[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Commissioners of the Town
of West New York by . Amendments noted where applicable.]
WHEREAS, the Town of West New York (the "Town") recognizing
the importance of having first responders be able to communicate within
buildings; and
WHEREAS, the Town now seeks to improve first responders'
ability to communicate within buildings within the Town;
A.
Building radio coverage. Except as otherwise provided, no person
shall maintain, own, erect or construct any building or structure
or any part thereof, or cause the same to be done, which fails to
support adequate radio coverage for Town emergency service workers,
including but not limited to firefighters, police officers and emergency
medical technicians.
B.
New construction.
(1)
Any person who constructs or develops a commercial or industrial
building or structure shall provide two raceways within the walls
into which the cable needed to support a multiple antenna system could
be laid.
(2)
Such raceways shall include an opening in the roof which allows for
installation or replacement of an exterior antenna and shall include
access to each floor.
(3)
No certificate of occupancy shall be issued for a new building prior
to receiving written certification from the Town Fire Official - Fire
Prevention stating that the aforementioned system has been completed
and that the building supports adequate radio coverage as defined
in this section.
(4)
For the purposes of this section, the term "building" shall be construed
to include parking structures, elevators and stairwells.
C.
Building additions. Except as otherwise provided, no person shall
erect, change the use of, or construct an addition of more than 50%
in gross floor area to any building or structure of Type I or Type
II construction which exceeds 10,000 square feet in gross floor area,
including any portions thereof which may be located below grade, which
fails to support adequate radio coverage for Town emergency service
workers.
D.
Adequate coverage provisions. For purposes of this section, adequate
radio coverage shall include all of the following:
(1)
A minimum signal strength of one microvolt (-107 dBm) available in
95% of the area of each floor of the building when transmitted from
the Town communications systems;
(2)
A minimum signal strength of one microvolt (-107 dBm) received at
the Town communications systems when transmitted from 95% of the area
of each floor of the building;
(3)
The frequency range which must be supported shall be 150 MHz to 160
MHz, or as otherwise established and required in writing by the Town
as being necessary for public safety purposes; and
(4)
A ninety-five-percent reliability factor.
E.
Additional frequencies and change of frequencies. All building owners
shall be required to modify or expand the public safety radio system
at their expense in the event frequency changes are required by the
FCC or additional frequencies are made available by the FCC. This
is an advisory statement that the building owner may select equipment
and distribution components that are capable of such changes. Prior
approval of a system on previous frequencies does not exempt this
section.
Upon completion of the installation of an in-building radio system required pursuant to § 200-1B, the building owner shall have said radio system tested in the manner described herein to ensure that an overall two-way coverage within the building, including all areas located below grade, is a minimum of 95%.
A.
Initial test. Initial acceptance tests shall be performed by the
Town Fire Official — Fire Prevention in the presence of the
Police Director, West New York Police Department (or his designee),
and the West New York EMS. A certificate of occupancy shall not be
issued to any structure if the building fails to comply with this
section.
B.
Annual tests. Annual tests shall be conducted by the Town Fire Official
— Fire Prevention in conjunction with inspection procedures.
C.
Structural changes. Tests shall be conducted whenever structural
changes occur, including additions to buildings that would materially
change the original field performance tests.
D.
Changes to amplification systems. Tests shall be performed whenever
repairs or alterations are made to amplification systems, to demonstrate
that adequate radio coverage is available in all required areas of
the building.
A.
General provisions. Buildings and structures which cannot support
the required level of radio coverage shall be equipped with a radiating
cable system or an internal multiple antenna system with FCC-accepted
bidirectional amplifiers as needed.
B.
Battery systems. 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. The battery
system shall automatically charge in the presence of an external power
input. The amplification system, if powered, will be monitored by
the building fire alarm system. If the system shifts to auxiliary
power as stated above, the building fire alarm system will indicate
trouble for that dedicated zone.
C.
Active amplification. Active amplification devices shall be of a
type accepted by the Federal Communications Commission.
D.
Failed devices. It is incumbent upon the building owner to provide
for repair services which are required to immediately correct an issue
if the amplification device has failed or is creating interference.
In the event of interference, the building owner is required to immediately
remove the defective device from service, call repair services and
notify the Town Fire Official - Fire Prevention. The Town Fire Official
- Fire Prevention shall conduct follow-up inspections to insure service
has been completed and the system has been restored.
E.
Follow-up inspections. In instances of failed devices, the building
owner shall pay the Town Fire Official - Fire Prevention a fee of
$175; West New York Police Department a fee of $175 and West New York
EMS a fee of $175 for each follow-up inspection. Follow-up inspections
shall be conducted by the West New York Town Fire Official - Fire
Prevention in the presence of the West New York Police Director (or
his designee) and West New York EMS.
F.
Replacement of batteries. The battery system of such active amplification
device shall be serviced annually and replaced with new batteries
every three years.
G.
Approval prior to installation. No amplification system capable of
operating on frequencies licensed to the Town by the FCC shall be
installed without prior coordination and approval of the Town. This
is a requirement of the FCC.
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 the required
level of radio coverage is present.
This chapter shall not apply to any buildings constructed of
wood frame, any building 35 feet high or less, as long as none of
the aforementioned buildings make primary 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.
Recognizing the difficulties inherent in the construction of
the above-mentioned systems, to the extent that the provisions of
this chapter apply to buildings already in existence at the time of
the adoption of this chapter, the owner of said building shall be
required to comply with the above provisions within a period of six
months from the date of adoption of this chapter.
Any person found to be in violation on this chapter shall, upon
certification of said violation by the Town Fire Official - Fire Prevention,
be subject to a mandatory fine of not less than $2,000. in addition,
no certificate of occupancy shall be issued for a building required
to comply with this chapter prior to certification by the Town Fire
Official - Fire Prevention that said building is in compliance
