[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Supervisors
of the Township of West Goshen 5-7-1985 by Ord. No. 4-1985.
Amendments noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Fire alarm systems — See Ch. 41.
The following definitions shall apply in the
interpretation and enforcement of this chapter:
The business, by any individual, partnership, corporation
or other entity, of selling, leasing, maintaining, servicing, repairing,
altering, replacing, moving or installing any alarm system, or causing
to be sold, leased, maintained, serviced, repaired, altered, replaced,
moved or installed any alarm system, in or on any building, structure
or facility.
Any assembly of equipment, mechanical, electrical or battery
operated, arranged to signal the occurrence of a holdup, burglary
or other activity requiring urgent attention and to which police units
are expected to respond.
A service whereby trained employees, in attendance at all
times, receive prerecorded voice messages from automatic dialing devices
reporting an emergency at a stated location and have the duty to relay
immediately by live voice any such emergency message over a trunkline
to the communications center of the Police Department.
Any device, bell, horn or siren which is attached to the
interior or exterior of a building, structure or facility and emits
a warning signal audible outside the building, structure or facility
and is designed to attract attention when activated by a criminal
act or other emergency requiring police to respond.
A device which is interconnected to a telephone line and
is programmed to transmit a signal by a voice or coded message that
indicates that an emergency condition exists and the need for an emergency
response is required.
A protective system or group of such systems operated privately
for customers by a person, firm or corporation which accepts recorded
messages from automatic dialing devices at a central station having
operators and guards in attendance at all times, who have the duty
to take appropriate action upon receipt of a signal or message, including
the relaying of messages by trunk line to the communications center
of the Police Department.
The administrative head of the West Goshen Township Police
Department.
An emergency alarm activated by inadvertence,
negligence or unintentional acts, including the malfunction of the
alarm system, to which the West Goshen Township Police Department
responds. The definition excludes alarms caused by malfunctions of
the indicator at the alarm board if such alarm is directly connected
to the alarm board; testing or repairing of telephone or electrical
lines or equipment outside the premises; acts of God, such as earthquake,
flood, windstorm, thunder or lightning; an attempted illegal entry
of which there is visible evidence; a robbery in progress; and in
the case of an emergency medical alarm, an actual medical emergency
requiring police and/or emergency medical personnel. If doubt exists
as to the cause of the false alarm, the Chief of Police or his designee
shall make a decision regarding the circumstances of the activations.
Multiple alarms received by the Police Department
before the system can be deactivated within a reasonable period of
time shall be considered a single alarm.
The definition of a false alarm also includes
the intentional activation of a holdup alarm for other than a holdup
in progress, the intentional activation of a burglary alarm for other
than a burglary and/or the intentional activation of a medical alarm
for other than a medical emergency.
A central station protective system or an answering service
as herein defined.
To use a telephone line and equipment for transmitting a
message, either directly or indirectly, by an automatic dialing device.
Written permission duly granted to an applicant by the Township
upon payment of the required fee.
The police communications room and other rooms which house
communications equipment and the police radio dispatcher.
The Police Department of the Township of West Goshen.
The Secretary of the Township of West Goshen.
The Township of West Goshen, Chester County, Pennsylvania.
A telephone line leading into the communications center of
the Police Department that is for the purpose of handling calls on
a person-to-person basis and which is identified by a specific listing
among the white pages in the telephone directory issued by the telephone
company.
After the enactment of this chapter, owners
or users of audible alarms must equip such audible alarms with a timing
mechanism that will disengage the audible alarm after a maximum period
of 15 minutes. Audible alarms without such a timing mechanism shall
be unlawful in the Township and must be disconnected by the owner
or user within 60 days from the effective date of this chapter.
Alarm systems with audible alarms on location
may be installed in Township residences and business establishments
so long as they are registered and comply with the provisions of this
chapter.
A.
No automatic protection device installed after the
effective date of this chapter shall be keyed directly to the Chester
County Department of Emergency Services radio room or the Pennsylvania
State Police radio network.
