[HISTORY: Adopted by the Mayor and Council
of the Borough of Northvale 7-9-1980 as Ord. No. 469-80. Amendments noted where
applicable.]
The purpose of this chapter is to provide standards
and regulations for various types of local alarms, intrusion, burglar,
fire and other emergency alarm devices, whether by direct line, radio,
telephone or other means actuating a device at police headquarters
and requiring response thereto by the Police Department, Fire Department
or other municipal agencies of the Borough of Northvale.
The provisions of this chapter shall apply to
any person who operates, maintains or owns any alarm device or local
alarm designed to summon the police, Fire Department or other municipal
agencies to any location in response to any type of alarm signal.
The terms of this chapter shall also apply to alarm companies which
provide a service by private source to other than municipal offices
or agencies within or without the Borough of Northvale, and any person
who shall operate, maintain or own such an alarm device shall still
be responsible for the provisions contained herein, regardless of
whether or not such alarm is in any way connected to the Police Department
or other municipal agency.
As used in this chapter, the following terms
shall have the meanings indicated:
Any type of alarm system actuating equipment providing warning
of intrusion, fire, smoke, flood or other peril.
Any alarm, device or combination of devices installed for
one or more buildings at any location.
That type of device used in telephone lines transmitting
an alarm directly through the police switchboard.
Any alarm actuated by inadvertence, negligence or unintentional
act by someone other than an intruder, and shall include as well alarms
caused by malfunctioning of the alarm device or other relevant equipment.
Any alarm or device which, when activated, produces an audible
signal not in any way connected to the dial alarm system in the Police
Department.
Any person owning an alarm device or a local alarm within
the scope of this chapter.
Includes any natural person, partnership, corporation, association
or any other legal entity.
A.
Except as hereinafter provided, it shall be unlawful
for any person to operate or maintain an alarm device, as defined
by this chapter, without having first obtained a valid permit.
B.
Any person who owns, operates or maintains an alarm
device or devices shall make application to the Chief of Police of
the Borough of Northvale for a permit therefor on forms supplied by
the Police Department. The application shall specify the name, address
and telephone number of the owner and user of the alarm installation,
the exact location of the alarm device or devices, the name and address
of the installer of said device, the type of device, the name and
address of the individual or firm regularly servicing said alarm device,
if any, provisions relating to false alarm and testing procedures,
a list of names and addresses of persons to be contacted in the event
of an alarm and other information relating to the alarm device reasonably
required by the Chief of Police and a consent form to be signed by
such person or persons as a prerequisite for a permit to be issued,
which consent form shall authorize the Police Department, Fire Department
or their duly authorized and designated representatives to disconnect
any alarm device by whatever means possible and without any liability
by said Police Department, Fire Department or their duly authorized
and designated representatives to such person for damages, upon violation
of the false alarm provisions of this chapter.
C.
Application for a permit must be filed within 60 days
after the effective date of this chapter, and thereafter on or before
January 15 next succeeding the adoption of this chapter, for all existing
or new alarm installations, which application shall be accompanied
by the annual fee payable to the municipality in accordance with the
schedule of fees hereinafter set forth.
D.
All permits shall expire on December 31 of the year
issued and shall not be valid after said date. A renewal permit application
must be filed with the Chief of Police on or before January 15 of
each year and shall be accompanied by the annual fee payable to the
municipality in accordance with the schedule of fees hereinafter set
forth. The renewal application, on forms supplied by the Police Department,
shall provide for any changes in information from that contained in
the original application or in the most recent renewal application.
E.
The Chief of Police is the designated official of
the municipality to issue and renew permits, to remove or suspend
permits and to otherwise enforce and apply the provisions of this
chapter.
F.
An application for a permit or permit renewal may
be denied by the Chief of Police in the event that he disapproves
of the equipment intended to be used or continued by the applicant
or the manner of use thereof or if the applicant has violated any
other provisions of this chapter or is in default of the payment of
the annual fee.
G.
All permits as may be granted hereunder shall be accepted
upon the express conditions as set forth in the application that the
permittee shall defend, indemnify and save harmless the municipality
and its authorized officials, agents and employees from and against
any and all damages, costs, expense and liability arising out of the
acts or failure to act of the municipality in disconnecting an alarm
device as a result of violation of the false alarm provisions contained
in this chapter.
A.
Dial alarms shall be coded to dial a special separate
number, which number can be obtained from the Chief of Police or designated
representative, and no dial alarm shall be coded to dial the number
of the general police switchboard of the Borough of Northvale. All
dial alarms existing at the time of the passage of this chapter shall
have 30 days within which to be recoded to dial the within-mentioned
special separate number.
