[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Supervisors
of the Township of Uwchlan 5-9-2005 by Ord. No. 2005-03. Amendments noted
where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Alarm systems — See Ch. 82.
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.
Association of Public Safety Communication Officials International.
Chester County Department of Emergency Services.
Federal Communications Commission.
National Association of Business and Education Radio.
National Public Safety Planning Advisory Committee.
Personal Communications Industry Association.
A.
Except as otherwise provided, no person shall erect,
construct, alter, refit, change the use of or provide an addition
of more than 20% of the existing floor area to any building or structure
or a part thereof or cause the same to be done which fails to support
adequate radio coverage for CCDES, the fire companies serving Uwchlan
Township, and the Uwchlan Township Police Department. For the purposes
of this section, adequate radio coverage shall include all of the
following:
(1)
A minimum signal strength of -95 dBM available in
90% of the area of each floor of the building when transmitted from
the closest CCDES radio communications system site.
(2)
A minimum signal strength of -95 dBM received at the
closest CCDEES radio communications site when transmitted from 90%
of the area of each floor of the building.
(3)
The frequency range, which must be supported from
806.0125 MHz - 868.9875 MHz or current frequencies used by CCDES.
(4)
A ninety-percent reliability factor.
(5)
Signal strength measurements, for the purpose of measuring
the performance of a bidirectional amplifier, shall be based on one
input signal adequate to obtain a maximum continuous operating output
level.
B.
The provisions of this section shall become applicable
upon notification to the property owner that unacceptable levels exist.
The property owner shall have 90 days from date of notification to
enhance radio coverage and bring it within the acceptable limits of
these provisions.
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.
A.
Acceptance test procedure.
(1)
When an in-building radio system is required, and
upon completion of installation, it will be the building owner's responsibility
to have the radio system tested to ensure that two-way coverage on
each floor of the building is a minimum of 90%. Each floor of the
building shall be divided into a grid of approximately 20 equal areas.
A maximum of two nonadjacent areas will be allowed to fail the test.
In the event that three of the areas fail the test, in order to be
more statistically accurate, the floor may be divided into 40 equal
areas. In such event, a maximum of four nonadjacent areas will be
allowed to fail the test. After the 40 area tests, if the system continues
to fail, the building owner shall have the system altered to meet
the ninety-percent coverage requirement. The test shall be conducted
using the most current E. F. Johnson portable radio, or current manufacturer
of communications equipment used by CCDES, or its equivalent, available
to the Uwchlan Township Police and/or Fire Department, talking through
the CCDES as specified by the authority having jurisdiction. A spot
located approximately in the center of a grid area will be selected
for the test, then the radio will be keyed to verify two-way communications
to and from the outside of the building through the CCDES. Once the
spot has been selected, prospecting for a better spot within the grid
area will not be permitted.
(2)
The gain values of all amplifiers shall be measured
and the test measurement results shall be kept on file with the building
owner so that the measurements can be verified each year during the
annual tests. In the event that the measurement results became lost,
the building owner will be required to rerun the acceptance test to
reestablish the gain values.
B.
Annual tests. When an in-building radio system is
required, the building owner shall test all active components of the
system, including, but not limited to, amplifiers, power supplies
and backup batteries, a minimum of once every 12 months. Amplifiers
shall be tested to ensure that the gain is the same as it was upon
initial installation and acceptance. Backup batteries and power supplies
shall be tested under load for a period of one hour to verify that
they will properly operate during an actual power outage. If within
the one-hour test period, in the opinion of the testing technician,
the battery exhibits symptoms of failure, the test shall be extended
for additional one-hour periods until the testing technician confirms
the integrity of the battery. All other active components shall be
checked to determine that they are operating within the manufacturer's
specifications for the intended purposes.
C.
Five-year tests. In addition to the annual test, the
building owner shall perform a radio coverage test a minimum of once
every five years to ensure that the radio system continues to meet
the requirements of the original acceptance test. The procedure set
forth above shall apply to such tests. A copy of accepted tests shall
be provided to the Chester County Emergency Services Engineering Department.
D.
Qualifications of testing personnel. All tests shall
be conducted, documented and signed by a person in possession of a
current FCC technical license or a current technician certification
issued by the APCO, NABER, or the PCIA. All test records shall be
retained on the inspected premises by the building owner and a copy
submitted to officials of the fire companies serving Uwchlan Township
and the Uwchlan Township Police Department.
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.
