The purpose of this chapter is to establish standards and controls for the various types of fire, intrusion, holdup and other emergency signals from fire and police alarm devices that require Fire Department or Police Department response, investigation or safeguarding of property at the location of an event reported by a signal which is transmitted by telephone or radio to the Fire or Police Department from a central alarm station or to another recipient off the premises.
[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Trustees of the Village of Westhampton Beach 6-14-1985 by L.L. No. 11-1985; amended in its entirety 6-13-1994 by L.L. No. 6-1994. Amendments noted where applicable.]
[Amended 6-5-2025 by L.L. No. 6-2025]
For the purposes of this chapter, the following definitions shall apply:
Any fire, police, emergency or panic alarm device or aggregation of fire, police or panic alarm devices installed on or within a single building or on or within more than one building or area adjacently located on a common site at a specific location including Dial Alarms, Direct Alarms, Emergency Alarms, and Fire or Police Alarm Devices, as defined herein this § 51-2. All smoke detector alarm systems which are self-contained units that do not connect to a Central Alarm Station, Police Department or Fire Department shall be excluded.
Any facility operated by a private firm which is manned by operators or is monitored by electronic or computer devices that receive, record or validate alarm signals and relay information to the Police or Fire Department when appropriate.
Any fire or police alarm device or telephone attachment that automatically or electronically selects a telephone line connected to a central alarm station or police headquarters and reproduces a prerecorded message to report a criminal act or other emergency requiring Police or Fire Department response.
Any fire or police alarm device connected directly by leased telephone wires from the specific location to police headquarters.
Any fire or police alarm device designed to be actuated by a fire, criminal act or other emergency at a specific location or by a victim of a holdup, robbery or other emergency or criminal act at a specific location.
Any signal actuated by an emergency alarm to which the Police or Fire Department responds, which is not the result of a fire, holdup, robbery or other crime or emergency.
Any device which, when actuated by a fire, criminal act or other emergency requiring Police or Fire Department response, transmits a prerecorded message or other signal by telephone, radio or other means to a central alarm station or directly to the Police or Fire Department or to another recipient off the premises or produces an audible or visible signal designed to alert persons off the premises within audible or visible alarm range of the signal.
Any entry into an area or building equipped with one or more police and fire alarm devices by any person or object whose entry actuates a police alarm device.
Police headquarters and other enclosures housing privately or publicly owned equipment serving the Police and Fire Departments.
The Village of Westhampton Beach and, for purposes of fire alarms, any fire protection district covered by the Village of Westhampton Beach Fire Department.
An alarm installation shall not be installed, operated or maintained on premises within the Village of Westhampton Beach unless the owner, tenant, lessee or occupant of such premises shall first obtain and maintain in effect an alarm permit for such alarm installation issued by the Mayor of the Village of Westhampton Beach.
A.
All owners, tenants, lessees or occupants of real property located within the Village of Westhampton Beach must obtain permits for any alarm installation or any modifications of an existing alarm installation or to maintain and operate an existing alarm installation.
B.
A written application for an alarm permit shall be filed with the Village Clerk. Such application shall contain the following information:
(1)
The name, permanent residence address and telephone number of all owners of the premises.
(2)
The name, permanent residence address and telephone number of all tenants, lessees or occupants of the premises.
(3)
The address of and telephone number at the premises where the alarm installation is to be installed, operated or maintained.
(4)
The type of alarm installation.
(5)
The name, address and telephone number of the alarm installer.
(6)
The name, address and telephone number of the alarm maintenance company.
(7)
The name, address and telephone number of the central alarm station.
(8)
The name, address and telephone number of a designated caretaker who shall be responsible for resetting an activated alarm and for admitting the responding Police or Fire Department if the owner or lessee of the property is absent.
(9)
Such other reasonable information as the Mayor may deem necessary to facilitate enforcement of this chapter.
C.
The application shall in all instances be signed by all owners of the property, and a copy of the current deed of record shall be submitted with the application.
E.
No alarm permit shall be issued unless the alarm installation complies with the provisions of this chapter.
F.
