[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Supervisors of the Township
of Springfield 2-2-2010 by Ord.
No. 1-2010. Amendments noted where applicable.]
The following words and phrases shall have the meanings specified
in this section:
A device or system of devices that emits, transmits or relays
a signal intended to summon or that can reasonably be expected to
summon to the site of the alarm system emergency services of the Township.
"Alarm system" shall include a local alarm as herein defined, but
does not include i) an alarm installed in a vehicle, unless the vehicle
is permanently located at a fixed site; or ii) an alarm designed to
alert only persons occupying the site of the alarm system.
The police, fire and/or ambulance services for the Township.
Any activation of an alarm system by inadvertence, negligence
or the intentional or unintentional act of a person to which emergency
services for the Township respond and there existed at the inception
of the alarm no fire, crime in progress, medical emergency or other
activity necessitating a response. Any alarm activated by acts of
vandalism or criminal mischief, including acts of employees, shall
not be considered false alarms.
An alarm system that emits a signal at the alarm system site
that is audible or visible off of the site.
Any individual, partnership, corporation, association, political
subdivision or other entity of any kind.
Springfield Township, Mercer County, Pennsylvania.
All persons owning or operating an alarm system upon real property
within the Township shall register such system with Springfield Township.
Persons owning or operating an alarm system on the effective date
of this chapter shall register such system within 60 days of such
date. Persons installing, upgrading or replacing an alarm system after
the effective date of this chapter shall register such system prior
to its installation, upgrade or replacement. A fee for the registration
of an alarm system, to be paid by the registrant, shall be in such
amount as the Board of Supervisors of the Township shall by resolution
from time to time establish.
All persons registering an alarm system with the Township shall
furnish to the Township such information as shall reasonably be requested,
including, but not limited to, the following:
A.
The name of the owner or occupant of the real property upon which
the alarm system has been or is being installed. If the owner or occupant
shall be other than an individual, the owner or occupant shall also
provide the name of an individual responsible to the owner or occupant
for the operation of the alarm system.
B.
The address of the real property upon which the alarm system has
been or is being installed by street name and number and the telephone
number of the owner or occupant.
C.
Two backup or emergency telephone numbers where the owner or occupant
can be reached or through which contact can be made when the real
property is unoccupied, including the names of the persons to which
such numbers are assigned.
D.
The name, address and telephone number of the vendor or installer
of the alarm system.
E.
The name and address of the manufacturer of the alarm system.
F.
A description of the alarm system installed, including the number
and type of devices used for the purpose of activating the system,
the location of such devices, the mechanism for automatically deactivating
the local alarm and the methodology used for transmitting or relaying
the signal to the emergency services of the Township.
G.
The name, address and telephone number of any monitoring or central
station service to which the alarm system transmits a signal for relay
to Township emergency services.
The Township shall transmit copies of all registration applications
to the Mercer County 911 Center, the Springfield Township Volunteer
Fire Department and any other emergency service provider that provides
services who requests such information.
All persons owning or operating a registered alarm system upon real property within the Township shall renew such registration on an annual basis. The Township, on or about January 30 of each year, shall send to the owner or operator of each registered alarm system a renewal application updating the registration information required pursuant to § 105-3 hereof. A renewal registration fee is imposed which shall be in such amount as the Board of Supervisors of the Township shall by resolution from time to time establish. The registrant shall file the renewal application with and pay the renewal registration fee to the Township on or before February 28 of each year.
All persons owning or operating an alarm system within the Township
shall have the following duties and responsibilities with respect
to such system:
A.
To keep and maintain the system in good operating condition, order
and repair.
B.
To keep and maintain at the site of the alarm system a complete set
of written operating instructions for such system.
C.
To provide training and instruction to individuals customarily occupying
the site of the alarm system in its proper operation.
D.
To cooperate with the Township and/or the designee in preventing
or minimizing the number of false alarms originating from the site
of the alarm system.
It shall be unlawful for the property owner, lessee or any person
occupying or otherwise on any premises within Springfield Township
to make or cause to be made a false fire or security alarm, directly
or indirectly, to any Fire Department or emergency response agency
responding to alarms within the Township when the false alarm is caused
by faulty detection or alarm equipment or by the negligence of said
property owner, lessee or person.
A.
The responding Police Department, Fire Company, or other affected
emergency response agency shall determine whether the activation of
an alarm constitutes as false alarm as defined by this chapter, and
the decision shall be final.
B.
Upon notification of a false alarm, a written report shall be made
within 14 days by the owner or lessee to the Township and shall contain
what steps have been taken to eliminate future false alarms.
C.
Service fees for false alarms shall be assessed by the Township as
follows:
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General
Provisions, Art. I)]
(1)
Third false alarm in any one calendar year shall be subject to a
service fee as set by resolution of the Board of Supervisors from
time to time;
(2)
Fourth false alarm in any one calendar year shall be subject to a
service fee as set by resolution of the Board of Supervisors from
time to time;
(3)
Fifth and subsequent false alarms in any one calendar year shall
be subject to a service fee as set by resolution of the Board of Supervisors
from time to time.
A.
In the event a violation of this chapter occurs, in addition to such
other remedies as may be available under existing law, the Township
may institute an action in equity to prevent, restrain, correct, abate
or enjoin such violation.
B.
Any person, whether as principal or agent, who violates § 105-2, 105-5 or 105-8 (third or subsequent offenses in a calendar year) of this chapter or assists or abets its violation is guilty of a summary offense and shall, upon conviction thereof before any Magisterial District Judge, be sentenced to pay a fine of not more than $500, together with the costs of prosecution, and, in default of the payment of said fine and costs, shall be committed to the Mercer County Prison for a period not exceeding 30 days. Each violation shall constitute a separate offense for which a summary conviction may be sought.
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General
Provisions, Art. I)]
The provisions of this chapter shall be severable, and, if any
provision hereof shall be declared unconstitutional, illegal or invalid,
such decision shall not affect the validity of any of the remaining
provisions of this chapter. It is hereby declared as a legislative
intent of the Township that this chapter would have been amended as
if such unconstitutional, illegal or invalid provision or provisions
had not been included herein.
