[HISTORY: Adopted by the Village Board of the Village of Shorewood as Ch. 13, Art. 15 of the 1986 Code. Amendments noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Noise — See Ch. 383.
Peace and good order — See Ch. 409.
As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the meanings indicated:
ALARM SYSTEM
Any electrical or mechanical device for the detection of an unauthorized entry on the premises or for alerting others of the commission of an unlawful act, or both, and when activated emits a sound or transmits a signal or message, or both.
FALSE ALARM
A signal from an alarm system which results in a call, direct or indirect, to the Shorewood Police Department necessitating a response by the called Department when an actual emergency situation does not exist.
PERSON
Any individual, partnership, corporation or other entity.
PRIVATE ALARM SYSTEM
Any alarm system not owned or leased by the Village of Shorewood, with the exception of alarms intended to detect smoke or fire.
USER
The person who is the primary beneficiary from the use of the alarm system.
A. 
Permit required. A permit shall be required of every person owning, leasing, using or possessing an alarm system on any premises within the Village on the effective date of this chapter or installed after such effective date, except as hereinafter set forth. Application for a permit may be made by the owner, lessee, user or agent.
B. 
Permit fee. A permit fee as enumerated within the Village Fee Schedule shall be paid at the time of the filing of an application for a permit.
C. 
Time to acquire. As to those alarm systems now on the premises in the Village, a permit shall be obtained within 90 days after the effective date of this chapter. As to those alarm systems installed after the effective date of this chapter, a permit shall be obtained before the system is installed.
D. 
Exception for interior alarms. A permit under this chapter is not required for an alarm system which gives a signal, visual or audible or both, solely within the interior of the building in which it is located.
A. 
Issuing authority. The issuing authority shall be the Village Clerk.
B. 
Application. Application for all permits required under this chapter shall be filed with the office of the Village Clerk upon a form prescribed for such application by the Clerk; upon completion, the application shall be forwarded to the Police Department for recommendation as to approval or denial. A permit issued hereunder shall be valid for a period of five years from the date of issuance.
C. 
Appeal. Any person required by this chapter to have a permit and who has been denied such a permit by the Village Clerk shall have a right to appeal that decision to the Board of Appeals. The procedure for appealing shall be as hereinafter set forth.
A. 
Alarm system standards. All component parts of alarm systems governed by this chapter, installed within the Village, shall have the Underwriters' Laboratories, Inc., approval or equivalent, if available.
B. 
Exceptions to standards. The Village Clerk may grant an exception to the standards required herein when the alarm system is under testing by the Underwriters' Laboratories, Inc., or equivalent; in such case the alarm system may be installed for a period not to exceed six months and then shall be removed or disconnected unless an extension of time is granted by the Village Clerk or Underwriters' Laboratories, Inc., approval or equivalent has been received.
C. 
Limitation on audible signal. Exterior audible alarm systems shall have a timer device which shall limit the audible signal to no more than 15 minutes.
A. 
Alarm system permits. No person shall install an alarm system or use or possess an operative alarm system without having a permit as required by the provisions of this chapter.
B. 
False alarms. No person owning, leasing, using or possessing an alarm system shall cause or permit the giving of a false alarm, whether intentional, accidental, or otherwise, which is caused by human error, by electrical or mechanical disfunction, or both.
A. 
Grounds for revocation. The Village Clerk may revoke a permit on the following grounds:
(1) 
The application for a permit contains a statement of a material fact, which statement is false; or,
(2) 
The permittee has failed to comply with the provisions of this chapter; or
(3) 
An alarm system repeatedly actuates false alarms. The word "repeatedly" used herein means six or more false alarms within a year.
B. 
Notice of revocation. The Village Clerk shall give written notice of revocation of a permit granted hereunder, which notice shall include the fact that the permittee has the right to appeal the decision of the Village Clerk as hereinafter set forth. The notice shall be sent to the permittee by certified mail or given by personal service within three days of the date of the decision.
C. 
Appeal.
(1) 
Any permittee may appeal the decision of the Village Clerk by filing a written notice of appeal with the Board of Appeals within 15 days after the decision.
(2) 
Such appeal shall be heard by the Board of Appeals within 30 days after the filing of the appeal. The Board may affirm, amend or reverse the decision of the Village Clerk or take any other action deemed appropriate.
(3) 
An appeal timely taken suspends the revocation until the Board gives its decision.
(4) 
The Clerk of the Board of Appeals shall give written notice of the time and place of the hearing to the appellant. Such notice shall be given by certified mail or personal delivery not less than seven days before the hearing.
(5) 
In conducting a hearing, the Board shall not be limited by technical rules of evidence, but full due process shall be afforded.
A. 
Findings. Certain alarm systems include a dialer so that when the system is actuated the dialer automatically dials the police and fire station using regular telephone lines and repeatedly giving its recorded message. This ties up incoming lines to the police and fire station, interfering with other emergency calls and the proper and orderly operation of the Police and Fire Departments.
B. 
Automatic dialers. No person shall use or cause to be used any telephone or electronic device or attachment which automatically selects a public telephone trunk line of the Police or Fire Department or any other department, office, officer or employee of the Village of Shorewood and then reproduces a prerecorded message to report an emergency. A system in operation on the effective date of this chapter which is in violation of the provisions hereof shall be modified so that it no longer is in violation or shall be discontinued in operation within 90 days of the date hereof.
A. 
Residential properties that generate more than one false alarm within any twelve-calendar-month period shall be subject to a false alarm response charge as provided by the Village Fee Schedule.
B. 
Each false alarm for a business or commercial property occurring within each calendar year shall be subject to a false alarm response charge as provided in the Village Fee Schedule.
C. 
If any service charge is not paid within 60 days of the billing date, the charge will be placed on the real estate tax bill of the property for which the false alarm response was necessary, per § 66.0627(4), Wis. Stats.
D. 
Multiple false alarms deemed by the Police and/or Fire Department to arise from the same cause within a twenty-four-hour period, when that cause is due to a mechanical defect, shall only be counted as one.
E. 
A false alarm service charge may be waived upon presentation by the applicant responsible for the same of evidence which satisfies the Chief of Police or Fire Chief or his/her designee that the false alarm was occasioned by causes other than negligence, carelessness or inadequate or improper maintenance.
F. 
A ninety-day grace period on all new alarm systems that have been upgraded by reconstruction or conversion to new technology shall be granted, provided that the alarm installer informs Police and Fire Departments, in writing, when a new system is installed or upgraded.
G. 
If a property owned by a person who has violated § 180-5B is sold to another person, the first violation thereafter shall be treated as an initial violation in any given calendar year.
When any premises located in the Village of Shorewood is owned, leased or occupied by two or more persons as joint tenants, tenants in common, joint lessees, or in any other manner, it shall be the responsibility of each of such persons to see that the provisions of this chapter are complied with, and each of such persons may be subjected to the penalties set forth herein on violation of any of the provisions of this chapter.
Any person who violates any of the provisions of this chapter, other than the provisions of § 180-5B, shall, upon conviction thereof, be subject to a forfeiture of not less than $25 nor more than $500 and the costs of prosecution and in default of the payment of such forfeiture and costs shall be imprisoned in the county jail or house of correction until such forfeiture and costs are paid, such imprisonment not to exceed 30 days. Every day upon which any such violation continues to exist constitutes a separate offense.