B.
After the effective date of this chapter, all automatic
dialing devices that transmit recorded messages directly to the Police
Department shall be keyed to the Township Police Department radio
network.
C.
Within 60 days from the effective date of this chapter,
existing automatic dialing devices in the Township that transmit message
to the Chester County Department of Emergency Services radio room
or the Pennsylvania State Police radio network shall be keyed to the
West Goshen Township radio network.
D.
After the effective date of this chapter, no one except
an alarm supplier holding a valid permit from the Township shall install
any alarm system within the confines of the Township.
A.
Any person who has an automatic dialing device in
the Township may arrange to have such device keyed to an intermediary
authorized to relay emergency messages to the Police Department.
B.
The relay of messages by authorized intermediaries
shall be over a trunk line as designated by the Chief of Police.
C.
Automatic protection devices keyed to an authorized
intermediary may also be keyed to another telephone which is available
to the owner or user of the automatic dialing device or his representative
at some other location.
D.
Penalties provided for false alarms that are relayed
or transmitted by an intermediary shall be the responsibility of the
owner or user of the alarm system.
A.
Within 90 days from the effective date of this chapter,
every alarm supplier who has keyed an automatic dialing device in
the Township to the Police Department shall furnish to the Chief of
Police a current list of such installations, which list shall include
the following information:
(1)
The name, residence and telephone number of the owner
or user.
(2)
The address where the device is installed and the
telephone number at that address.
(3)
The name, address and telephone number of a central
station or any other person or firm who is authorized to respond to
an emergency and gain access to the address where the device is installed.
(4)
The name and telephone number of any person, firm
or corporation, if any, other than the alarm supplier, who is responsible
for maintenance and repair of the automatic dialing device.
(5)
The type of message contained on the prerecorded message,
i.e., holdup, burglary or medical emergency.
B.
By the fifth working day of each month following the submission of the initial list, every alarm supplier shall furnish the Police Department with a supplemental list of any additional installations such supplier has keyed to the trunk line, along with any corrections to or deletions from lists previously furnished. An alarm supplier who enters into the business after the effective date of this chapter shall furnish a list containing the information specified in Subsection A by the fifth working day of the month following a first installation and shall thereafter furnish supplemental lists as required by this section.
C.
Users of automatic dialing devices whose devices were installed prior to the effective date of this chapter shall, within 60 days after such enactment, supply the Chief of Police with the information specified in Subsection A.
D.
All information furnished pursuant to this section
shall be kept confidential and shall be for the use of the Police
Department only.
No alarm system shall be installed without a
permit. Application for a permit to install an alarm system shall
be made to the Police Department of the Township. The Police Department
shall establish the information to be contained in such application
and may establish a form upon which applications are to be made. If
a form is established by the Police Department, then all applications
shall be made on that form. A separate permit shall be required for
each separate installation of an alarm system. Upon proper application
being made and upon payment of the fee required, the Police Department
shall issue a permit for the installation of an alarm system.
A.
The initial fee for an alarm system permit shall be
$25, and said permit shall be obtained from the Police Department
prior to the installation of the alarm system. This initial fee will
include an alarm user's permit for the balance of the calendar year.
When the initial application is filed after July 1 of any calendar
year, the fee shall be $12.50 (one-half-year fee) for the balance
of the year. No refunds shall be made under any circumstances. At
the beginning of each year subsequent to the year of installation,
an alarm user's permit shall be renewed at the Police Department.
The fee for such renewal shall be $10 per year.
B.
The permit shall bear the signature of the Chief of
Police and be valid for the period specified on same. The permit shall
be physically present upon the premises using the alarm system and
shall be available for inspection by the Police Department.
C.
The permit shall contain:
(1)
The address of the property.
(2)
The name of the business, if applicable.
(3)
The name of the owner, tenant or agent responsible
for the property.
(4)
The alarm company responsible for maintaining the
system, if applicable.
