department who shall have responsibility for the registration of all alarm systems within the township and the administration and enforcement of this chapter.
COMMUNICATION CENTER
A system which shall be maintained by Radnor Township and which shall monitor on a continuous basis the reception of emergency messages or signals received from an alarm system.
EMERGENCY
A police, fire, medical or hazard emergency.
FALSE ALARM
An alarm activated in the absence of an emergency, whether willfully, by inadvertance or by lack of maintenance to an alarm system which requires an emergency response by the Police or Fire Department. This definition shall exclude malfunctions resulting from the testing of equipment; provided, however, that written notification has been received by the Police Department advising as to the date and time of such test. Malfunctions resulting from the repair of telephone or electrical lines or acts of God, such as windstorms, thunder or lightning, shall also be excluded from this definition. If doubt exists as to the cause of a "false alarm," a final determination shall be made by the Chief of Police.
FIRE DEPARTMENTS
The Radnor, Bryn Mawr and Broomall Fire Departments.
HAZARD EMERGENCY
An explosion, leak of toxic gas, liquefied or solid, or a potential leak or explosion.
KEY
To use a telephone line and equipment for transmitting a message, either directly or indirectly, by an automatic dialing device.
INTERMEDIARY
A central station protective system or an answering service as herein defined.
POLICE DEPARTMENT
The Township of Radnor Police Department.
REGISTRATION
Written permission duly received through the Police Department upon the filing of all necessary information and the payment of a fee as required by this chapter.
TOWNSHIP
The Township of Radnor.
A. 
New installation. From the effective date of this chapter, it shall be unlawful for any alarm system to be installed within Radnor Township without first registering such system with the Police Department and paying the required fee as prescribed by this chapter.
B. 
Existing installation. Within 90 days from the effective date of this chapter, every alarm system located within the township shall be registered with the Police Department. Registration and payment of the required fee shall be the responsibility of the owner, user or lessee of such system.
C. 
Application. Application forms for the registration of an alarm system shall be made available by the Police Department and shall require the following minimum information:
(1) 
The name, address and telephone number of both the alarm user and property owner.
(2) 
The address where the alarm system is installed, and telephone number at that location.
(3) 
The name, address and telephone number of the alarm supplier.
(4) 
The name, address and telephone number of a person or firm who is authorized to respond immediately to an emergency or false alarm and to gain access to the alarm system, and who is available on a twenty-four-hour-a-day basis, seven days a week, to respond for servicing and maintenance and to correct malfunctions as they occur.
(5) 
The type of system (i.e., holdup, burglary, fire or medical emergency).
(6) 
Any other information which shall be required by the Police Department.
[Amended 3-13-2000 by Ord. No. 2000-06]
A fee in the amount of $100 shall be required for the registration of any alarm system installed within the township.
A. 
Every alarm supplier who sells, leases or furnishes an alarm system or any individual, firm or corporation who installs his or its own alarm system shall be required to meet the following minimum requirements:
(1) 
The system installed shall be listed by Underwriters Laboratories, Inc., as being electrically safe.
(2) 
Such system shall be provided with standby battery power which shall automatically and immediately take over in the event of a power failure.
(3) 
Wiring for each system shall meet all applicable township codes and be installed using shielded cable to prevent wave interference.
B. 
Exemptions. A battery-powered (nine volt, 11.2 volt or similar voltage) audible alarm system or an electrically energized audible alarm system whose sole purpose is to notify the occupants of that location of an emergency shall be exempt from the registration requirements of this chapter if all of the following conditions are met:
(1) 
The alarm is not connected to any mechanical or electrical device that automatically notifies a person or agency outside of that location that the alarm system is activated.
(2) 
The alarm system is not connected to any external speakers.
C. 
Alarms without timing mechanisms prohibited. On and after the effective date of this chapter, owners and users of audible alarms shall equip such device with a timing mechanism that will disengage the audible alarm after a maximum time period of 15 minutes. Alarms without such a mechanism shall constitute a violation of this chapter and must be disconnected.
A. 
Each alarm supplier who, after the effective date of this chapter, sells or leases in the township an alarm system shall furnish operating instructions and a manual to the buyer or lessee.
B. 
A copy of this chapter shall also be provided to the buyer, user or lessee at or prior to the time of contracting by the alarm supplier and at his own expense.
A. 
Radnor Township reserves the right to inspect the installation and operation of every alarm system within the township.
B. 
Inspection of premises where an alarm system is installed will be conducted during reasonable hours, except in emergency situations.
[Amended 2-14-2011 by Ord. No. 2011-07; 2-27-2017 by Ord. No. 2017-03]
A. 
When a false alarm occurs, the following procedure shall be applied:
(1) 
The property owner shall receive a false alarm citation letter from the Police Department. If the false alarm is a second violation in a given calendar year, the property owner shall have 10 business days from the date of the property owner's receipt of citation to either pay the citation or file an appeal of the citation by mailing or e-mailing a letter of appeal to the Superintendent of Police.
(2) 
If the citation is not paid in full or an appeal is not timely filed within 10 business days from the date of the property owner's receipt of the citation, a second citation letter will be mailed to the property owner, and a late fee of $50 shall be added to the initial citation fee. If the citation and late fee are not paid in full within 10 business days from the date of the property owner's receipt of the second citation letter, a non-traffic citation shall be issued for the violation and mailed to the appropriate District Court.
(3) 
If the citation is properly appealed, the Superintendent of Police shall, in his sole discretion, determine whether to uphold or dismiss the citation and shall respond to the appeal by providing a final written determination provided to the property owner within 10 business days of receipt of said appeal. If the citation is upheld, the property owner shall have an additional 10 days from the date of the property owner's receipt of the determination to pay the citation in full.
(4) 
If the citation is not paid in full within 10 days after the date of the property owner's receipt of the Superintendent of Police's determination to uphold the citation, a non-traffic citation shall be issued for the violation and mailed to the appropriate District Court.
B. 
For the purpose of defraying the cost to the Township for responding to false alarms, the owners and/or users of an alarm system as defined by this chapter shall be subject to the following schedule of fines pursuant to the procedure outlined above in § 104-7A:
(1) 
For the second false alarm per calendar year: $25 for each alarm.
(2) 
For the third false alarm per calendar year: $75 for each alarm.
(3) 
For the fourth false alarm and each subsequent false alarm per calendar year: $125 for each alarm.
[Amended 7-20-1992 by Ord. No. 92-13]
Any person violating any provisions of this chapter shall, upon conviction thereof by a District Justice, be sentenced to pay a fine or penalty of not more than $600, plus costs of prosecution, and, in default of payment of such fine and costs, to imprisonment in the county jail for a term not exceeding 30 days.