[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Trustees of the Village
of Greenwood Lake 11-25-1985 by L.L. No. 3-1985. Amendments noted where
applicable.]
The purpose of this chapter is to establish standards and controls
of the various types of intrusion, holdup and other emergency signals
from police alarm devices that require police response, investigation
and safeguarding of property at the location of an event reported
by a signal which is transmitted by telephone or radio, or which is
otherwise relayed to the police by an alarm device requiring investigation
or other action by any person acting in response to a signal actuated
by an alarm device, including such devices already in use within the
Village of Greenwood Lake.
For the purpose of this chapter, the following definitions shall
apply:
Any person who is employed by any business, firm, corporation
or other commercial entity that is licensed hereunder to conduct the
business of owning, operating, maintaining, installing, leasing or
selling police alarm devices and whose duties include any of the following:
selling, maintaining, leasing, servicing, repairing, altering, replacing,
moving or installing, in or on any building, place or premises, any
police alarm device as defined in this chapter within the Village
of Greenwood Lake.
Any police alarm device or aggregation of police alarm devices
installed on or within a single building or on or within more than
one building or area adjacently located on a common site at a specific
location.
Any business, firm, corporation or other commercial entity
which is in the business of owning, operating, maintaining, installing,
leasing or selling a police alarm device or devices, or system of
police alarm devices, which business, firm, corporation or other commercial
entity is, as owner, operator, provider of maintenance service, installer,
lessor or seller of said device, devices or system of devices, subject
to the license requirements of this chapter.
Any facility operated by a private firm that owns or leases
a system of police alarm devices, which facility is manned by operators
who receive, record or validate alarm signals and relay information
about such validated signals to the police when appropriate.
Any police alarm device which is a telephone device or telephone
attachment that automatically or electronically selects a telephone
line connected to a central alarm station or police headquarters and
reproduces a prerecorded message to report a criminal act or other
emergency requiring police response.
Any police alarm device connected directly by leased telephone
wires from a specific location to police headquarters.
Any police alarm device designed to be actuated by a fire,
criminal act or other emergency at a specific location or by a victim
of a holdup, robbery or other emergency or criminal act at a specific
location.
Any signal actuated by an emergency alarm to which the Police
Department responds, which is not the result of a fire, holdup, robbery
or other crime or emergency.
Any entry into an area or building equipped with one or more
police alarm devices by any person or object whose entry actuates
a police alarm device.
Police Chief of the Village of Greenwood Lake through the
Village Board.
Any device which, when actuated by a criminal act or other
emergency requiring police response, transmits a prerecorded message
or other signal by telephone, radio or other means to a central alarm
station or directly to the police or produces an audible or visible
signal designed to notify persons within audible or visible alarm
range of the signal.
Police headquarters and other enclosures housing privately-
or publicly-owned equipment serving the Police Department.
A.
It shall be unlawful to operate, maintain, install, lease or sell
a police alarm device without a license. It shall be unlawful for
any person, business, firm, corporation or other commercial entity
to operate, maintain, install, lease or sell a police alarm device
or devices or system of police alarm devices, as defined by the terms
of this chapter, without first obtaining a license as hereinafter
provided.
B.
Authority to grant licenses and permits.
(1)
The licensing authority is hereby authorized to grant a revocable
license upon approval of the Village Board of Trustees to any business,
firm, corporation or other commercial entity, authorizing said business,
firm, corporation or other commercial entity to do business in the
Village of Greenwood Lake by performing any or all of the following
functions: to own, operate, maintain, install, lease or sell a police
alarm device or devices or system of police alarm devices.
(2)
The licensing authority is hereby authorized to grant a revocable
license upon approval of the Village Board to any alarm agent.
(3)
The licensing authority is hereby authorized to grant a revocable
permit to any owner of property located within the Village of Greenwood
Lake or the lessee thereof to operate, maintain, install and modify
a police alarm device.
