[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Supervisors 7-20-2004 by Ord. No. 2004-04. Amendments noted where applicable.]
The following definitions shall apply to the interpretation and enforcement of this chapter:
ANSWERING SERVICE
A service whereby trained employees, in attendance at all times, receive prerecorded voice messages from automatic dialing devices reporting an emergency at a stated location, where such employees have the duty to relay immediately by live voice any such emergency message over a trunk line to the Chester County 911 Center.
AUDIBLE ALARM
Any device, bell, horn or siren which is attached to the interior or exterior of a building and emits a warning signal audible inside or outside the building and designed to attract attention when activated by a criminal act or other emergency requiring police or fire personnel to respond.
AUTOMATIC DIALING DEVICE
A device which is interconnected to a telephone line and is programmed to transmit a signal by a prerecorded voice alarm or message that indicates that an emergency condition exists and the need for an emergency response is required.
AUTOMATIC PROTECTION DEVICE
An electrically or battery operated instrument composed of sensory apparatus and related hardware which automatically transmits any form of alarm or signal, including, but not limited to, a prerecorded voice alarm from the premises to the Police Department or Fire Department radio network, upon receipt of a stimulus from a sensory apparatus that has detected a physical force or condition inherently characteristic of intrusion or fire.
AUTOMATIC PROTECTION DEVICE SUPPLIER
The business by an individual, partnership, corporation or other entity of selling, leasing, maintaining, servicing, repairing, altering, replacing, moving, monitoring, installing any alarm system or causing any alarm system to be sold, leased, maintained, serviced, repaired, altered, replaced, moved, installed or monitored in or on any building, structure or other facility.
CCDES
The Chester County Department of Emergency Services.
CENTRAL STATION
A protective system or group of such systems operated privately for customers by a person, firm or corporation which accepts recorded messages from automatic dialing devices at a central station having operators and guards in attendance at all times who have the duty to take appropriate action upon receipt of a signal or message, including the relaying of messages to the communication center of the Police or Fire Department.
CHIEF OF POLICE
The administrative head of the Sadsbury Township Police Department.
COORDINATOR
An individual/designee named by and accountable directly and solely to the Chief of Police.
FALSE ALARM
A. 
Any signal activated by an automatic protection device, any audible alarm or any other kind of direct or indirect signal given to the Police or Fire Departments to which the Police Department or the Fire Department respond, which is not the result of a burglary, fire, robbery, medical, weather-related, power outage or similar emergency. If doubt exists as to the cause of the false alarm, the Chief of Police or his designee shall make the final decision regarding the circumstances of the activation.
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I)]
B. 
Multiple alarms received by the police department before the system can be deactivated within a reasonable period of time shall be considered a single alarm.
C. 
The definition of a false alarm(s) also includes the intentional activation of a holdup alarm for other than a holdup in progress, the intentional activation of a burglary alarm for other than a burglary, the activation of a medical alarm for other than a medical emergency or the intentional activation of a fire alarm for other than a fire or hazard.
FIRE DEPARTMENT
Any fire department, ambulance or rescue unit providing services within Sadsbury Township.
INSTALLER/SUPPLIERS PERMIT
Written permission, duly granted to an applicant by the Township upon full compliance with § 46-3 of this chapter and payment of the required annual fee of $25.
INTERMEDIARY
A central station protective system or answering service as herein defined.
KEY
To use a telephone or recording equipment to transmit a message either directly or indirectly by an automatic protection device.
TOWNSHIP
Sadsbury Township, Chester County, Pennsylvania.
TRUNK LINE
A telephone line leading into the communications centers of the Police and Fire Departments that is for the purpose of handling calls on a person to person basis and which is identified by a specific listing among the white pages in the telephone directory issued by the telephone company.
A. 
Owners or lessees of audible alarm protection devices may not key such alarms to the CCDES.
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I)]
B. 
Audible alarms on location and not keyed to any third-party intermediary may be installed by Township residents and businesses so long as they are registered and comply with regulations.
C. 
Audible alarm protection devices on location must be equipped with a timing device which will disconnect the alarm after a maximum period of 15 minutes. Audible alarms without such a timing device shall be unlawful in the Township and must be disconnected by the owner or user within 60 days from the effective date of this chapter.
A. 
[1]On and after the effective date of this chapter, no one except an alarm equipment supplier who is currently registered with the Township shall connect any automatic protection device to the CCDES.
