[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Supervisors of the Township
of Newtown 4-13-1982 by Ord. No. 1982-3. Amendments noted where applicable.]
The following definitions shall apply in the interpretation
and enforcement of this chapter:
Any person, firm or corporation who sells or leases and/or
installs automatic protection devices.
A service whereby trained employees in attendance at all
times receive prerecorded voice messages from automatic protection
devices reporting an emergency at a stated location and who have the
duty to relay immediately by live voice any such emergency message
over a designated or direct trunk line to the communications center
of the Police or Fire Departments.
Any device, bell, horn or siren which is attached to the
interior or exterior of a building and emits a warning signal audible
outside the building and designed to attract attention when activated
by a criminal act or other emergency requiring police to respond.
An electrically operated instrument composed of sensory apparatus
and related hardware which automatically transmits a prerecorded voice
alarm over regular telephone line, by direct or indirect connection
to the Police or Fire Departments, upon receipt of a stimulus from
a sensory apparatus that has detected a physical force or condition
inherently characteristic of a fire or intrusion.
A protective system or group of such systems operated privately
for customers by a person, firm or corporation which maintains supervisors
and accepts recorded messages from automatic protection devices at
a central station having trained operators and guards in attendance
at all times that have the duty to take appropriate action upon receipt
of a signal or message, including the relaying of messages by designated
or direct trunk line to the communications center of the Police or
Fire Departments.
The communications room and other rooms which house auxiliary
communications equipment.
A telephone line leading into the communications center of
the Police or Fire Departments that is for the primary purpose of
handling emergency messages which originate from automatic protection
devices and are transmitted directly or indirectly through an intermediary.
A nonlisted, directly connected telephone line leading from
an intermediary to the communications center of the Police or Fire
Departments that is for the primary purpose of handling emergency
messages on a person-to-person basis.
Any signal activated by an automatic protection device, any
audible alarm or any other kind of direct or indirect signal given
the police or fire communications center to which police or firemen
respond, which is not the result of a burglary, fire, robbery or similar
emergency.
A central station protective system or an answering service,
as herein defined.
To use a telephone line and equipment for transmitting a
message either directly or indirectly by an automatic protection device.
Written permission, duly granted to an applicant by the Township
upon payment of the required fee.
A telephone line leading into the communications center of
the Police or Fire Departments that is for the purpose of handling
emergency calls on a person-to-person basis and which line is identified
by a specific listing among the white pages in the telephone directory
issued by the telephone company.
[Amended 4-24-1995 by Ord. No. 1995-2]
A telephone line leading into the communications center of
the Police or Fire Departments that is for the purpose of handling
administrative and other calls on a person-to-person basis and which
line is identified by a specific listing among the white pages in
the telephone directory by the telephone company.
[Amended 4-24-1995 by Ord. No. 1995-2]
Any person desiring to install an automatic protection device
on his premises must register with and obtain written permission from
the Township.
A.
All persons proposing to construct, install or service alarms shall
be registered as a builder in accordance with the Township Building
Code.[1] No person shall be registered unless he has complied with
all provisions of this chapter.
B.
After the effective date of this chapter, no one except an alarm
equipment supplier holding a valid permit from the Township shall
install any automatic protection device to a designated trunk line.
A.
Within 90 days from the effective date of this section, every alarm
equipment supplier who has installed or serviced an automatic protection
device in the Township shall furnish to the Township a current list
of such installation, which shall include the following information:
(1)
The name, address and telephone number of the owner or lessee.
(2)
The address where the device is installed and the telephone number
of that address.
(3)
The name, address and telephone number of a control station, protective
system or any other person or firm who is authorized to respond to
an emergency and gain access to the address where the device is installed.
(4)
The name and telephone number of any person, firm or corporation,
if any, other than the alarm equipment supplier who is responsible
for maintenance and repair of the automatic protection device.
B.
Every alarm equipment supplier shall furnish the information listed in Subsection A(1), (2) and (3) hereof for each new installation made in the Township at the time of application for an installation permit. All information furnished pursuant to these subsections shall be kept confidential and shall be for the use of the Township only.
