[HISTORY: Adopted by the Township Committee of the Township of Cranbury as indicated in article histories. Amendments noted where applicable.]
[Adopted 9-22-1997 by Ord. No. O-08-97-017]
[Amended 9-27-2004 by Ord. No. 09-04-24]
The purpose of this article is to govern burglary, robbery and fire alarm systems, require permits, establish fees, provide for the revocation of permits, provide for the punishment of violations) establish a system of administration, and prevent negligent use or abuse of the 911 emergency telephone system.
As used in this article, the following terms shall have the meanings indicated:
ALARM BUSINESS
The business by any individual, partnership, corporation or other entity of selling, leasing, maintaining, servicing, repairing, altering, replacing, moving or installing any alarm system or causing to be sold, leased, maintained, serviced, repaired, altered, replaced, moved or installed any alarm system in or on any building, structure or facility.
ALARM SYSTEM
Any assembly of equipment, mechanical or electrical, arranged to signal the occurrence of an illegal entry, robbery, fire or other activity requiring urgent attention and to which the police, or the Fire Department, are expected to respond.
ALARM USER
The person, firm, partnership, association, corporation, company or organization of any kind in control of any building, structure or facility wherein an alarm system is maintained.
BURGLARY ALARM SYSTEM
An alarm system signaling an entry or attempted entry into the area being protected by the system.
FALSE ALARM
An alarm signal eliciting a response by police when a situation requiring an emergency response by the same does not in fact exist but does not include an alarm signal caused by violent conditions of nature or other extraordinary circumstances not reasonable, subject to the control by the alarm business operator or alarm user.
FIRE ALARM SYSTEM
An alarm system signaling the existence of a fire or smoke condition in the area being protected by the system.
ROBBERY ALARM SYSTEM
An alarm system signaling a robbery or attempted robbery.
A. 
Every alarm business selling, leasing or furnishing to any user an alarm system which is installed on premises located in the area, subject to this article, shall furnish the user with instructions that provide information to enable the user to operate the alarm system properly and to obtain service for the alarm system at any time.
B. 
Every alarm containing an audible bell, horn, siren or other mechanical device shall have at least three people designated and trained to deactivate said alarm so as to prevent annoyance to neighbors.
C. 
Every alarmed premises shall be logged with the Cranbury Township Police and a current list of three individuals to be called should the alarm system be activated.
D. 
No alarm system shall be tested without prior notification to the Cranbury Township Police Department.
A. 
Every alarm user shall register annually with the Chief of Police in the month of January or prior to use of an alarm system. Users of systems using robbery, burglary or fire alarm capabilities shall register for each alarm function. Wherein a large business has subsidiary business sites with alarm systems, each alarm system will be registered by the individual subsidiaries.
B. 
All exterior audible alarm systems (horns, buzzers, bells, etc.) (excluding residential alarm systems in existence prior to January 1, 1985), either installed by an alarm business or alarm user, shall require registration as Subsection A above and shall contain an automatic reset or cutoff within 15 minutes from the time of activation.
C. 
Any alarm system which has three or more false alarms, subject to control by the alarm user, within a registration year is in violation of this article and is subject to a fine of $250 for each false alarm over three.
[Amended 6-12-2006 by Ord. No. 05-06-14]
D. 
Any alarm user who fails to register as specified in Subsections A and B above or within 90 days after the effective date of this article or who is more than 60 days delinquent in renewing registration is subject to a fine of $250.
[Amended 6-12-2006 by Ord. No. 05-06-14]
E. 
Any business or other nonresidential facility that generates three or more 911 emergency calls to the Cranbury Township Police Department by reason of negligence or error during any twelve-month period is in violation of this article and is subject to a fine of $250 for each such call over three.
[Added 9-27-2004 by Ord. No. 09-04-24; amended 6-12-2006 by Ord. No. 05-06-14]
F. 
Any person who intentionally places a false 911 emergency call to the Cranbury Township Police Department shall be subject to a fine not to exceed $1,000 and imprisonment for a term of up to 90 days, or both, for each such offense. In the event New Jersey statutes provide for stricter penalties, those penalties shall supersede this provision.
[Added 9-27-2004 by Ord. No. 09-04-24]
G. 
Any person who tests or repairs an alarm system without prior notification to the Cranbury Township Police Department shall be in violation of this article and is subject to a fine of $250.
[Added 6-12-2006 by Ord. No. 05-06-14]
H. 
Any person, business, firm, company or corporation that causes a false alarm to be transmitted as a result of installing, repairing, testing, tampering with or performing any work on an alarm is subject to a fine of $250 for each transmission of a false alarm.
[Added 6-8-2009 by Ord. No. 05-09-11]
A. 
All information submitted in compliance with this article shall be held in the strictest confidence and shall be deemed a public record exempt from disclosure pursuant to state statute, and any violation of confidentiality shall be deemed a violation of this article. The Chief of Police shall be charged with sole responsibility for the maintenance of all records of any kind whatsoever under this article.
B. 
Subject to the requirements of confidentiality, the Chief of Police shall maintain all statistics developed pursuant to the administration of this office for the purpose of assisting the alarm system evaluation.
[Adopted 12-27-1999 by Ord. No. O-11-99-35]
A. 
All properties within the Township of Cranbury having an automatic fire alarm system or a fire sprinkler system shall be equipped with a key box. For those buildings having multiple tenants, each tenant must have a key box approved by the Fire Company of the Township. All electrically operated gates in a parking yard, shipping or receiving area, etc., must be equipped with an electronic override keyed entry switch using the same key box system.
B. 
This shall not apply to owner occupied one- and two-family dwellings. Each commercial structure having twenty-four-hour and three-hundred-sixty-five-day security shall not be subject to the article. The Fire Company shall decide whether three-hundred-sixty-five-day operations provide three-hundred-sixty-five-day security.
The key box shall be of a UL type and approved by the Cranbury Township Fire Company. The rapid entry key box shall be installed in a location approved by the Cranbury Fire Company.
A. 
Keys to locked points of egress, whether on interior or exterior of such buildings.
B. 
Keys to the locked mechanical rooms.
C. 
Keys to the locked elevator.
D. 
Keys to the elevator controls.
E. 
Keys to any fence or secured area.
F. 
Keys to any other areas as directed by the Fire Company.
G. 
A floor plan of the rooms within the building.
All existing buildings shall comply with this article within 12 months of its effective date. All buildings currently under construction comply prior to the issuance of a final certificate of occupancy. When locks and or keys are changed, the Fire Company must be notified immediately and the new keys placed in the key box.