[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town Board of the
Town of Clarkstown 4-11-1995 as L.L. No. 5-1995.[1] Amendments noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Electrical installations — See Ch. 133.
[1]
Editor's Note: This local law also repealed
former Ch. 91, Alarm Systems, Art. I, Fire Alarms, adopted 1-26-1982
as L.L. No. 2-1982 (Art. I of Ch. 21 of the 1974 Code), as amended;
and Art. II, Burglar Alarms, adopted 1-26-1982 as L.L. No. 3-1982
(Art. II of Ch. 21 of the 1974 Code), as amended.
This chapter shall be known as the "Burglar
Alarm Device Control Law."
The frequency of false burglar alarms emanating
from automated devices have caused unnecessary Police Department responses
where no actual police emergency exists, with the result that police
personnel have been exposed to avoidable hazards and risks, taxpayer
funds have been wasted and persons in need of police and other emergency
services may experience delays in receiving the same. This chapter
is intended to remedy this waste by seeking to suppress the number
of automated false alarms generated in the Town of Clarkstown without
unreasonably interfering with the use of such alarm devices when they
fulfill the purpose for which they are intended.
For the purposes of this chapter, the following
definitions shall apply:
Any device which, when activated, is intended to transmit
a signal directly or indirectly to request police services to respond
on an emergency basis. Such devices include any device which emits
an audible signal at or near the exterior of the protected premises
or which transmits a request for police services to a private- or
government-operated central alarm station for the purpose of relaying
a request for such services or which transmits a request for emergency
services directly to a police agency. This definition does not include
any alarm device installed in any motor vehicle.
Any person, business or entity upon whose premises an alarm
device is installed within the Town of Clarkstown.
The Chief of Police of the Town of Clarkstown.
The activation of an alarm device which results in the response
by police personnel to any place within the Town of Clarkstown where
no police emergency services are required, as determined by such personnel
after investigation. A "false alarm" shall not include alarm signals
which result from hurricane, gale, tornado or other violent weather
condition, earthquake or any major disruption of electric, telephone
or other public utility transmission.[1]
The Town of Clarkstown Police Department.
The Town Board of the Town of Clarkstown.
That portion of the Town of Clarkstown which receives the
services of the Town of Clarkstown Police Department, including the
portion of the town incorporated into the Village of Upper Nyack,
and any areas receiving such patrol in the Villages of Nyack and Spring
Valley.
[1]
Editor's Note: The former definition of “Police
Commission,” which immediately followed this definition, was
repealed 3-21-2006 by L.L. No. 2-2006.
A.
All persons who desire to become alarm users in the
Town of Clarkstown shall obtain an alarm user permit from the Police
Department. Applications for such permit shall be made on forms prescribed
by the Chief of Police and shall provide the following information:
(1)
The name, address and telephone number of the intended
alarm user.
(2)
The location of the alarm device.
(3)
A description of the type of alarm device to be installed.
(4)
The address to which notices required under this chapter
shall be sent.
(5)
The name, address and telephone number of two persons
that may be contacted at any time of the day or night and who are
authorized by the alarm user to enter the premises.
(6)
Such other information as may be reasonably required
by the Chief of Police.
B.
All information provided by a permit applicant shall
be treated as confidential, shall not be deemed a public record and
shall not be used for any purpose other than to carry out the provisions
of this chapter or to provide emergency services to alarm users.
[Amended 3-21-2006 by L.L. No. 2-2006]
A.
The fee for issuance of an alarm user permit shall
be $50. Such permits shall be issued without expiration date.
B.
Application for a new permit shall be made upon any
change in ownership or, in the case of rental property, a change of
the occupant(s) of the premises where an alarm device is located.
[Amended 10-22-1996 by L.L. No.
12-1996]
Any alarm user who shall install or have installed
or maintains an alarm device in the Town of Clarkstown without a permit
shall be guilty of a violation punishable upon conviction by a fine
of not less than $100 nor more than $500.