For the purpose of enforcing this chapter and as a condition
of installing and maintaining an automatic protection device, the
owner or lessee thereof shall execute a consent in such form as may
be prescribed by the Township, which shall authorize the Township
to enter upon a lessee's or owner's premises within the Township at
such reasonable times and upon reasonable notice to inspect the installation
and operation of an automatic protection device.
No person shall conduct any test or demonstration of an automatic
protection device without first obtaining permission from the Police
and/or Fire Departments. Where the equipment is keyed through an intermediary,
no such permission is necessary unless the alarm or signal is to be
relayed to the Police or Fire Departments.
Automatic protection devices installed in the Township that
are keyed to designated trunk lines shall meet the following requirements:
A.
The type and content of recorded messages must be intelligible and
in a format approved prior to installation by the Township as appropriate
for the type of emergency.
B.
No more than one call shall be made over a designated trunk line
to the Police Department or Fire Department as a result of a single
activation of the automatic protection device.
C.
The time for transmitting each recorded message shall not exceed
15 seconds.
D.
Recorded messages may be repeated during one call, but the interval
between each recorded message shall be no less than eight nor more
than 12 seconds.
E.
The sensory mechanism used in connection with an automatic protection
device must be adjusted to suppress false indications of fire or intrusion,
so that the device shall not be actuated by impulses due to fleeting
pressure changes in water pipes, short flashes of light, the rattling
or vibration of doors and windows, vibrations to the premises caused
by the passing of vehicles, variations in voltage due to electrical
storms and power failures or any other force not related to genuine
alarms.
F.
All components comprising such a device must be maintained by the
owner or lessee in good repair to assure maximum reliability of operation.
G.
Fire detectors which are installed after the effective date of this
chapter, other than temperature type, shall be cross-zoned so two
detectors shall be activated before recorded messages are keyed into
the telephone transmission system.
A.
All alarm equipment suppliers who install telephone alarm or intrusion
alarm equipment in the Township, whether leasing or selling such equipment,
shall furnish operating instructions, without diagrams, and a maintenance
manual to the customer. This shall be done at the time such equipment
is installed or, in the case of equipment installed prior to the effective
date of this section, within 60 days of that effective date.
B.
Each alarm equipment supplier shall furnish operating instructions,
circuit diagram and maintenance manual for each type of automatic
protection device he deals in and installs in the Township. If the
instructions are not clear, the alarm equipment supplier may be required
to revise the instructions to the Township and all buyers and lessees
of the particular automatic protection device.
C.
Alarm equipment suppliers, installers of audible alarms and intermediaries
shall furnish at or prior to the time of contracting, and at their
expense, a copy of this chapter to owners, lessees or users of the
equipment or services to be supplied.
A.
Each alarm equipment supplier who sells or leases an automatic protection
device in the Township which is keyed to a designated trunk line shall
make service available directly or through an agent on a twenty-four-hour-per-day
basis, seven days a week, to repair such device or to correct any
malfunction that may occur. Such service shall be made available for
any person using an automatic protection device supplied at such user's
election and expense.
B.
At the time of installation, an alarm equipment supplier shall furnish
to any buyer or lessee using a repair service written information
as to how service may be obtained at any time, including the telephone
number of the alarm equipment supplier or agent responsible for service.
The buyer or lessee and the alarm equipment supplier or agent supplying
a service shall be responsible for having the device disconnected
or repaired as quickly as possible after notice that the automatic
protection device is not functioning properly.
When messages indicate failure to comply with operational requirements
and the Township concludes that the automatic protection device sending
such messages should be disconnected in order to relieve the Township
of the burden of responding to false alarms, the Police Chief is authorized
to demand that the owner or lessee of the device or his representative
disconnect the device until it is made to comply with the operational
requirements. If disconnection of the defective device is not accomplished
promptly and the Township determines that the malfunctioning device
is repeatedly sending false alarms without any intermittent valid
alarms, he may then take any steps necessary to disconnect the defective
automatic protection device.
A.
No automatic protection device installed after the effective date
of this chapter shall be keyed to a primary or secondary trunk line.
After the effective date of this chapter, all automatic protection
devices that transmit recorded messages directly to the Police or
Fire Departments shall be keyed to a designated trunk line.
