[HISTORY Adopted by the Borough Council of
the Borough of Upper Saddle River 12-28-1981. Amendments noted where
applicable. ]
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, actuating a device at the police headquarters of the
Borough of Upper Saddle River and requiring response thereto by the
Police Department, Fire Department or other municipal agencies.
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. The terms of this chapter shall in no way prohibit alarm companies, persons, firms and/or corporations from providing service by private source to other dwellings or buildings within the Borough of Upper Saddle River so long as such activity is not connected to the alarm console at the Borough of Upper Saddle River police headquarters; except, however, that 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:
The console or control panel of devices giving a visual or
audio response, or both, and located within the confines of the Police
Department of the Borough of Upper Saddle River.
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.
That type of device using telephone lines transmitting an
alarm directly through the police switchboard.
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,
but shall not include alarms created by malfunction of the alarm console.
The person obtaining the license to maintain the alarm console
as hereinafter set forth.
Any alarm or device which when actuated produces a signal
not connected to the alarm console, 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.
There is hereby established a police alarm console license, which shall be granted upon recommendation of the Chief of Police as set forth in § 28-5 of this chapter. Any such licensee shall have exclusive use and control of the alarm console, except for use by the Police Department of the Borough of Upper Saddle River, and such licensee will be responsible, at no cost to the Borough of Upper Saddle River, for the establishment, construction, installation and maintenance of said console containing equipment and being of a design approved by the Police Chief and for the care, maintenance and management thereafter of said console; said licensee shall locate said console and relocate said console if necessary under the supervision of the Chief of Police at no cost to the Borough of Upper Saddle River. For any such license granted hereunder, the licensee will assume all liability and agree to indemnify and save harmless the Borough of Upper Saddle River, its agents, public officials and the Upper Saddle River Police Department for any acts in conjunction with the operation of said police alarm console, and in conjunction therewith the licensee shall furnish annually to the Borough Clerk a noncancelable insurance certificate indicating complete liability coverage in an amount no less than $300,000 for each person, $500,000 for each accident and $1,000,000 property damage for each accident.
B.
Any connection to the police alarm console shall be
of a type inspected and approved by the Chief of Police of the Borough
of Upper Saddle River or his designated representative, and any person
aggrieved by said decision may appeal said decision in writing within
10 days to the governing body of the Borough of Upper Saddle River,
which shall resolve the appeal within a reasonable time, after hearing,
with finality as to the right of further appeal.
C.
All console alarms existing as of the date of the
adoption of this chapter (except dial alarms) shall be connected hereunder
to the alarm console by the licensee, and no connection cost for such
transfer shall be permitted to be charged to the user or to the Borough.
D.
The license for the police alarm console shall be
permitted to charge subscribers a maximum installation fee of $75
and a maximum monthly retainer or maintenance fee of $15. Any increase
in this fee must be approved by the governing body of the Borough
of Upper Saddle River by resolution, after being requested by the
Chief of Police. No fee shall be charged to the Borough of Upper Saddle
River or the Board of Education of the Borough of Upper Saddle River
for monthly charges or console connection charges for any existing
or future systems in public buildings; and any equipment or alarm
devices installed by the alarm console licensee in such public buildings
shall be at wholesale cost with no maintenance charge for alarm connected
from municipal offices.
E.
The licensee shall install initially an annunciator
or display console having no less than 250 zones available for present
systems and future connections, which console shall be approved by
the Underwriters' Laboratories. The licensee should be listed by Underwriters'
Laboratories.
F.
Except as provided in § 28-7 of this chapter, any license issued hereunder shall be for a term of five years from date of approval by the governing body of the Borough of Upper Saddle River. Such licensee shall post with the Borough Clerk a performance bond in the amount of $10,000, noncancelable without notification to the governing body of the Borough of Upper Saddle River, guaranteeing performance for five years of the obligation of the licensee and ensuring maintenance of said console and alarm system during said period when such license is in force.
A.
Persons desiring to bid for said license shall make
application to the Public Safety Committee of the governing body,
which application shall disclose whatever information may be required
by the Borough of Upper Saddle River concerning the ability of the
proposed applicant to comply with the requirements of this chapter
and shall indicate, in any event, that:
B.
Upon receipt by the Public Safety Committee of the governing body of a list of those persons or corporations who prequalified, the governing body shall then designate the time and place for receiving sealed bids by those eligible to submit bids as set forth in Subsection A above, which bids shall indicate the bond and other requirements of this chapter and the maximum installation and monthly charges prescribed by this chapter or a lesser amount. Upon the return of the sealed bids, the governing body may award said license to the person whose bid taken as a whole is the most advantageous to both the subscribers to the system and the Borough of Upper Saddle River from a cost standpoint, and in conjunction therewith the governing body reserves the right to reject any and all bids.
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.
[Amended 7-5-2012 by Ord. No. 5-12]
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,
its alarm contractor or the alarm console licensee of the Borough
of Upper Saddle River.
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.
[Added 7-5-2012 by Ord. No. 5-12]
The Borough of Upper Saddle River shall be under
no duty or obligation to any permittee hereunder or to any alarm console
licensee hereunder, the alarm console 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.
Any license for the alarm console and any permittee
utilizing the services of any other alarm company connected to said
console shall provide for a representative to be on call at all times;
and such service shall be provided immediately when necessary after
notification by the Police Department of any malfunctions of any equipment.
C.
False alarms.
[Amended 12-13-1984; 12-11-86 by Ord. No. 23-86; 12-27-2000 by Ord. No. 18-00]
(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)
Where the investigation of the Police Department discloses
continued abuse of the privilege of connection to the alarm console
and/or a disregard of the permittee for taking remedial steps to avoid
false alarms, the governing body reserves the right to require disconnection
from the alarm console for a limited or permanent time, provided that
no such permit shall be revoked or suspended without giving the permittee
the opportunity to show cause before the governing body 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.
[Amended 5-8-1986 by Ord. No. 8-86]
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.
[Amended 12-13-1984]
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,
malfunctioning or improper installation of the alarm console at police
headquarters, 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.
[Amended 5-8-1986 by Ord. No. 8-86]
H.
No dial alarm shall be permitted unless it shall have first been registered with the Chief of Police, as hereinafter required, and approved by the Chief of Police after approval thereof by the New Jersey Bell Telephone Company. All dial alarms shall be coded to dial a separate special number to be provided by the Chief of Police. No dial alarm shall be coded to dial the general police number. All such alarms shall be capable of being disconnected to allow a call to police headquarters in the event of a false alarm. If any person has any dial alarm in existence at the time of the effective date of this chapter, it shall be reprogrammed within 30 days of said effective date to comply with this chapter. If any dial alarm hereafter shall be found to be dialing the general police number rather than the special number, the Chief of Police shall send to the person in whose name the telephone is listed a written notice requiring compliance with this chapter. If the occupant or telephone subscriber fails to comply within 30 days after service of said notice, said failure shall constitute a violation of this chapter and the person shall be liable to the penalties as set forth under § 28-10. Each and every day that this chapter is not complied with shall constitute a separate offense. The contents of a dial alarm message shall be clear and intelligible and in the format approved by the Chief of Police. No such message shall be transmitted more than three times as a result of a single stimulus of the mechanism. Messages shall not exceed 15 seconds and the time gap between each shall not exceed 10 seconds.
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.
[Amended 5-8-1986 by Ord. No. 8-86; 9-8-1988 by Ord. No. 16-88]
For violation of any provision of this chapter, the maximum penalty shall be in accordance with § 1-15 of this Code.
