[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town Board of the Town of Woodbury 4-15-1999
by L.L. No. 6-1999. Amendments noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Appearance tickets — See Ch. 5.
Fire prevention — See Ch. 154.
The Town Board of the Town of Woodbury hereby finds that standards and
controls regarding intrusion, fire, holdup and other emergency signal devices
or protective services are necessary to safeguard the public health, safety
and welfare and that such standards and controls will afford greater emergency
protection to the public, will expedite emergency communication and response,
will facilitate coordination of emergency procedures and identification of
persons and devices engaged in providing such procedures, will minimize false
alarms and other misleading or confusing signals and will encourage the use
of reliable systems and personnel to facilitate emergency services available
to the public.
For the purpose of this chapter, the following words and phrases shall
have the meanings respectively ascribed to them by this section:
Any device which, when activated, transmits a prerecorded message
or other signal by telephone, radio or central alarm station designed to notify
the Police Department, Fire Department or ambulance requiring their respective
emergency response.
Any person, business, firm, corporation or other entity which is
in the business of owning, operating, maintaining, installing, leasing or
selling a police, fire or medical emergency alarm device or devices, registered
pursuant to the requirements of the Code of the Town of Woodbury.
The registration by the Town of Woodbury of any person engaged in
the business of installing and/or servicing police, fire or medical emergency
alarm devices in the Town of Woodbury pursuant to the provisions of the Code
of the Town of Woodbury.
Any police, fire or emergency medical alarm device which is a telephone
device or telephone attachment that automatically or electronically transmits
a signal to preselected telephone lines connected to signal to a central alarm
station or police headquarters and communicates a report of a criminal act
or other emergency requiring police, fire or medical emergency response.
Any facility operated by a private firm that owns or leases a system
of police, fire or medical emergency alarm devices, which facility is manned
by operators who receive, record or validate alarm signals to the Police Department,
Fire Department or ambulance service when appropriate.
Any alarm device which transmits a signal or impulse over a telephone
line to the alarm indicator panel at police headquarters.
The Police Department of the Town of Woodbury.
Any signal actuated by an alarm device or system of police, fire
or medical emergency alarm devices which is not the result of a natural disaster,
act of God, criminal act, fire or other services response. The term "false
alarm" shall include human error or equipment malfunction causing the alarm
to be activated and which results in police or fire response.
Anything which annoys, injures or endangers the comfort, repose,
health or safety of any person(s) of any community or neighborhood.
The Town Clerk of the Town of Woodbury.
Any device which, when activated by fire or smoke or other emergency,
is designed to alert only the occupants of the building to said emergency.
It shall be a violation of this chapter for any automatic dial alarm
to be directly connected to the emergency telephone line of the Police Department
and/or Fire Department and/or ambulance service. Any such automatic dial alarm
may be connected to a central alarm station or other answering service for
notification of the appropriate service. Existing systems in violation of
this section shall have 90 days from the effective date of this chapter to
convert or make the necessary change in compliance therewith.
It shall be a violation of this chapter for any police, fire or medical
emergency alarm device to be directly connected to the Police Department and/or
Fire Department and/or ambulance service. Any such police, fire or medical
emergency device may be connected to a central alarm station or other answering
service for notification to the appropriate service. Existing systems in violation
of this section shall have 90 days from the effective date of this chapter
to convert or make the necessary change in compliance therewith.
All alarm systems shall be equipped with a device which will give an
indication, prior to alarm system activation, which warns the alarm user of
an open circuit.
No person shall install, cause to be installed, maintain or cause to
be maintained in a structure, building or establishment in the Town of Woodbury
an external audible police, fire or medical emergency alarm device which does
not also contain an automatic cutoff system or feature automatically cutting
off the source of power to the alarm sounding device after it has sounded
for a period of not longer than 30 minutes.
A.
Upon receiving complaint(s) regarding a continuous uninterrupted
or continuously recurring signal, the Police Department shall endeavor to
contact the alarm user or those persons designated by the alarm user as contacts,
in an effort to abate the nuisance. In the event that the Police Department
is unable to contact the alarm user or those designated as contacts, or if
the aforesaid persons cannot or will not curtail the audible signal being
emitted by the alarm system, and if the Police Department or otherwise is
unable to abate the nuisance, then the Police Department shall contact the
alarm installer.
B.
After an entry upon the property has been made in accordance
with this section, the Police Department shall have the property secured,
if necessary. The reasonable costs and expenses of abating a nuisance in accordance
with this section may be assessed to the alarm user.
It shall be the obligation of any person maintaining an alarm system
to provide the Police Department and/or the Town Clerk with a minimum of two
persons to be contacted with the authority to enter the premises for the purpose
of securing and restoring said alarm system, when necessary.
Application for registration shall be made as follows:
A.
All businesses, firms, corporations or other entities
which are in the business of owning, operating, maintaining, installing, leasing
or selling an alarm device or devices or systems of alarm devices, who desire
to conduct business in the Town of Woodbury, shall apply to the Town Clerk
to register on a form to be supplied by the Town Clerk. The application shall
contain specific provisions relating to the quality, efficiency and effectiveness
of the device or system of devices owned or to be operated, maintained, installed
leased or sold by the applicant, testing procedures involved and any other
information the Town Clerk shall determine to be reasonably necessary to effectuate
the purpose of this chapter. Such registration shall for a one-year period,
on a calendar-year basis or a part thereof, and no registration shall extend
beyond December 31 of each year.
B.
Any person who is to be alarm agent in the Town of Woodbury,
before acting as such alarm agent, shall register as an alarm agent. The application
shall be made to the Town Clerk on a form to be supplied by the Town Clerk.