B.
Within 60 days from the effective date of this chapter, existing
automatic protection devices in the Township shall be disconnected
from primary and secondary trunk lines.
After the enactment of this section, owners or lessees must
equip audible alarms with a timing mechanism that will disengage the
audible alarm after a maximum period of 15 minutes. Audible alarms
without such a timing mechanism shall be unlawful in the Township
and must be disconnected by the owner or lessee within 60 days from
the effective date of this chapter.
[Amended 10-15-2013 by Ord. No. 2013-09]
A.
For the purpose of defraying the costs to the Township of responding to a false alarm, the owner or lessee of an automatic protection device and persons using the services of intermediaries and users of audible alarms and users of any other kind of direct or indirect connection with the police or fire communication centers, except persons using two-way live voice communications by telephone, shall, as a condition to installation and continued operation of such equipment or service, execute a consent in such form as may be prescribed by the Township regarding the payment of fees to the Township for false alarms originating from the owner's premises. This sum shall be a civil claim by the Township and does not affect the penalty provisions prescribed by § 55-15. Such amount shall be billed by the Township to the property owner or lessee and shall be paid within 60 days from the date of the bill. Interest on delinquent bills shall accrue at the rate of 6% per year, and the amount due plus accrued interest may be filed as a municipal lien upon the property owner or lessee and collected as provided by the Pennsylvania Municipal Claims Act.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: See 53 P.S. § 7101 et seq.
B.
The procedure for imposing the aforementioned fees shall be as follows:
(1)
The determination as to whether an alarm is a false alarm shall be
made by the Chief of Police, whose determination shall be final.
(2)
Following a determination of a false alarm, the Township will mail
a written notice of the false alarm to the record title owner, lessee
or other entity in control of the premises as indicated on the consent
form, of the property where the false alarm occurred, notifying said
property owner, lessee or user to take corrective action to prevent
further false alarms and that future fees and penalties may result
from future false alarms.
(3)
Such owner, lessee or user will pay a fee for each subsequent false
alarm in a one-year period, in amount to be determined from time to
time by resolution of the Board of Supervisors. For purposes of this
consent, the one-year period shall be counted from the date of the
first false alarm in that one-year period if there are no subsequent
false alarms in the one-year period, and if there are any subsequent
false alarms in that one-year period, from the date of any subsequent
false alarm.
C.
Any such owner, lessee or user who fails to execute the consent described in Subsection A above within 60 days from the effective date of this section shall, within the sixty-day period, disconnect the alarm, automatic protection device or any other kind of direct or indirect connection with the police or fire communications center and shall discontinue using the services of any intermediaries. Continued use after the sixty-day period without executing the consent shall be a violation of this chapter subject to the penalties of § 55-15.
[Amended 7-12-1982 by Ord. No. 1982-12; 9-12-1983 by Ord. No.
1983-8; 4-24-1995 by Ord. No. 1995-2; 10-15-2013 by Ord. No. 2013-09]
A.
Notice violations. Failure to comply with the requirements of written
notice of a violation of any provision hereof within five days of
receipt of such notice, exclusive of Saturdays, Sundays and holidays,
shall constitute an offense punishable by a fine of not more than
$1,000. Costs of prosecution are to be collectible before any Magisterial
District Judge as like fines and penalties are now by law collectible.
Such notice shall continue in force and effect until full compliance
with the requirements stated herein, and each and every failure to
comply with such notice within 24 hours after the five days allowed
for compliance shall constitute a separate offense.
B.
Intentional false alarm violations. Any person found guilty of misuse,
or intentional or deliberate fake or false activation shall be liable
for a fine of not more than $1,000, plus costs of prosecution, for
each and every such activation, to be collectible before any Magisterial
District Judge as like fines or penalties are now by law collectible.
C.
Continual accidental activation. Any person found guilty of continual
accidental activation shall be liable for a fine of not more than
$300, plus costs of prosecution for each and every occurrence, to
be collectible before any Magisterial District Judge as like fines
and penalties are now by law collectible. Continual accidental activation
shall mean any subsequent accidental activation after three false
alarms or activations, whether intentional or accidental, within the
same consecutive twelve-month period.
