[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Supervisors of the Township of West Hempfield 7-3-1990 as Ord. No. 7-90. Amendments noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Fire prevention — See Ch. 75.
Noise — See Ch. 88.
Peace and good order — See Ch. 96.
This chapter shall be known as the "West Hempfield Township Alarm Systems Chapter."
A. 
In interpretation of this chapter, the singular shall include the plural, and the masculine shall include the feminine and the neuter.
B. 
The following definitions shall apply in the interpretation and enforcement of this chapter:
ALARM EQUIPMENT SUPPLIER
Any person, firm or corporation who sells or leases and/or installs automatic protection devices or audible alarm systems.
ALARM SYSTEM
An audible alarm, automatic protection device or other similar device designed to provide notice of burglary, fire, robbery, medical emergency or other similar emergency to which police, fire fighters or rescue company personnel respond.
ALARM SYSTEM USER
Any individual, unincorporated association, corporation, trust or other legally recognized entity in control of any premises having an audible alarm system or automatic protection device which notifies the Police Department either directly or indirectly and requires the response of the Police Department, the Fire Department or rescue companies.
ANSWERING SERVICE
A service whereby trained employees, in attendance at all times, receive prerecorded messages or signals from automatic protection devices reporting an emergency at a stated location and have the duty to relay immediately by live voice any such emergency to the Police Department, the Fire Department or a rescue company.
AUDIBLE ALARM
Any device, bell, horn or siren which is attached to the interior or exterior of a building and emits a warning signal audible outside the building and is designed to attract attention when activated by a criminal act or other emergency requiring police, fire fighters or a rescue company to respond.
AUTOMATIC PROTECTION DEVICE
An electrically operated instrument, composed of sensory apparatus and related hardware, which automatically transmits a prerecorded voice alarm over regular telephone line by direct or indirect connections to the Police Department, Fire Department, central station protective system or answering service upon receipt of a stimulus from a sensory apparatus that has detected a physical force or condition inherently characteristic of a fire, intrusion or other hazard.
CENTRAL STATION PROTECTIVE SYSTEM
A protective system or group of such systems operated privately for customers by a person, which maintains supervisors and accepts recorded messages or signals from automatic protection devices at a central station having trained operators and guards in attendance at all times that have the duty to take appropriate action upon the receipt of a message or signal, including the relaying of messages by a designated or direct trunk line to the communications center of the Police Department.
FALSE ALARM
Any signal activated by an automatic protection device, any audible alarm or any other kind of direct or indirect signal given the police or fire communications center to which police or fire fighters or rescue companies respond, which signal or alarm is not the result of a burglary, fire, robbery or similar emergency or which is not the result of a power surge or failure, lightning strike or other uncontrollable event.
FIRE DEPARTMENT
Any fire department or fire company which responds to alarms within the Township of West Hempfield.
PERSON
Any individual, partnership, corporation, association or other legally recognized entity and the officers of such corporations or the members of such partnership.
POLICE DEPARTMENT
The Police Department of the Township of West Hempfield.
RESCUE COMPANY
Any organization which provides emergency medical services which respond to alarms within the Township of West Hempfield.
SECRETARY
The Secretary of the Township of West Hempfield.
TOWNSHIP
The Township of West Hempfield, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.
TREASURER
The Treasurer of the Township of West Hempfield.
Owners or lessees of premises equipped with audible alarms shall equip such audible alarms with a timing mechanism that will disengage the audible alarm after a maximum period of 15 minutes and remain disengaged until the alarm is serviced or reset. Audible alarms without such a timing mechanism shall be unlawful in the township and shall be deactivated by the owners or lessees of the premises within 60 days from the effective date of this chapter.
Owners or lessees of premises equipped with gates, fences or other similar apparatus designed to prevent entry which are electronically controlled from a location such as a residence or other principal building shall ensure that when an audible alarm or automatic protection device is activated, the gate, fence or other apparatus shall open to allow entry of the police, the Fire Department or the rescue company.