(4)
All presently existing police alarm devices and systems of fire or
police alarm devices and present owners and lessees of premises having
such devices or systems must comply with all provisions of this chapter
by such date as shall be fixed by resolution of the Village Board
of Trustees.
Applications for licenses and permits shall be made as follows:
A.
All businesses, firms, corporations or other commercial entities
which are in the business of owning, operating, maintaining, installing,
leasing or selling a police alarm device or devices or system of police
alarm devices, who desire to conduct business in the Village of Greenwood
Lake, shall apply to the licensing authority for a business license
on a form to be supplied by the licensing authority. The application
shall contain specific provisions relating to the quality, efficiency
and effectiveness of the device or system of devices owned or to be
operated, maintained, installed, leased or sold by the business licensee,
testing procedures involved and any other information the licensing
authority shall determine to be reasonably necessary to effectuate
the purpose of this chapter. Such business license shall be issued
for a one-year period, on a calendar year basis or a part thereof,
and no license shall extend beyond December 31 of each year. Notwithstanding
this provision, a person having a business license may conduct such
business through January 31 of the year following the expiration of
his business license.
B.
Any person who is to be an alarm agent in the Village of Greenwood
Lake, before acting as such alarm agent, shall apply for and receive
a revocable alarm agent license. The application shall be made to
the licensing authority on a form to be supplied by the licensing
authority. The application shall contain specific provisions relating
to the police alarm device or devices, holdup alarms, dial alarms
or alarm installations which are to be sold, leased, installed, operated
or maintained by the alarm agency, the skill and competency of the
applicant as an alarm agency and such other information the licensing
authority determines to be reasonably necessary to effectuate the
purpose of this chapter. Such license shall be issued for a one-year
period, on a calendar year basis or a part thereof, and no license
shall extend beyond December 31 of each year. Notwithstanding this
provision, a person having an alarm agent license may act as such
alarm agent through January 31 of the year following the expiration
of this license.
C.
Any property owner or lessee of property in the Village of Greenwood
Lake having on his or its premises a fire or police alarm device or
system of fire or police alarm devices shall apply to the licensing
authority, on a form to be supplied by the licensing authority, for
a permit to own or to otherwise have such a device on his or its premises.
The application shall contain provisions relating to the device or
system of devices installed or to be installed on the premises. Applications
for permits for police alarm devices existing in premises on the effective
date of this chapter must be made to the licensing authority by such
date as shall be fixed by resolution by the Village Board of Trustees.
No such devices may be installed on the premises of the owner or lessee
after the effective date of this chapter prior to the licensing authority
having issued a permit to such owner or lessee, and no presently existing
fire or police alarm device shall be modified after the effective
date of this chapter prior to the licensing authority having issued
a permit to such owner or lessee. Such permit need not be obtained
on an annual basis, but shall be obtained each time a device or system
is to be installed or modified.
License fees for a business license, alarm agent license and
owners or lessee permits shall be such as shall be fixed from time
to time by resolution of the Village Board of Trustees.
A license issued under this chapter may be suspended or revoked
by the licensing authority after notice and hearing by the licensing
authority for the violation of any of the provisions of this chapter
or of any regulation or regulations promulgated by the licensing authority
pursuant to this chapter and any license or identification card issued
hereunder shall be surrendered immediately to the licensing authority
upon such suspension or revocation. No part of a license fee shall
be refunded when a license is suspended or revoked. Any applicant
whose application for a license or permit has been denied or any business
license alarm agent, owner or lessee whose license has been suspended
or revoked by the licensing authority may appeal such denial, suspension
or revocation in writing to the Board of Trustees within 30 days after
the date of denial or of the notice of suspension or revocation and
may appear before such Board of Trustees at a time and place to be
determined by the Board of Trustees in support of his or its contention
that the license should not have been denied, suspended or revoked.
The decision of the Board of Trustees shall be final.
