[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Trustees
of the Village of Irvington 2-21-1972; amended in its entirety 6-21-1993 by L.L. No. 3-1993.
Subsequent amendments noted where applicable.]
The purpose of this chapter is to establish
standards and controls of various types of intrusion, holdup, fire
alarms and other emergency signals from alarm devices that require
Police Department and Fire Department responses for investigation,
action and safeguarding of property within the Village of Irvington.
The following words, terms and phrases, when
used in this chapter, shall have the meanings ascribed to them in
this section, except where the context clearly indicated a different
meaning:
Any person employed by an alarm business whose duties include
the selling, installing, maintaining, repairing, altering, moving,
replacing or servicing of alarm devices or systems.
Any business operated by a person for a profit and which
engages in the activity of selling, leasing, installing, maintaining,
repairing, altering, moving, replacing or servicing of alarm devices
or systems.
Any assembly of equipment and devices arranged to signal
the presence of a condition requiring urgent attention by the Police
or Fire Department. Any automatic alarm device or group of devices
which when activated signals the existence of a condition which requires
a response by Public Safety Department personnel shall be deemed to
be covered by this chapter.
Any person on whose premises an alarm system is maintained
with the Village, except for a proprietary system or an alarm system
on motor vehicles.
An agency which provides, among other things, the service
of receiving emergency signals from alarm systems through its employees
and immediately relaying the appropriate message by live voice to
the Police or Fire Department of the jurisdiction in which the alarm
signal originated.
An apparatus which automatically sends a digitally encoded
tone sequence, line polarity reversal or other electrical or electronic
signal which indicates the existence of the emergency situation that
an alarm system is designed to detect and report over the airwaves,
telephone lines or other communication cables or facilities.
An office to which remote alarms and supervisory signaling
devices are connected to receiving equipment monitored by police officers,
private guards or other personnel, and which provides persons to respond
to protected premises when an alarm is received.
The activation of the signaling portion of an alarm system
through mechanical failure, malfunction, loss of externally supplied
electrical power for less than four hours, improper installation,
improper usage or an error or negligence on the part of the owner
or lessee of the premises wherein the system is installed, or through
the error or negligence of employees, guests or agents of the owner
or lessee of the premises. The term shall include all alarm signal
activation incidents in which investigation by Public Safety Department
personnel reveals no evidence of the existence of an emergency condition.
Those alarm signals which investigation reveals were triggered by
physical damage to the protected premises as a result of a hurricane,
tornado, earthquake or other violent natural phenomena, line trouble
signals received via dedicated telephone lines or where a concerted
effort is made to notify Police or Fire Department personnel prior
to their arrival at an alarm location, that an alarm was sent in error,
are excluded from the definition of "false alarms."
Refers to an alarm signaling system which, when triggered,
causes an audible or visual signaling device to be activated in or
on the premises within or upon which the system is installed.
A telephone line leading directly into a designated office
of the Police or Fire Department for the purpose of handing emergency
calls on a person-to-person basis, and which is identified as such
by a specific number included among emergency numbers in the telephone
directory issued by the New York Telephone Company covering the service
area within the jurisdiction of the Police and Fire Departments.
An alarm system which transmits its signal to a location
within the protected premises and is monitored by the proprietor of
the premises or his agent. When such a system monitors conditions
which may require a response by police or fire personnel, then it
becomes an "alarm system" as defined in this chapter.
An alarm signaling system which, when triggered, activates
a device which transmits a signal to a central location where action
is taken to respond to and investigate the cause of the signal; i.e.,
Medic Alert System.
A telephone line leading into a designated office of the
Police or Fire Department having the primary purpose of handling emergency
signals transmitted by automatic alarm communication devices.
A person who buys or otherwise obtains and uses an alarm
system, whether or not he thereafter contracts with or hires an alarm
business to monitor or service the system.
A.
All alarm systems installed, on or in structures,
within the Village of Irvington shall be registered with the Village
of Irvington. Every alarm user shall, before operating an alarm system,
apply to the Irvington Police Department on a form to be furnished
by the Irvington Police Department for a permit to operate an alarm
system. The application shall be completed and signed by the individual
who owns, leases or otherwise uses the alarm system.
B.
Upon the acceptance of said permit application, the
Police Department shall issue a numbered alarm decal showing that
the alarm user is registered with the Police Department. Each permit
decal shall show the alarm account number and the year of validation.
Decals shall be displayed on or near the front entrance to the alarm
user's residence or business.
C.
Penalties for nonregistered systems. Any alarm which
is received and investigated by the Police or Fire Department which
is not registered with the Police Department and does not meet all
of the provisions of this chapter shall be subject to the following
fines:
A.
Applications for alarm permits are to be obtained
from the Police Department each year within 30 days of expiration
or change of owner or lessee of the alarm system.
B.
There shall be no fee associated with the application
or issuing of any alarm permit and decal.
C.
Each alarm permit shall include but not be limited
to the following information:
(1)
The name or names of the person or persons residing
in the protected premises or, if a business establishment, the name
of that business establishment.
(2)
The address of the protected premises, including apartment
or other customary identifier for multiple occupancies at an address.
(3)
The name and mailing address of the individual who
applies for the permit.
(4)
The home and business phone number of the permittee.
(6)
The name, address and business phone number, including
after-hours emergency number of the central station or monitoring
service, if any.
(7)
Whether or not the system is equipped to automatically
rearm itself and, if so, after what period of time.
(8)
The cutoff time for audible signals.