Any applicant whose application for an alarm permit has been denied by the Mayor may appeal from such denial by filing a written request for an appeal hearing before the Village Board of Trustees. At the appeal hearing, the Village Board of Trustees shall give the appealing party an opportunity to be heard.
A.
All alarm permits issued prior to the effective date of this chapter shall expire on December 31, 1994. All alarm permits issued after the effective date of this chapter shall expire on December 31 of each year.
B.
All alarm permits must be renewed annually prior to December 31 of each year, and no alarm permit shall be effective after December 31 of any year unless renewed. The provision of § 51-4 shall be applicable to all renewal permits.
C.
The Village Clerk shall give written notice to the holders of alarm permits regarding the expiration and renewal of said permits.
D.
All alarm permits shall expire on the change of ownership of the premises or the change in the occupancy of the premises or the part thereof covered by the alarm permit. Alarm permits shall not be assigned or transferred to a person or entity other than the person or entity to whom or to which it was issued.
E.
The alarm permit shall not cover any subsequent change or modification in the alarm installation, and such permit shall expire on any such change or modification. There shall be no change or modification to an alarm installation until an alarm permit for the change or modification has been obtained.
F.
If the alarm installation is removed, the permit shall automatically expire.
A.
If any material change occurs with respect to the information set forth in the application for an alarm permit, the owner of the premises shall file with the Village Clerk a written supplement setting forth such change. Such supplement shall be filed within 15 days after such change occurs.
B.
Material change.
(1)
A change in the owner, tenant, lessee or occupant shall constitute a material change.
(2)
A change of designated caretaker shall constitute a material change.
(3)
A change of central alarm station shall constitute a material change.
(4)
A change of alarm maintenance company shall constitute a material change.
C.
There shall be no fee for filing a supplement.
A.
The Village Board of Trustees may from time to time by resolution promulgate rules, regulations and standards for the purpose of assuring the quality, efficiency and effectiveness of alarm installations and to facilitate administration of this chapter.
B.
A violation of any such rules, regulations and standards shall constitute a violation of this chapter.
A.
The Village Board of Trustees, after a hearing at which the holder of an alarm permit shall be given an opportunity to be heard, may revoke an alarm permit for violation of any of the provisions of this chapter.
B.
The holder of an alarm permit shall be given written notice of the time and place of any such hearing, which notice shall include or be accompanied by a statement reciting the ground or grounds for revocation to be considered at such hearing.
A.
No direct or dial alarm shall be permitted to be connected to police headquarters or the Fire Department. Such alarm which is connected directly to police headquarters or the Fire Department shall be disconnected no later than December 31, 1994. In addition, any police, fire or emergency alarm device which is a telephone device that automatically dials the Westhampton Beach Police Department or Fire Department and reproduces a prerecorded message which reports a criminal act, other emergency event or fire requiring Police and/or Fire Department response will from this date forward be prohibited.
B.
Any person, business, firm, corporation or other commercial entity who or which operates, maintains, installs, leases or sells such a device or device for use in the Village of Westhampton Beach will be in violation of this chapter.
An alarm installation may be connected to a central alarm station which is manned at all times by a trained operator who receives, records and validates alarm signals and relays information about such validated signals to the Westhampton Beach Police Department or Fire Department. The operator of any central alarm company which calls police headquarters or the Fire Department to report an active alarm will identify himself or herself by name and the name of the company and will provide accurate directions to the protected premises at which the alarm is sounding and type of emergency, if known. The central alarm company shall further provide the name of a caretaker who is responsible for resetting an activated alarm if the property owner or lessee of the property is absent.
An alarm installation may be connected to another recipient off the premises (a recipient other than a central alarm station), provided that the owner of the property having the alarm installation obtains an alarm permit for such connection prior to such connection.
A.
Applications for such permits shall provide the name of the recipient and the address of the location off the premises where the recipient will receive alarm signals.
B.
Said recipient or a designated caretaker shall have the capability of responding to the property having the alarm installation within a reasonable time and the capability or resetting an activated alarm. If said recipient does not have such capability, then the application for such permit shall provide the name, address and telephone number of a designated caretaker having such capability.
C.