B.
The total length of any message must not exceed 15
seconds.
C.
All messages must conform to the approved format on
the application form as supplied by the Chief of Police of the Borough
of Northvale.
D.
Messages shall be received by the Police Department
no more than two times for each given alarm.
E.
The device must provide an automatic line seizure
feature in the event that the special separate phone number is busy
with an incoming or outgoing call.
F.
Any person having a dial alarm device which dials
the general police number, upon discovery thereof, shall receive notice
from the Chief of Police or his designated representative requiring
the owner to comply with the terms of this chapter. If the owner fails
to do so within 30 days of said notice, he shall then be liable pursuant
to the violation provisions of this Chapter.
[Amended 3-8-2017 by Ord.
No. 969-2017]
G.
All components of such equipment must be maintained
by the owner in good repair, and when evidence exists that there has
been failure to comply with the operation or the requirements of this
chapter, the Chief of Police or his designated representative is then
authorized to demand that such device be disconnected until such time
as compliance with the current requirements is reestablished.
H.
The sensory mechanism of such devices shall be adjusted
so as to suppress false indications and not to be actuated by impulses
due to pressure changes in water pipes, short flashes of light, wind,
noises, rattling or vibration of doors or windows or other forces
unrelated to general alarms.
I.
Owners of dial alarm devices shall be governed by
the false alarm procedures and penalties set forth in this chapter.
A.
Local alarms shall be permitted, but it shall be unlawful for any local alarm to ring or put forth any other sound for a period in excess of 10 minutes. Any violation of this requirement shall be punishable in accordance with § 61-10.
B.
Local alarms shall be registered in accordance with
the provisions of this chapter.
C.
Persons having local alarms shall be required to leave
with the Police Department the name of the person who can be reached
in case of malfunction of the equipment in order that the device can
be temporarily disconnected. In the event of the malfunction of equipment
and if no person can be located to secure the device, then the owner
shall be liable pursuant to the violations and penalty provisions
in this chapter.
A.
For each false alarm of any kind communicated to the
Police Department of the Borough of Northvale, a record shall be kept
by the Police Department of the Borough of Northvale, and where it
is determined that such false alarm originated at a permittee's premises,
the following procedure shall be adhered to:
(1)
For the first and second false alarm given in any
six-month period, a warning shall be issued by the Police Department
to the permittee.
[Amended 3-8-2017 by Ord.
No. 969-2017]
(2)
For the third and any subsequent false alarm in any
given six-month period, a penalty of not more than $100 shall be paid
to the Borough of Northvale, and such penalty shall be payable for
each false alarm subsequent to the second during the said six-month
period.
[Amended 3-9-1994 by Ord. No. 667-94]
(3)
Where investigation of the Police Department discloses
continued abuse of the privilege of connection or dial alarm service
and a disregard of a permittee for failing to take remedial steps
to avoid false alarms, the Chief of Police is empowered with the right
to require disconnection from the dial alarm system for a limited
or permanent time, provided that no such permit shall be revoked or
suspended without giving the permittee an opportunity to show cause
before the Mayor and Council why such action should not be taken by
the Chief of Police.
B.
Any person testing any alarm covered under the terms
of this chapter shall notify the Police Department immediately prior
to and after the testing is completed. Failure to do so shall subject
the person to the general penalty for violation of this chapter.
C.
Any unauthorized equipment may be disconnected by
the Chief of Police or his designated representative for noncompliance
of this chapter, and any person installing and maintaining unauthorized
equipment shall be prosecuted for a violation of this chapter, and
each and every day said equipment is in operation shall be considered
a separate violation. Any permittee shall, by acceptance of the permit,
be deemed as having consented to inspection of the premises on which
any alarm device is installed at reasonable hours by the Chief of
Police or his designated representative.
D.
All alarm devices shall be installed in accordance
with all applicable municipal and governmental laws, ordinances and
requirements.
Any person who owns, operates or maintains an
alarm device or devices shall be subject to the following fee schedule,
which fees shall cover the cost of registration, testing and the amortization
of the special phone line or lines required in the Police Department
of the Borough of Northvale along with the ancillary tape devices
at the police desk necessitated by these systems.
The Mayor and Council of the Borough of Northvale
may from time to time promulgate rules and regulations supplementing
this chapter in order to provide for recordkeeping and efficient management
of said system.