A. 
It shall be unlawful for property owners, lessees of a property or a person otherwise occupying any premises within the township to put an automatic protection device or audible alarm system into operation on his or her premises or to allow an automatic protection device or audible alarm system to be put into operation on his or her premises without first registering the alarm system with the township.
B. 
Every alarm user shall register each alarm system he or she operates within this township with the township. This subsection does not require that alarm equipment suppliers register under this section when such alarm equipment supplier leases or provides services to alarm system users. If an alarm equipment supplier does, however, use an alarm system to protect its own premises, it shall register such system as required in this section.
C. 
Alarm system user registration procedure.
(1) 
The alarm system user making the registration required in Subsection A shall complete the registration form provided by the township which shall include the alarm system user's name, the address of the residence or business or businesses in or upon which the alarm system has been or will be installed, the alarm system user's telephone number, the type of alarm system, the alarm equipment supplier selling, installing, monitoring, inspecting, responding to and/or maintaining the alarm system, the central station protective system utilized, if any, and the name and telephone number of at least two other persons who can be reached at any time and who are authorized to respond to an alarm system and who shall respond and open the premises in which the system is installed.
(2) 
If the alarm system is to be leased or rented from or is to be serviced pursuant to a service agreement by a person other than the person making application for an alarm system user permit, the name, address and telephone number of that person must be stated in the application.
(3) 
Each person submitting an application for an alarm system user permit shall submit a signed statement in the following form: "I/We, the undersigned applicant(s) for an alarm system user permit, intending to be legally bound hereby, agree with the Township of West Hempfield that neither I/We nor anyone claiming by, through or under me/us shall make any claim against the Township of West Hempfield, its officials or agents for any damage caused to the premises at which the automatic protection device or audible alarm system is situated at a time when said premises are to appear to be unattended or when, in the discretion of said employees, the circumstances appear to warrant a forced entry."
D. 
Any alarm user who installs an automatic protection device or audible alarm system shall submit with the registration a certificate of an alarm equipment supplier stating that in the opinion of such alarm equipment supplier the automatic protection device or audible alarm system complies with this chapter.
E. 
Any alarm system user who has registered under this chapter shall promptly notify the township of any change in the information supplied on the alarm system user permit application.
In order to defray the costs to the township resulting from responding to false alarms, a fee shall be imposed against the alarm system user after response to each false alarm. Such fee shall be set by ordinance or resolution of the Board of Supervisors of the township.
[Amended 9-3-1996 by Ord. No. 3-96; 5-6-1997 by Ord. No. 6-97]
If the Board of Supervisors or the officer designated to enforce this chapter by the Board of Supervisors determines that a person has committed or permitted the commission of a violation of this chapter, the Board of Supervisors or such enforcement officer shall inform such person in writing of the violation, shall notify such person to cease the violation of this chapter and shall inform such person that he or she must pay a civil penalty to the township within the range of the amounts set forth below to settle the violation. The penalty for a first offense shall be not less than $50 and not more than $600; the penalty for a second offense shall be not less than $100 and not more than $600; and the penalty for a third or greater offense shall be not less than $200 and not more than $600. If such person fails or refuses to remit the penalty to the township within 10 days from the date of the written notice of the violation of this chapter, the township may commence a civil enforcement proceeding seeking penalties and costs for the violation of this chapter and/or may commence an action in equity. The township shall seek a judgment for the penalty previously imposed, together with additional daily penalties for continuing violations, plus all court costs, including the reasonable attorneys' fees incurred by the township in the enforcement proceedings. Each day that a violation continues shall constitute a separate violation, and each section of this chapter which is violated shall constitute a separate violation. If the defendant neither pays nor timely appeals the judgment, the township may enforce the judgment pursuant to the applicable rules of civil procedure.
Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to affect any suit or proceeding pending in any court or any rights acquired or liability incurred or any permit issued or approval granted or any cause or causes of action existing under the Code of the Township of West Hempfield prior to the enactment of this chapter.