Alarm user permits shall not be transferable.
A copy shall be kept on file in the alarm user's premises and shall
be made available for inspection upon demand by any Police Department
personnel. All permits shall be deemed terminated upon the sale or
transfer of possession of the affected premises to a new owner or
occupant.
Upon request, the permit fee shall be waived
for any alarm user over the age of 62, provided that the intended
alarm device shall not be used in connection with any business purpose.
In addition to any other requirement, an applicant
for an alarm user permit for any alarm device which shall have the
capability to transmit a request for emergency services on an urgent
basis in the event of medical emergency, a crime in progress or other
extreme emergency shall provide written permission authorizing police
personnel to forcibly enter the premises without notice to the alarm
user.
Wherever a responding police official shall
determine that a false alarm has been transmitted, a written report
shall be submitted by such officer to the Police Chief stating the
name, address, telephone number and permit number, if any, of the
alarm user, together with a statement of the circumstances surrounding
such alarm and the officer's opinion as to the likely cause.
No alarm user permit shall be issued for any
alarm device which shall emit an uninterrupted audible signal for
a period longer than 15 minutes. Police or fire personnel responding
to audible alarms are hereby authorized to disable the same without
liability for any damage to such device if the audible signal shall
sound for more than 15 minutes without interruption. Any such alarm
device which has a mechanism to reset such alarm shall be equipped
so that successive sounding of the alarm device shall be limited to
no more than three fifteen-minute audible signals. The sounding of
such alarm device for more than 15 minutes or for more than three
fifteen-minute intervals shall be considered a false alarm whether
or not an actual emergency triggered such device.
No alarm user permit shall be issued unless
the following requirements are met:
A.
The premises shall display a building or house number
or name sufficiently sized or illuminated by street or other lighting
so as to be clearly visible from the street frontage.
B.
All alarm devices shall be equipped with a standby
power source sufficient to maintain the device in an armed state for
at least eight hours in the event of a power failure.
C.
Every alarm business or alarm agent selling or leasing to any person
an alarm system which is installed on such person's premises
in the Town shall furnish that person with actions which provide adequate
information to enable persons using the system to operate it properly.
Additionally, the alarm business or alarm agent shall inform the purchaser
or lessee of his or her obligation to obtain an alarm user's
permit. The name, address and telephone number of the installing alarm
business shall be conspicuously displayed on the alarm system equipment.
[Added 3-16-2010 by L.L. No. 1-2010]
A.
Any alarm user who shall be determined by police personnel
to have issued more than three false alarms in any one twelve-month
period shall be liable for a civil penalty of $50 each for any fourth
or fifth such false alarm. Any additional false alarm in such twelve-month
period shall subject the user to a civil penalty of $100 for each
such subsequent false alarm.
B.
The Chief of Police or his designee shall maintain records of all
false alarms reported pursuant to this chapter. A warning letter may
be sent at the discretion of the Chief of Police to any alarm user
who shall have permitted up to three false alarms in any twelve-month
period. When a fourth or subsequent false alarm is transmitted during
a twelve-month period, the Chief of Police shall assess the civil
penalty as provided herein and give notice of the same to the alarm
user by certified mail, return receipt, addressed to the address provided
on the permit application or any amendment thereto. Such notice shall
contain information as to the right of review of such determination.
The civil penalty must be paid within 15 days from the date assessed
or, in the alternative, the alarm user must file a written request
with the Police Chief for review of the civil penalty before the Alarm
Users Civilian Review Board. Payment of the amount assessed shall
be stayed pending such hearing. If no hearing is requested, such civil
penalty shall be final and shall become a lien against the property
if not paid within 45 days from the date when assessed. All civil
penalties which become liens against the property shall be collected
by special assessment levy against the affected tax parcel on the
next Town tax bill.