If said recipient or the designated caretaker calls police headquarters or the Fire Department to report an alarm, he shall identify himself (by name and status and also by providing the name of the designated caretaker when applicable) and shall provide accurate directions to the premises at which the alarm is sounding and type of emergency, if known.
Any property owner or lessee of property in the Village of Westhampton Beach shall, prior to the installation of any audible signal designated to alert persons within audible range of the signal, obtain a permit for the same.
A.
Any such alarm device which operates on house current must be equipped with a standby battery power supply sufficient for at least 24 hours.
B.
Any such alarm device will incorporate a device whereby the system will automatically shut off and/or reset the audible alarm after the alarm has sounded for a maximum period of five minutes.
C.
All property owners or lessees having such an alarm device on their premises shall provide the Police Department and Fire Department with the name of a person who can respond to the premises within a reasonable time. Said person shall have the capability of securing or, in the case of fire, opening up said premises for inspection by the Fire Department.
D.
Every such audible alarm device must be equipped with a device to silence the audible alarm at the location of the alarm installation.
[Amended 5-14-2001 by L.L. No. 5-2001; 11-13-2001 by L.L. No. 18-2001; 1-5-2012 by L.L. No. 2-2012; 6-5-2025 by L.L. No. 6-2025]
A.
Any owner, lessee or occupant of property having an alarm installation on his or its premises and any user of services or equipment regulated by this chapter shall pay to the Village a charge for false emergency alarms to which the Police Department or Fire Department responds, in each calendar year, per schedule established by resolution of the Village Board of Trustees. A copy of the False Alarm Fee Schedule is on file with the Village Clerk’s office and available online at westhamptonbeach.org.
B.
In connection with the False Emergency Alarms received by the Fire Department, the Fire Department shall, within 30 business days of responding to a False Emergency Alarm, give written notice to the Village Clerk of a False Emergency Alarm. The notice shall contain the following information:
(1)
The address of the property responded to;
(2)
The reputed owner of the property;
(3)
The date and time that the False Emergency Alarm was received;
(4)
The date and time of the Fire Department’s response; and
(5)
A short description of the response including basis for determining the alarm to be a False Emergency Alarm.
C.
The False Alarm Fee charges shall be paid to the Village Treasurer. Failure to pay any such charge shall subject such owner, lessee or user to the penalty provisions of this chapter.
D.
The failure to pay such charge within 60 days of the date that the notice setting forth the charge has been sent to the owner of the premises by certified mail, return receipt requested, shall result in said charge becoming a lien and charge upon the real property where the alarm installation is located, until the same is paid or otherwise satisfied or discharged, and it shall be collected in the same manner provided by law for the collection of delinquent taxes. The application for a permit shall contain a notice advising the owners that the failure to pay the charge can result in it becoming a lien on the real property.
E.
Half (50%) of the False Alarm Fees collected for false fire alarms shall be allocated to the Westhampton Beach Fire Department (WHBFD) on a semi-annual basis to defray a portion of the WHBFD's costs.
A.
It shall be the duty of every owner, tenant, lessee or occupant of property having an alarm installation on such premises to maintain such alarm installation in good working order and condition. Such owner shall be responsible for all malfunctions of such alarm installation.
B.
It shall be the duty of every owner of property having an alarm installation on such premises to install and maintain on such property a sign displaying the correct street number (house number) of the residence. Such sign shall be located at the driveway entrance to such property and shall comply with § 197-30 of Chapter 197.
C.
It shall be the duty of every owner, tenant, lessee or occupant of property having an alarm installation on such premises to ensure that the alarm will be properly reset after it has been activated.
D.
It shall be the duty of every business or commercial entity installing and/or maintaining an alarm installation in the Village of Westhampton Beach to keep complete and accurate records with respect to installation and/or maintenance of such alarm installations.
E.
It shall be the duty of every business or commercial entity installing security or fire alarm systems to obtain and maintain in effect a license therefor from the Secretary of State of the State of New York.
Any person, firm or corporation who or which violates any provision of this chapter shall be subject to a fine not in excess of $250 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 15 days, or to both such fine and imprisonment for each offense. A separate offense shall be deemed committed upon each day during which a violation occurs or is committed.