(5)
The type of alarm (burglar, holdup or medical).
(6)
How the alarm signal will be received by the communications
center (tape, central station, etc.).
(7)
At least two alternate emergency numbers of persons
to be contacted to secure the property.
(8)
Any additional information as may be determined to
be necessary.
D.
Exception. An alarm user who is over the age of 65
and is the primary occupant of a residence, and if no business is
conducted at the residence, may obtain a user's permit from the Township
without paying the above-stated permit fee.
E.
Users who fail to obtain a permit within 60 days after
the effective date of this chapter or who are delinquent 60 days or
more in renewing a permit shall be liable to pay a late charge penalty
of $20.
F.
Alarm users who have had an alarm system installed
or who have themselves installed an alarm system prior to the enactment
of this chapter shall be required to register their alarm system with
the Police Department within 60 days the enactment of this chapter.
Registration of preexisting alarms shall be made on the same form
used as an application to install a new alarm system. The initial
fee for registration of a preexisting alarm system shall be $10. Upon
proper application being made and upon payment of the fee required,
the Police Department shall issue a user's permit valid for the balance
of the calendar year in which such application is received.
A.
An alarm user who installs a battery powered (nine
volts, 11.2 volts or similar voltage) audible alarm system or an electrically
energized audible alarm system whose sole purpose is to notify the
occupants of that location of an emergency situation is exempt from
obtaining a alarm user's permit if all of the following conditions
exist:
(1)
The alarm is not connected to any mechanical or electrical
device that automatically notifies a person or agency outside that
location that the alarm system is activated.
(2)
The audible alarm does not sound outside the location
(no external speakers).
(3)
The internal signal emitted by the audible alarm does
not exceed 90 decibels.
(4)
The internal alarm does not cause undue annoyance
or alarm to occupants of adjoining premises.
All locations in the Township of West Goshen equipped with alarm systems, except as stated in § 25-9 of this chapter, must secure and possess a valid permit for same and must register and maintain such registration with the Police Department as prescribed in this chapter.
Automatic dialing devices installed in the Township
that are keyed to a trunk line shall meet the following requirements:
A.
The type and content of recorded messages must be
intelligible and in a format approved by the Chief of Police as appropriate
for the type of emergency, said approval to be obtained prior to installation.
B.
No more than one call shall be made over a trunk line
to the Police Department as a result of a single activation of the
automatic dialing device.
C.
The time for transmitting each recorded message shall
not exceed 15 seconds.
D.
Recorded messages may be repeated during one call,
but the interval between each recorded message shall be no less than
four seconds.
E.
The sensory mechanism used in connection with an automatic
dialing device must be adjusted to suppress false indications of intrusion
so that the device will not be actuated by impulses due to fleeting
pressure changes in water pipes, short flashes of light, the rattling
or vibrating of doors and windows, vibrations to the premises caused
by the passing of vehicles or any other force not related to genuine
alarms.
F.
All components comprising such a device must be maintained
in good repair by the owner or user to assure maximum reliability
of operation.
Each alarm supplier who, after the effective
date of this chapter, sells or leases in the Township an automatic
dialing device which is keyed to a trunk line shall furnish operating
instructions, a circuit diagram and a maintenance manual to the buyer
or lessee.
A.
Each alarm supplier who sells or leases an automatic
dialing device in the Township shall make service available directly
or through an agent on a twenty-four-hour-per-day basis, seven days
a week, to repair such devices and to correct malfunctions as they
occur. Such service shall be made available to any person using an
automatic dialing device at such user's expense. Any person using
an automatic dialing device shall make arrangements for service to
be available for such device on a twenty-four-hour-per-day, seven-day-per-week
basis.
B.
At the time of installation, an alarm supplier shall
furnish to any buyer or lessee using a repair service written information
as to how service may be obtained at any time, including the telephone
number of the automatic dialing device supplier or agent responsible
for such service. The buyer or lessee and the alarm supplier or agent
supplying a service shall be responsible for having the device disconnected
or repaired within 48 hours after notice that the automatic dialing
device or alarm system is not functioning properly.