(9)
The name, address, telephone number and license number
of the installing company or individual.
(10)
The name, address, emergency telephone number and
license number of the servicing company if different than the installing
company.
(11)
The name, address and emergency telephone number of
the persons to be notified in the event of an alarm.
(12)
The identification of the presence on the premises
of any guard dogs or other household pets which could cause injury
to human beings.
(13)
The identification of the presence or possession of
any firearm, shotgun or dangerous instruments.
D.
The alarm user shall be responsible for notifying
the Police Department, in writing, of any change in the above information
at least 10 days prior to the effective date of such change.
E.
The issuance of an alarm user permit does not create
any special relationship or obligation on the part of the Village
to respond to any alarm.
F.
Upon acceptance of an application and issuance of
a permit and alarm decal, the Police and Fire Department shall be
empowered to take whatever emergency action is reasonably necessary
to investigate and terminate an activated alarm, including the entry
upon private property and premises.
In addition to any penalties which may be imposed
for violation of certain provisions of this chapter, the Police Department
may deny, suspend or revoke an alarm user permit, or renewal thereof,
for any of the following:
A.
Fraud or willful and knowing misrepresentation or
false statement made in the application for an alarm user permit or
in the operation of the licensed system.
B.
Deliberate activation of a false alarm.
C.
Use of an alarm system to summon public safety personnel
for a condition other than what the system was designed to detect
and report as authorized in the permit.
D.
Failure to correct any deficiencies in equipment,
procedures or operation within 30 days of receipt of notice of same
from the Police or Fire Department or within such time as shall be
determined as reasonable by the Police or Fire Departments if said
deficiencies cannot be corrected within 30 days.
A.
No person shall install, lease, sell, repair, service,
replace or remove a police or fire alarm device or devices or provide
answering service without a license issued by the County of Westchester
as required by Article XV, § 863.291 et seq. of the Laws
of Westchester County, as amended. All installers and maintainers
must present an ID card reflecting such license.
C.
Automatic shutoff system requirements. No person shall
install or maintain, in any building, structure or establishment in
the Village of Irvington, an external audible alarm of any type which
does not also contain an automatic cutoff system or feature automatically
cutting off the source of power to the alarm after it has sounded
for a period of no longer than 15 minutes.
D.
The installation and maintenance of any alarm system
permitted by this chapter shall be made at no cost to the Village
of Irvington. The owner, lessee or user shall be made responsible
for the maintenance and service of his or her alarm system device
equipment and shall be responsible for all malfunctions of this equipment.
E.
No person, firm or corporation shall install or cause
to be installed any alarm system device connected directly to either
the Police Department or Fire Department without the permission of
the Chief of Police.
F.
No alarm system device shall be connected by direct
means, including direct dialing, to the E-911 telecommunication system
of the Village of Irvington without authorization by the Chief of
Police.
G.
Upon completion of an authorized installation of any
alarm system device, the structure containing said alarm system device
shall display a valid alarm system decal on or near the front entrance
to said structure.
A.
It shall be unlawful to cause or to permit the activation
of a false alarm signal. The alarm user shall be held accountable
for all false alarms originating from the alarm user's system and
shall be fully liable for all charges and penalties arising therefrom.
B.
The Police or Fire Department shall be empowered to
take whatever emergency action is reasonably necessary to assure that
a premises is safe and to prevent an activated alarm signaling device
from interfering with the Department's ability to receive additional
emergency signals or from interfering unnecessarily with the tranquility
of the surrounding community, including the entry upon private property
and premises.
C.
Penalties for nonregistered systems. Any alarm which
is received and investigated by the Police or Fire Department which
is not registered with the Police Department and does not meet all
of the provisions of this chapter shall be subject to a fine as set
from time to time by the Board of Trustees.
[Amended 11-5-2001 by L.L. No. 5-2001; 6-2-2003 by L.L. No. 6-2003; 8-18-2003 by L.L. No. 20-2003]
(1)
Any owner or lessee of property having an alarm device
or system of devices on his or its premises and any user of services
or equipment furnished by a licensee under this chapter shall pay
the Village a fee for each and every false alarm to which the Police
or Fire Department responds during any calendar year. Said fine for
each false alarm shall be as set from time to time by the Board of
Trustees.[1]
(2)
Failure to pay any such false alarm charges shall
be grounds for suspension or revocation of an alarm system device
permit until such fine or charge is paid.
(3)
Any person, firm or corporation who or which does
not pay any charge or fee established in this chapter or who or which
violates any provision of this chapter shall be subject to a fine
for each offense. The fine shall be as set from time to time by the
Board of Trustees. A separate offense shall be deemed committed upon
each day during which a violation occurs or is committed.[2]
A.
Failure to allow inspection of equipment by authorized
Police or Fire Department personnel after a false alarm shall be grounds
for termination of an alarm user permit or of authorization to permit
an automatically initiated alarm signal to be relayed to the facilities
of the Police or Fire Department.
B.
During any inspection, if any violations of the provisions
of this chapter are revealed, a written report detailing such violations
shall be promptly sent to the owner, lessee or other person responsible
for the alarm system in violation of this chapter. Corrections shall
be made within 30 days after receipt of the notice of violation and
shall state that a failure to comply may result in the revocation
of the alarm user's permit. The alarm user shall be granted a reasonable
extension of time to correct any violations upon showing good cause.
All presently existing alarm systems must comply
with the provisions of this chapter by August 1, 1993.