Every business, firm, corporation or other commercial entity
conducting the business of owning, operating, installing, leasing
or selling fire or police alarm devices within the Village of Greenwood
Lake shall maintain complete and accurate records of all installations
of alarm systems in the Village of Greenwood Lake and shall produce
such records for inspection by the licensing authority upon demand.
A.
Limitation. No fire or police alarm device shall be connected to
or use any telephone line connected to police headquarters except
those lines authorized by the licensing authority. The owner and licensee
of any such police alarm device which is connected either directly
or indirectly to police headquarters by a telephone line which has
not been authorized for use for such purpose as aforesaid, on and
after such date as shall be fixed by resolution of the Village Board
of Trustees, shall be in violation of this chapter and be subject
to the penalty provisions hereof.
B.
Intentional false alarm. It shall be a violation of this chapter
to intentionally cause a false holdup alarm, and any person who does
intentionally cause a false holdup alarm shall be subject to the penalty
provisions hereof.
C.
Charges for false emergency alarms. Any owner or lessee of property
having a police alarm device or system of police alarm devices on
his or its premises on the effective date of this chapter, and any
user or services or equipment furnished by a licensee under this chapter
shall pay to the Village a charge for each and every false emergency
alarm to which the Police Department responds, in each calendar year,
in such amounts as shall be determined by resolution of the Village
Board of Trustees. Such charges shall be paid to the Village Treasurer.[1]
D.
Installation and maintenance. The installation and maintenance of
fire or police alarm devices permitted by this chapter, including
the connection to police headquarters, shall be made at no cost to
the Village. The owner or lessee shall be responsible for the maintenance
and service of his or its fire or police alarm device equipment and
shall be responsible for all malfunctions of his or its equipment.
E.
Change of location. If the location of police headquarters should
be changed at any time, the Village shall not be responsible for any
expense incurred by the owner or lessee or business licensee or alarm
agent for moving alarm systems or reconnecting such systems to the
relocated police headquarters.
F.
Removal of unlawful equipment. In addition to any other remedy provided
by law, the licensing authority, whenever it shall have knowledge
of the use of any fire or police alarm device, cabinet or attachment,
or telephone terminal which is not operated or maintained in accordance
with the provisions of this chapter or which is contrary to regulations
promulgated pursuant to this chapter and after notice and hearing
by the licensing authority, may order the removal of the same from
police headquarters, and it shall be unlawful to disobey such order.
G.
Any false emergency alarm to which the Police Department responds
brought about through a telephone answering service shall be attributable
to the owner or lessee of the property activating such alarm.
Dial alarm devices using telephone switchboards for prerecorded
voice messages are prohibited.
A.
No person shall use, or cause or permit to be used, any alarm device
that automatically selects a telephone trunk line of the Police Department
of the Village of Greenwood Lake and then reproduces any prerecorded
voice messages to report any crime, fire or other emergency. In the
event that prior to the effective date of this chapter such an alarm
device causes more than three false alarms to occur, it may be directed
by the licensing authority that such device be disconnected.
B.
The use of any dial alarm device which relays a digital coded signal
to the central alarm monitoring facility at police headquarters is
permitted under this chapter.
C.
No alarm system shall be connected to the Police Department for which
an application by permit is not on file with the Village Clerk and
which has not been approved by the Police Chief.
Requirement of cutoff system. No person shall install or maintain
in any building, structure or establishment in the Village of Greenwood
Lake 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.
Except as stated in § 35-8C herein, any person, firm or corporation who does not pay any charge or fee established in this chapter or who violates any provision of this chapter shall be subject to a fine not in excess of $250 for each offense or by imprisonment for not more than 15 days, or by both such fine and imprisonment. A separate offense shall be deemed committed upon each day during which a violation occurs or is committed, and such violation may constitute disorderly conduct, in which event such person shall be a disorderly person, as defined in the Penal Law of the State of New York.