When messages evidencing failure to comply with
the operational requirements as set forth in this chapter are received
by the Township and the Township concludes that the automatic dialing
device sending such messages should be disconnected in order to relieve,
the Township Police Department of the burden of responding to false
alarms, the Township may require that the owner or lessee of the device,
or his representative, disconnect the device until it is made to comply
with said operational requirements. If disconnection of the defective
device is not accomplished promptly and the Township determines that
the malfunctioning device is repeatedly sending false alarms without
any intermittent valid alarms, the Township may then take any action
necessary to terminate the receiving of alarms.
A.
The public safety requires that the incidence of false
alarms and malfunctioning automatic dialing devices be kept to a minimum
so as to reduce unnecessary calls to the Police Department and to
increase the effectiveness of properly functioning automatic dialing
devices. In order to enforce this chapter and to reduce the incidence
of false alarms and malfunctioning automatic dialing devices, it is
necessary that appropriate Township officials have the right to inspect
the installation and operation of any alarm system installed in the
Township.
B.
Application for a permit for the installation of an
alarm system and subsequent installation of such a system pursuant
to a permit issued or the continuance of the installation of any alarm
system already installed at the effective date of this chapter shall
constitute consent by the owner or lessee thereof and authorization
for the inspection of any such installation and/or operation by the
Chief of Police, Township Zoning Office, Township Building Inspector
or any other designated agent of the Township.
C.
All such entries upon the premises in which an alarm
system is installed and all such inspections of the installation and
operation of alarm systems shall be at reasonable times and upon reasonable
notice, except in emergency situations.
Every alarm supplier selling, leasing or furnishing
to any user, or a user who privately installs, an alarm system, except
those covered in § 24-9, which is located on premises within
the Township shall:
A.
Be required to notify the communications center of
alarm activations on the proper trunk line only.
B.
Be permitted to install only equipment that is listed
by Underwriter's Laboratories, Inc., as being electrically safe and
which will meet the Township requirements for the alarm system. Wiring
for the alarm system must conform with all applicable Township codes.
C.
Be required to cause each alarm system installed to
be provided with standby battery power which shall automatically and
immediately take over in the event of a power failure.
D.
Be required to install equipment in such a way as
to neutralize electrical surges on the alarm system.
E.
Be required to provide an automatic audible alarm
cutoff within 15 minutes of initial activation of any audible alarms
installed to any and all alarm systems and, further, be required to
disable the audible signal if the alarm is in a runaway condition,
that is, if the audible alarm activates and resets at continuing and
unspecified periods.
F.
Be required to deactivate any alarm system within
a reasonable period of time when multiple false alarms are received.
No person shall conduct any test or demonstration
of any automatic dialing device or other alarm system without first
notifying the shift supervisor of the Township police radio network,
unless the system is keyed through an intermediary, in which case
no such notification is necessary unless the alarm or signal is to
be relayed to the Police Department.
Automatic protective device suppliers and installers
shall furnish at their own expense, at or prior to the time of contracting,
a copy of this chapter to owners, lessees or users of the equipment
or services to be supplied.
A.
Consent to pay costs; schedule of costs.
[Amended 10-11-1988 by Ord. No. 8-1988; 4-14-2004 by Ord. No. 5-2004]
(1)
For the purposes of defraying the costs and resources to the Township for responding to false alarms, the owner, lessee or user of any alarm system or automatic dialing device, persons using the services of an intermediary, users of audible alarms and users of any other kind of alarm systems or any other kind of direct or indirect connection with the police communications center, except persons using the two-way live voice communication by telephone, shall, as a condition to installation and continued operation of such equipment or service, execute a consent in such form as may be prescribed by the Township that such owner, lessee or user shall pay the Township for all false alarms (as defined in § 25-1 of this chapter) following the second false alarm in accordance with the false alarm fee schedule established from time to time by resolution of the Board of Supervisors. This shall include that for the first and second false alarm per calendar year: a warning; provided, however, that if the Township responds to a false alarm at any location which is not registered and for which a valid permit for the alarm system has not been secured in violation of §§ 25-7 and 25-10, as a condition of registration of the alarm system, the owner, lessee or user shall pay the Township an amount equal to the fee for a third false alarm.
