[HISTORY: Adopted by the City Council of
the City of Marlborough as indicated in article histories. Amendments
noted where applicable.]
[Adopted 5-20-1985 by Ord. No. 85-322 (Ch.
48, Art. I, of the 1986 Code); amended in its entirety 10-19-1992 by Ord. No.
92-4648A]
As used in this article the following terms
shall have the meanings indicated:
Any signal from a security alarm system transmitted, directly
or indirectly, to the Marlborough Police Department as a result of:
Improper design, operation or maintenance of
the security alarm system, provided that the owner or person in control
has been previously notified, in writing, of such by the Chief of
Police and has failed to correct same within three days of receipt
of such notice.
Activation of the alarm for testing, construction
or maintenance purposes without prior notice to and approval of the
Marlborough Police Department and/or such other City Department as
may be required.
Negligence or carelessness on the part of the
owner or person in control or such owner's or person's agents, employees
or servants.
On or before January 1, 1993, all security alarms
utilized within the City of Marlborough must conform to the following
minimum standards for security alarm systems.
A.
Limitations on automatic dialers.
(1)
No security alarm system shall utilize any automatic
dialing device that has been designed or programmed to, after activation,
repeatedly dial any telephone number of the Marlborough Police or
Fire Departments for the purpose of transmitting a recorded or electronic
message of alarm.
(2)
No security alarm system shall utilize an automatic
dialing device programmed to dial 911.
B.
Limitation on power of audible alarm signalling devices.
No security alarm system shall utilize, as an audible alarm signal
device, a siren, klaxon or similar electronic signal producer of more
than 60 watts of power.
C.
Automatic resetting of system or silencing of audible
alarm. Every security alarm system must be designed, equipped or programmed
to automatically reset or silence the audible alarm within 10 minutes
of such system having been activated.
A.
Alarm systems, in general. Every owner or person in
control of a security alarm system shall register the same on forms
provided by the Chief of Police, which forms shall include the name,
address and telephone number of the owner or person in control and
the names, addresses and phone numbers of at least two other persons
to be contacted in the event that the owner or person in control,
as changes occur to the relevant information contained therein. In
addition, such owner or person in control shall affix to the alarmed
building, house or structure, according to the directions of the Chief
of Police, proof of such registration, in such form as may be issued
by the Chief.
B.
Alarm systems connected to a central monitoring service.
The owner or person in control of a security alarm system which is
connected to a central monitoring service shall not be required to
register such system with the Chief of Police or to display proof
of registration, provided that such owner or person in control has
provided the central monitoring service with information similar to
that required by the preceding paragraph.
The owner or person in control of a security
alarm system shall be subject to a civil penalty of $50 for:
A.
Every false alarm transmitted by such security alarm
system, unless such owner or person in control, directly or indirectly,
notified the Marlborough Police Department that such alarm was false
prior to the dispatch of an officer to the alarm.
B.
Utilizing, after January 1, 1993, a security alarm system that is not in conformity with the minimum standards as established by § 235-2 of the article.
C.
Failure to register such security system or update such registration information as required by the provisions of § 235-3 of this article.
D.
Knowingly failing to immediately notify the Marlborough
Police Department and, where applicable, the central monitoring service
of the transmission of a false alarm.
A.
No person shall intentionally transmit a signal from
a security alarm system for a purpose other than an actual or reasonably
perceived emergency or for a preapproved testing of the system.
B.
No owner or person in control of a security system
shall, directly or indirectly, refuse or neglect to secure, within
a reasonable time period after notification, an audible alarm which
has been sounding in excess of 10 minutes or which is
repeatedly sounding after automatically resetting.
D.
Nothing in this section shall be deemed to prevent
or prohibit a police officer or other City Officer from seeking criminal
complaints in regard to any conduct prohibited by this section.
The sounding of the audible signal of a security
alarm system in excess of 10 minutes or the repeated sounding of such
alarm following its reset is deemed to constitute a nuisance. Upon
the occurrence of such a nuisance and after having made reasonable
efforts to have the owner or person in control silence the audible
signal, a command officer of the Marlborough Police Department may,
for the purpose of ending the nuisance, silence or cause to be silenced
such audible signal.
[Adopted 5-20-1985 by Ord. No. 85-323 (Ch.
48, Art. II, of the 1986 Code)]
On or before September 1, 1985, or within 10
days after installation, the owner of every fire alarm system for
residences or businesses shall register the same on forms provided
by the Fire Chief, which forms shall include designation of the owner,
operator and party responsible for maintenance and operation of the
system. Registration shall be effective for a period of one year and
shall be annually renewed. The City of Marlborough shall not be subject
to this section or the succeeding sections of this article.
As used in this article, the following terms
shall have the meanings indicated:
Any signal not manually initiated or initiated by products
of combustion of fire transmitted directly or indirectly to the Fire
Department from a fire alarm system which results from:
A.
Lack of proper maintenance.
B.
Activation of the alarm for testing, construction,
maintenance purposes when the Fire Department has not been notified
and given prior approval.
C.
Negligence or carelessness on the part of the owner
or the owner's agents, employees or servants.
D.
Intentional injection of particulates, heat or other
materials into the air by the owner or operator of the system or agent,
employee or servant of the same.
The owner of a fire alarm system shall be liable
to the City of Marlborough in the sum of $50 for each false alarm
transmitted by said system in excess of one during any one-year period.