[1]
Editor's Note: Original Subsection 1, requiring prior approval of CCDES for automatic dialing devices, which immediately preceded this subsection, was repealed at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I).
B. 
On and after the effective date of this chapter, no one except an alarm supplier who is currently registered with the Township shall sell, install, service or monitor any alarm within the Township. It shall be permissible for owners or lessees of automatic protection devices to key alarms to a telephone or radio which is available to them or to a private agency so long as they register with the Chief of Police and comply with Township regulations set forth in this chapter.
C. 
The Sadsbury Township Codes Officer or his designee shall issue an alarm supplier's license to an alarm supplier meeting the requirements of this chapter and upon the filing of the required application and payment of a fee. Each license shall bear the signature of the Codes Officer or coordinator and be renewed annually. A copy of the license shall be displayed at each location and shall be made available for inspection upon request of the Codes Officer, his designee or other authorized person.
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I)]
D. 
No alarm supplier's license shall be required:
(1) 
When an exception to the alarm permit requirement outlined in § 46-5 is applicable.
(2) 
When the installation of such alarm system shall be made in its entirety by the owner/occupant of the premises, except if same is monitored off-premises by an intermediary.
E. 
A supplier license may be revoked or renewal denied if:
(1) 
The licensee fails to meet the requirements necessary to obtain a license.
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I)]
(2) 
The license fee is not paid.
(3) 
The Chief of Police or his designee has reason to believe the licensee's installations are the cause of false alarms.
(4) 
Licensee fails to provide required repair service.[2]
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I)]
[2]
Editor's Note: Original Subsections 7, prohibiting persons with felony convictions from applying for a license and prohibiting automatic protection device suppliers from hiring persons with felony convictions, and 8, requiring an insurance certificate from applicants, which immediately followed this subsection, were repealed at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I).
A. 
The user's fee for an alarm system permit shall be $25 and said permit shall be obtained from the Sadsbury Township Codes Officer prior to the installation of the alarm system.
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I)]
B. 
The permit shall bear the signature of the Codes Officer or his designee and be valid for the same period that the applicant shall reside/locate the business upon the premises at which the system is installed, or until revoked by the Codes Officer or his designee. The permit shall be physically present upon the premises using the alarm system and shall be available for inspection by the Sadsbury Township Codes Officer.
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I)]
C. 
The permit application shall contain the address of the property, the name of the residence/business (if applicable), the name of the owner, tenant, or agent responsible for the property, the alarm supplier or other entity responsible for maintaining the system (if applicable), the type of alarm (burglary, holdup, fire, medical), how the alarm signal will be received by the communications center (tape, central station, etc.), at least three alternate emergency telephone numbers of persons to be contacted to secure the property, and any additional information determined to be necessary. In the case of fire alarm permits for other than a single-family residence, the applicant must submit with the permit application detailed plans for fire alarm and suppression system that is to be permitted/installed. These plans must be reviewed and approved by the Township Codes Officer prior to the issuance of any permit. Installation may not begin without permit. The issuance of a permit does not constitute final approval by the Township Codes Officer for the proposed system. Final approval may be given only upon the completion, inspection and conformance to all codes and requirements. It shall be the owner's responsibility to amend all previously submitted information whenever the information changes.
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I)]
D. 
An alarm user who is over the age of 65 years of age and is the primary occupant of a residence, and if no business is conducted at the residence, may obtain a user's permit from the Township without paying the required fee(s).
E. 
Users who fail to obtain a permit within 60 days after the effective date of this chapter shall be liable to pay a $20 late charge penalty for each calendar year that the permit is not obtained.
F. 
All locations in the Township of Sadsbury equipped with alarm systems, except as stated in this chapter, must apply for and be issued a valid permit for same.
G. 
No building or occupancy permit may be issued for a building which will require an alarm system permit pursuant to this section until such alarm system permit has been obtained from the Township.
A. 
A battery-powered (9 volt, 11.2 volt, or similar voltage) audible alarm system whose sole purpose is to notify the occupants at the location of an emergency situation shall be exempt from the permit requirements of this chapter if all of the following conditions exist:
(1) 
The alarm is not connected to any mechanical or electrical device that automatically notifies a person or agency outside of that location that the alarm is activated.
(2) 
The audible alarm does not sound outside of the location (no external speakers or annunciators).