[Amended 4-20-2021 by Ord. No. 2-2021; 6-6-2023 by Ord. No. 9-2023]
B.
Failure to comply. Any such owner, lessee or user who fails to execute the consent described in Subsection A within 90 days from the effective date of this chapter shall, within the ninety-day period, disconnect the alarm system, automatic dialing device or any other kind of direct or indirect connection with the police communications center and shall discontinue using the services of any intermediaries.
C.
Any owner, lessee or user of an alarm system may revoke or refuse to consent as set forth in Subsection A above only by disconnecting the alarm system. With respect to such systems installed at the effective date of this chapter, the owner, lessee or user can refuse or revoke the aforesaid consent by disconnecting such automatic protection device within 90 days from the effective date of this chapter.
D.
Any police officer responding to an alarm which is
determined to be false shall promptly notify the Chief of Police of
such alarm, and he shall, within 30 days, have notification of such
false alarm sent via United States mail to the person in whose name
the alarm is registered.
[Amended 10-11-1988 by Ord. No. 8-1988]
E.
By submitting an application for permit for the installation
of an emergency medical alarm system and the subsequent installation
of such a system or by the continuation of the use of a medical emergency
alarm system already installed at the effective date of this chapter,
the owner, lessee or user thereof shall agree that such permit application
constitutes a waiver by such person of the right to bring or file
any action, claim or complaint whatsoever against any police officer
or medical emergency personnel who make or makes a forced entry in
response to such an alarm into the premises on which such an alarm
is installed. In the event that the owner of such premises is a person
other than the permit applicant, as in the instance of a lessee or
other user not the owner of the premises on which the alarm is installed,
such permit application shall constitute an indemnification agreement
by the applicant to hold harmless any such police officer or medical
emergency personnel from any and all damages whatsoever claimed by
the lessor or owner of the premises on which the alarm is installed.
[Amended 10-11-1988 by Ord. No. 8-1988; 7-24-1996 by Ord. No. 7-1996]
A.
Any person who violates or permits the violation of
any provision of this chapter shall, upon being found liable therefor
in a civil enforcement proceeding commenced by the Township before
a District Justice, pay a fine for each such violation in an amount
not less than $100 and not more than $600 plus all court costs, including
reasonable attorneys fees, incurred by the Township. No judgment shall
be imposed until the date of the determination of a violation by the
District Justice. If the defendant neither pays nor timely appeals
the judgment, the Township may enforce the judgment pursuant to the
applicable rules of civil procedure.
B.
Any person found liable of misuse, false activation
or continual activation of an alarm system shall, upon being found
liable therefor in a civil enforcement proceeding commenced by the
Township before a District Justice, pay a fine for each such violation
in an amount not less than $100 and not more than $600, plus all court
costs, including reasonable attorneys fees, incurred by the Township.
No judgment shall be imposed until the date of the determination of
a violation by the District Justice. If the defendant neither pays
nor timely appeals the judgment, the Township may enforce the judgment
pursuant to the applicable rules of civil procedure.
Should any section or provision of this chapter
be declared by a court of competent jurisdiction to be invalid, such
decision shall not affect the validity of this chapter as a whole
or of any other part.
This chapter shall become effective five days
after adoption as prescribed by law.
Ordinance No. 4-1975, adopted by the Board of Supervisors of West Goshen Township on June 10, 1975, and now Chapter 25 of the Code of the Township of West Goshen, is repealed in its entirety on the effective date of this chapter.