[Amended 3-16-2010 by L.L. No. 1-2010]
The Chief of Police shall revoke any alarm user
permit when 10 false alarms have been transmitted during any twelve-month
period. Such permit shall not be renewed or reissued unless sufficient
changes are made to the alarm device to assure that the false alarm
condition shall not recur upon issuance of a new alarm user permit.
Upon written request by an aggrieved person, the revocation of an
alarm user permit or the refusal to reissue such permit by the Chief
of Police shall be subject to review by the False Alarm Review Board.
An alarm user whose permit is revoked or denied shall be notified
of the right of review. Request for such review must be made, in writing,
on or before the lapse of 15 days from receipt of notice of the determination
by the Police Chief. A request for review shall stay the revocation
of the alarm user's permit until after the determination of the False
Alarm Review Board.
It shall be an affirmative defense to any prosecution for maintaining an alarm device without a permit that the person charged has submitted a duly completed application and permit fee to the Chief of Police within 15 days from the date when served with such violation notice. This defense shall not be available to any person maintaining an alarm at any location where an alarm permit has been revoked pursuant to § 91-14.
The Chief of Police shall have no authority
to revoke or refuse to issue any alarm user permit to any person or
entity which is required by any federal, state or local law to maintain
an alarm device in premises within the Town of Clarkstown. However,
all other provisions of this chapter shall apply, and the alarm user
shall be liable for any civil or criminal penalty which may apply.
[Amended 1-25-2005 by L.L. No. 3-2005; 3-21-2006 by L.L. No.
2-2006; 3-16-2010 by L.L. No. 1-2010]
There is hereby an Alarm Users Civilian Review Board, which
shall hear and determine all requests for review of any civil penalty
assessed pursuant to this chapter or the revocation of any alarm user
permit by the Chief of Police. The Alarm Users Civilian Review Board
shall be comprised of three members appointed by the Town Board for
terms of two years. The Town Board shall designate the members of
the Alarm Users Civilian Review Board, who shall be compensated to
serve on such Board. The Alarm Users Civilian Review Board shall meet
to hear all matters brought before it at least once each quarter.
The Chief of Police, or his designee, shall cause the Alarm Users
Civilian Review Board to be convened in the months of March, June,
September and December to handle all pending matters. Public notification
of each quarterly meeting shall be provided in accordance with the
Open Meetings Law.[1] The Board shall have the authority, for good cause, to
set aside or reduce any civil penalty assessed against an alarm user
or to issue or reissue an alarm user's permit that has been denied
or revoked. A copy of the Board's determination shall be mailed
to the last known address of the alarm user and shall be subject to
review in the Supreme Court by a proceeding under Article 78 of the
Civil Practice Law and Rules. Such proceeding shall be commenced within
30 days after the date that the determination shall have been filed
with the Town Clerk.
[1]
Editor's Note: See Public Officers Law § 100
et seq.
The Alarm Users Review Board may excuse or reduce
any civil penalty assessed by the Chief of Police whenever it determines
that a person, other than the alarm user, was responsible for the
false alarm or that there is reasonable cause to believe such alarm
was the result of an unauthorized entry or attempted entry. Such Board
may not excuse any penalty on account of equipment failure, defective
installation or servicing of any alarm device.
The Chief of Police may promulgate such rules,
regulations and standards applicable to alarm devices and alarm users,
consistent with this chapter, which are necessary for the purpose
of effective administration of this chapter. Such rules, regulations
and standards shall be set forth, in writing, and filed with the Town
Clerk and copies shall be made available without charge to all applicants
for an alarm user's permit.
If any section, paragraph, clause, provision
or portion of this chapter shall be adjudged invalid or held unconstitutional,
the same shall not affect the validity of the balance of this chapter
as a whole or any part or provision other than the part held to be
invalid or unenforceable.
Upon the effective date of this chapter, present Chapter 91, entitled "Alarm Systems," is repealed in its entirety.
