[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town Board of the Town of Southold 1-19-1993 by L.L. No. 1-1993. Amendments noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Police Department — See Ch. 51.
Uniform Fire Prevention and Building Code — See Ch. 144.
The purpose of this chapter is to establish standards and controls of the various types of fire, intrusion, holdup and other emergency signals from fire and police alarm services that require Fire Department or police responses, investigation or safeguarding of property at the location of an event reported by a signal which is transmitted by telephone or radio to the Police or Fire Department from a central station as hereinafter defined.
For the purpose of this chapter, the following definitions shall apply:
ALARM INSTALLATION
Any fire or police alarm device or aggregation of fire or 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.
CENTRAL ALARM STATION
Any facility operated by a private firm that owns or leases a system of fire or 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 or Fire Department when appropriate.
DIAL ALARM
Any fire or 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 the Police or Fire Department.
DIRECT ALARM
Any fire or police alarm device connected directly by leased telephone wires from the specified location to police headquarters or the Fire Department.
EMERGENCY ALARM
Any fire or police alarm device designed to be activated 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.
FALSE EMERGENCY ALARM
Any signal activated by an emergency alarm to which the Fire or Police Department responds which is not the result of a fire, holdup, robbery or other crime or emergency.
FIRE DEPARTMENTS
Buildings owned by the fire districts of Orient, East Marion, Southold, Cutchogue, Mattituck.
[Amended 4-11-2023 by L.L. No. 9-2023]
FIRE OR POLICE ALARM DEVICE
Any device which, when activated by a fire, criminal act or other emergency requiring Police or Fire Department 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 Fire Department or produces an audible or visible signal designed to notify persons within audible or visible alarm range of the signal.
INTRUSION
Any entry into an area or building equipped with one or more fire and police alarm devices by any person or object whose entry actuates a fire or police alarm device.
LICENSING AUTHORITY
The Town Board of the Town of Southold or its designated agent.
POLICE HEADQUARTERS
Police headquarters and other enclosures housing privately or publicly owned equipment serving the police.
TOWN OF SOUTHOLD
All of the Town of Southold, excluding Fishers Island.
Any property owner or lessee of property in the Town of Southold 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 for a permit to own or otherwise have such 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. No such device may be installed on the premises of the owner or lessee and no presently existing fire or police alarm device complying with the provisions of this chapter shall be modified after the effective date of this chapter prior to the licensing authority's having issued a permit to such owner or lessee. Such permit shall be valid for a period of one year from issuance and must be renewed upon expiration.
Permit fees shall be as follows:
A. 
Owner or lessee permits:
(1) 
Initial permit: $25.
(2) 
Renewal permit: $10.
B. 
Fire Departments shall be exempt from all fees.
[Added 4-11-2023 by L.L. No. 9-2023]
It shall be a violation of this chapter to intentionally cause a false emergency alarm, and any person who does intentionally cause a false emergency alarm shall be subject to the penalty provision hereof.
A. 
Any owner or lessee of property having a fire or police alarm device or system of fire or police alarm devices on his or its premises, with the exception of all Fire Departments, on the effective date of this chapter shall pay to the Town a charge for each and every false emergency alarm to which the Fire or Police Department responds, in each calendar year, as follows:
[Amended 4-11-2023 by L.L. No. 9-2023]
(1) 
First and second false emergency alarm each calendar year: no charge.
(2) 
Third and all subsequent false emergency alarms each calendar year: $100.
B. 
The above charges shall be paid to the Town Clerk. Failure to pay any such charges shall subject such owner, lessee or user to the penalty provisions of this chapter.
C. 
The licensing authority shall promulgate rules, regulations and standards which may be necessary for the purpose of assuring the quality, efficiency and effectiveness of fire or police devices and alarm installations owned, operated, maintained, installed, leased or sold by a licensee pursuant to Article 6-D of the General Business Law of the State of New York and to facilitate the administration of this chapter. The Southold Police Department shall enforce the provisions of this chapter. The aforesaid rules, regulations and standards shall be set forth in writing, and copies shall be available for licensees.
If any part or parts of this chapter are for any reason held to be invalid, such decision shall not affect the validity of the remaining portions of this chapter. The Town Board hereby declares that it would have passed the local law enacting this chapter and each section, subsection, sentence, clause and phrase thereof irrespective of the fact that any one or more sections, subsections, sentences, clauses or phrases might be declared invalid.
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 not in excess of $250 for each offense. 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.