(3) 
The internal signal emitted by the audible alarm does not exceed 90 decibels.
(4) 
The internal alarm does not cause undue annoyance or alarm to occupants or residents of nearby premises.
B. 
Alarm users who are not required to pay a fee or who are exempt from obtaining an alarm user's permit as stated above shall, nevertheless, be subject to the penalty provisions as prescribed in this chapter.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: Original Secs. 46-6, Current list of installations required; 46-7, Installation/inspection requirements; 46-8, Technical information; 46-9, Repair service; and 46-10, Authority to inspect, which immediately followed this section, were repealed at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I)
No person shall conduct any tests or demonstrations of any automatic protection device without first notifying the Sadsbury Township Police Department or appropriate fire company and the CCDES.
Upon receipt of an automatic protection device permit and prior to installation, a copy of this article shall be furnished by the Township to owners, lessees, users of the equipment or services to be supplied.
A. 
For the purposes of defraying the cost to the Township for responding to false alarms, the owner, lessee or user of any alarm system, persons using the service of an intermediary, users of audible alarms, and users of any other kind of direct or indirect connection with the police or fire communications center shall, as a condition to installation and continued operation of such equipment or service, consent by acknowledging receipt of the permit to pay the Township for false alarms on the following schedule for each false alarm originating from the owners', lessees' or users' premises;
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I)]
(1) 
First and second false alarm activation per calendar year: warning.
(2) 
Third and fourth false alarm activation per calendar year: $50 per alarm.
(3) 
Fifth false alarm activation per calendar year: $100.
(4) 
Sixth and subsequent false alarm activations per calendar year: $300 per alarm.
B. 
Any owner, lessee or user of an alarm system may revoke or refuse to consent, as set forth in § 46-8A above, only by disconnecting the alarm system. With respect to such systems installed at the effective date of this chapter, the owner, lessee or user can refuse to revoke the aforesaid consent by disconnecting such alarm within 90 days of the effective date of this article and providing written notification of such disconnection.
C. 
Penalties provided for false alarms that are relayed or transmitted by an intermediary shall be the responsibility of such owner, lessee or user of the alarm system.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: Original Subsection 4, requiring responding police officers to notify Chief of Police of false alarms in writing, which immediately followed this subsection, was repealed at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I).
D. 
By submitting an application for permit for the installation of a burglary, fire, medical or other emergency alarm system and subsequent installation of such a system or by the continuation of the use of an alarm system already installed at the effective date of this chapter, the owner, lessee, or user thereof shall agree that such permit application constitutes a waiver by such person of the right to bring or file any action, claim or complaint whatsoever against any police officer or emergency personnel who make a forced entry in response to such an alarm into the premises on which such an alarm is installed as result of entry into the subject premises. In the event the owner of such premises is a person other than the permit applicant, as in the instance of a lessee or other user not the owner of the premises on which the alarm is installed, such permit application shall constitute an indemnification agreement by the applicant to hold harmless any such police officer or emergency personnel, the Township, the Police Department and the Fire Department, as appropriate, from any and all damages whatsoever claimed by the lessor or owner of the premises on which the alarm is installed.
E. 
Any alarm system which has eight or more false alarms within a calendar year shall be subject to permit revocation.[2]
[2]
Editor's Note: Original Subsection 6(1), requiring the Chief of Police to notify alarm users and suppliers of permit revocation, which immediately followed this subsection, was repealed at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I).
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I)]
A. 
Within 30 days after invoice by the Chief of Police or his designee, the owner, lessee or user shall pay the fees as stated in § 46-8. Failure to make the required payment within the allocated time period will cause the institution of assumpsit proceedings before a court of competent jurisdiction for the collection of the amount owed and costs. Such fees and costs shall be collectible as like debts are now by law collectible.
B. 
Any person who violates or commits the violation of any provision of this chapter or who willfully falsely activates an alarm system shall, upon conviction in a summary proceeding brought before a Magisterial District Judge under the Pennsylvania Rules of Criminal Procedure, be guilty of a summary offense and shall be punishable by a fine of not more than $1,000, plus costs of prosecution. In default of payment thereof, the defendant may be sentenced to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 90 days. Each day or portion thereof that such violation continues or is permitted to continue shall constitute a separate offense, and each section of this chapter that is violated shall also constitute a separate offense.