The application shall contain specific provisions relating to fire and police
alarm device or devices, holdup alarms, dial alarms or any other alarm installations
and devices which are to be sold, leased, installed, operated or maintained
by the alarm agency, the skill and competency of the applicant as an alarm
agency and such other information as the Town Clerk determines to be reasonably
necessary to effectuate the purpose of the chapter. No registration shall
extend beyond December 31 of each year. In addition to the aforesaid registration,
the applicant shall file with the Town Clerk the license issued by the New
York State Department of State pursuant to the New York State Business Law,
Article 6-D.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: See General Business Law Article 6-D.
C.
Any property owner or lessee of property in the Town
of Woodbury, having on its premises an alarm device or system of alarm devices,
shall apply to the Town Clerk on a form to be supplied by the Town Clerk to
register such a device on its premises. The application shall contain provisions
relating to the device or system of devices installed or to be installed on
the premises. Applications to register alarm devices existing on the premises
on the effective date of this chapter must be made to the Town Clerk by such
date as shall be fixed by resolution of the Town Board. No such devices may
be installed on the premises of the owner or lessee, after the effective date
of this chapter, prior to the registration by such owner or lessee. Such registration
need not be filed on an annual basis but shall be so registered each time
a device or system is to be installed or modified or if the premises are sold
or if a new lessor leases the premises. The owners of small battery-operated
alarms shall be exempt from this chapter.
D.
Fees. Registration fees shall be such as shall be fixed
from time to time by resolution of the Town Board.
All applications for registration shall be filed with the Town Clerk.
Said registration shall include a description of the police, fire or medical
emergency alarm device, devices or system of police, fire or medical emergency
alarm devices installed, maintained or to be installed and such other information
as shall be required for registration.
All holders of holdup, panic, medic alert, smoke and fire alert devices
shall be required to provide written authorization to the Police Department,
Fire Department and ambulance service to forcibly enter the premises for the
purpose of verifying the validity of the emergency condition.
The fee for registration shall be established by resolution of the Town
Board.
Under no circumstances shall the cost of any police, fire or medical
emergency alarm device, devices or system of police, fire or medical emergency
alarm devices and the maintenance of the same be charged to the Town of Woodbury,
its Police or Fire Department and/or ambulance service. The owner or lessee
of such police, fire or medical emergency alarm devices shall be solely responsible
for the service of his or her police, fire or medical emergency alarm devices
and/or correcting any malfunction of the same that may occur.
A.
The designation of a false intrusion alarm will be determined
by the Officer in Charge of the Police Department. The designation of a false
fire alarm will be determined by the Chief of the Fire Department, and the
designation of a false medical alarm will be determined by the Director of
the Ambulance Corps.
B.
The Officer in Charge of the Police Department shall
cause to be kept an up-to-date and accurate log of all false intrusion alarms
and the Chief of the Woodbury Fire Department shall cause to be kept an up-to-date
and accurate log of all false fire alarms, and the Director of the Ambulance
Corps shall cause to be kept an up-to-date and accurate log of all false medical
alert alarms. These logs shall be transmitted to the Town Clerk on a monthly
basis.
C.
Any owner or lessee of property having a police, fire
or medical emergency alarm device on his premises shall pay to the Town Clerk,
upon demand, a charge for each and every false alarm occurring on his premises
in any alarm permit year as follows:
|
Number of False Alarms
|
Commercial or Residential Fee
| |
|---|---|---|
|
1
|
$0
| |
|
2
|
$50
| |
|
3
|
$100
| |
|
4
|
$250
| |
|
5
|
$350
| |
|
Each after 5
|
$500
| |
|
Each after 10
|
$600
|
The Town Clerk is hereby authorized as the registering authority pursuant
to rules and regulations promulgated by the Town of Woodbury.
All police, fire and medical emergency registration fees, false alarm
charges and penalties imposed by the Town of Woodbury Justice Court shall
be collected by the Town Clerk. False fire alarm charges shall be remitted
35% to the Woodbury Fire District and 65% to the town.
In order to implement the orderly institution of all the requirements
of this chapter, the owners or lessees of any police, fire or medical emergency
alarm device, devices or systems currently in use and required under the provisions
of this chapter to register shall do so no later than 60 days from the effective
date of this chapter. Any police, fire or medical emergency alarm devices
currently in use which would be prohibited under the provisions of this chapter
must be removed no later than 120 days from the effective date of this chapter.
A.
None of the provisions of this chapter shall apply to
police, fire or medical emergency alarm devices installed in town-owned buildings,
motor vehicles or trailers or to smoke and/or heat detectors and Fire Department
buildings.
B.
The Town of Woodbury shall take every reasonable precaution
that alarm signals received by the Town are given appropriate and immediate
attention. Nevertheless, the Town shall not be liable for any defects in operation
of any police, fire or medical emergency alarm devices for failure to respond
appropriately on any alarm signal or for the transmission of alarm signals
or messages.
Except as otherwise provided for herein, any person, business, firm,
corporation or other entity who does not pay any fee or charge established
in this chapter or who violates any provisions of this chapter shall be subject
to a fine not in excess of $250 or imprisonment for 15 days, or both, for
each offense. A separate offense shall be deemed committed upon each day during
which a violation occurs or is committed.
[Amended 7-18-2002 by L.L. No. 5-2002]
Any violation of this chapter shall be enforced by the Woodbury Police
Department in conjunction with the Town Clerk and Town Attorney. Upon receipt
of a false alarm notice from the Town Clerk, any individual or entity may
contact the office of the Woodbury Police Department to dispute the initial
finding of a false alarm. If unable to resolve the false alarm in this manner,
the individual may elect to pay the fine or be served with a summons or appearance
ticket. Upon the return on the summons or appearance ticket in the Woodbury
Justice Court, they will have the right to be heard, request a trial or exercise
any other rights as provided by law.
