The purpose of this chapter is to provide standards and regulations for various types of intrusion, burglar, fire and other emergency alarm devices, whether by direct line, radio, telephone or other means and requiring response thereto by the Police Department, Fire Department or other municipal agencies.
[HISTORY Adopted by the Borough Council of the Borough of Upper Saddle River 12-28-1981; amended in its entirety 9-5-2024 by Ord. No. 8-24.[1] Subsequent amendments noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Uniform construction codes — See Ch. 41.
Emergency rapid entry systems — See Ch. 48.
Fire prevention — See Ch. 51.
[1]
Editor's Note: Prior amendments include: 12-13-1984; 5-8-1986 by Ord. No. 8-86; 12-11-86 by Ord. No. 23-86; 9-8-1988 by Ord. No. 16-88; 12-27-2000 by Ord. No. 18-00; 7-5-2012 by Ord. No. 5-12.
The provisions of this chapter shall apply to any person, firm or corporation who operates, maintains, installs, repairs or owns any alarm device or local alarm designed to summon the police, Fire Department or other municipal agencies to any location in response to any type of alarm signal. Any person, firm or corporation having a premises protected by an alarm device shall still be responsible for the registration thereof in accordance with § 28-6A without fee.
As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the meanings indicated:
Any type of alarm system actuating equipment in the alarm console providing warning of intrusion, fire, smoke, flood or other peril.
Any alarm device or combination of devices installed for one or more buildings at a location other than the alarm console.
Limited to a member of the Police Department of the Borough of Upper Saddle River.
Any alarm actuated by inadvertence, negligence or unintentional act of someone other than an intruder, and includes as well, alarms caused by malfunctioning of the alarm device or other relevant equipment.
Any alarm or device which when actuated produces a signal such as store burglar alarms actuating bell devices or any type of audio noise.
Any person owning, operating and/or maintaining an alarm device or a local alarm within the scope of this chapter.
Includes any natural person, partnership, corporation or association.
A.
Any person, firm or corporation which owns, operates or maintains an alarm device or a local alarm shall, within 30 days of its installation, make application for the continuance thereof, in writing, to the Chief of Police, which application shall contain at least the location of the device, the name of the installer of said device, the type of device, provisions relating to false alarms and testing procedures, a list of persons to be contacted in the event of an alarm and other information as may be required by the Police Chief of the Borough of Upper Saddle River.
B.
Local alarms shall be registered with the Upper Saddle River Police Department, but no fee shall be charged therefor.
C.
Any permit granted hereunder shall be granted upon the express condition that the permittee shall indemnify and hold the Borough of Upper Saddle River harmless from and on account of any and all damages arising out of the activities of the permittee or its alarm contractor.
D.
Any person, firm or corporation found to be in violation of Subsection A of this section shall, upon conviction of a first offense, be fined the sum of $50, which shall be payable through the Violations Bureau. For a second violation after the first conviction, such person shall be subject to a fine of $250, and a mandatory court appearance shall be required. Subsequent violations after the second offense shall be subject to such fines and penalties as provided for in §§ 28-10 and 1-15 of the Borough Code, provided that the fine shall be at least $250, with a mandatory court appearance required.
The Borough of Upper Saddle River shall be under no duty or obligation to any permittee hereunder and allied equipment being maintained at will and subject to termination at any time by cancellation of the system by resolution duly adopted by the governing body of the Borough of Upper Saddle River: and any individual permit issued hereunder may be revoked at any time by the governing body upon recommendation of the Police Chief, provided that 30 days' notice is given in writing to said permittee by registered mail.
A.
All fire alarm devices shall be installed in accordance with the requirements of the Fire Chief or his designee and the consent of the Police Chief of the Borough of Upper Saddle River.
B.
(Reserved)
C.
False alarms.
(1)
In case of a false alarm, any person having knowledge thereof shall immediately notify the Police Department in a manner to be prescribed by rules and regulations in accordance with § 28-9 of this chapter. In addition, in the case of false alarms, the Chief of Police shall cause an investigation to be made and keep a record of said alarms on file. For such alarms, which shall be limited to any calendar year, the governing body prescribes the following penalties to be assessed against the registrant:
(a)
For the first false alarm, a warning shall be issued.
(b)
For the second false alarm, a warning shall be issued.
(c)
For the third false alarm, a fine of not less than $25.
(d)
For the fourth false alarm, a fine of not less than $50.
(e)
For the fifth false alarm, a fine of not less than $75.
(f)
For the sixth false alarm, a fine of not less than $100.
(g)
For the seventh false alarm, a fine of not less than $150.
(h)
For the eighth and subsequent false alarms, a fine of not less than $200.
(2)
When the investigation of the Police Department discloses a continued disregard of the permitee or failing to take remedial steps to avoid false alarms, the Borough reserves the right to revoke any permit issued under this chapter. The permitee shall have the opportunity to show cause before the Mayor and Council why such action should not be taken. An alarm owner shall not be charged with a false alarm, provided that such owner makes immediate, proper notification in accordance with rules and regulations promulgated by the Chief of Police.
D.
Any unauthorized equipment may be disconnected by the Chief of Police or his designated representative for noncompliance with this chapter; and any person installing or maintaining unauthorized equipment shall be prosecuted for violation of this chapter; and each and every day said equipment is in operation shall be considered a separate violation. Any permittee shall, by acceptance of the permit, be deemed as having consented to inspection of the premises on which said alarm devices are installed at reasonable hours by the Chief of Police and/or Fire Chief or their designated representative.
E.
The owner, operator or maintainer of any alarm device which has sounded out loud for a continuous period in excess of 15 minutes despite attempts to silence said alarm shall be deemed to have authorized the Police Department or Fire Department of the Borough of Upper Saddle River to take such steps as may be necessary in the interests of the health, safety and welfare of the community and/or the owners and/or operators of said equipment to silence said alarm at no cost and no liability to the, its agents and/or public officials.
F.
After any alarm or signal is received by the Upper Saddle River Police Department, which is caused by mechanical failure, malfunctioning or improper installation of the alarm system and related equipment, but not including alarms created by mechanical failure or malfunctioning, the alarm owner or maintainer shall, within five days after written notice to do so, have said alarm system inspected by a recognized alarm service company. The alarm owner shall complete a written report to the Chief of Police, setting forth the cause of the malfunction, the corrective action taken and a statement by the alarm service company that said alarm has been repaired. Upon receipt of said report, the alarm owner will not be charged with a false alarm.
G.
Any person testing an alarm system covered by the provisions of this chapter shall notify police headquarters immediately prior to and after the testing is completed. Failure to do so shall constitute a violation herein and subject an alarm owner or maintainer to such penalties as set forth in § 28-10.
The Chief of Police may from time to time promulgate rules and regulations supplementing this chapter in order to provide for recordkeeping and efficient management of said system; provided, however, that the governing body must first approve said rules or any changes thereto.
For violation of any provision of this chapter, the maximum penalty shall be in accordance with § 1-15 of this Code.