[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town Council of
the Town of Wallingford 9-25-1984 by Ord. No. 324. Amendments noted where
applicable.]
To provide minimum standards and regulations
applicable to users of burglar, fire, holdup and automatic telephone
dialer alarms; and to promote the responsible use of alarm systems
in Wallingford.
As used in this chapter, the following terms
shall have the meanings indicated:
An assembly of equipment and devices, or a single device,
arranged to signal the presence of a hazard requiring urgent attention
and to which Police or Fire Department personnel are expected to respond.
Excluded from this definition are smoke detectors which do not signal
outside the alarmed premises and alarm systems on motor vehicles.
Any person, firm or corporation on whose premises any alarm
system is maintained.
An alarm system which automatically sends over regular telephone
lines a prerecorded voice message or coded signal indicating the existence
of the emergency situation the alarm system is designed to detect.
The activation of an alarm system to which the Police or
Fire Department responds and which is not caused by a criminal act,
fire or other emergency, but does not mean the activation of an alarm
caused by circumstances normally attributed to Acts of God.
[Amended 6-14-2016 by Ord. No. 614]
Any person, firm or corporation wishing to install
an alarm system on his, their or its premises shall register with
the Wallingford Police Department at least 10 days prior to the anticipated
installation.
[Amended 6-14-2016 by Ord. No. 614]
A.
No person, firm or corporation shall install an automatic
telephone dialing alarm terminating at the Wallingford Police or Fire
Departments.
B.
No fine or other charge shall be imposed on any alarm
user for the first three false alarms within any one calendar year,
but for each false alarm thereafter, a fine shall be imposed in accordance
with this chapter. Each separate premises of an alarm user, distinguished
by a different street address and by a different deed of title, shall
be entitled to said three-false-alarm exemption.
C.
An alarm user shall be notified after the second false
alarm recorded during any one calendar year so that corrective steps
may be taken to eliminate the false alarm signals.
D.
The registration of an alarm user's alarm system may
be suspended by the Chief of Police if, during any one calendar year,
said system has generated 10 or more false alarms and no verifiable
effort has been made by the alarm user to eliminate the false alarm
signals.
[Amended 6-14-2016 by Ord. No. 614]
A.
Any alarm user shall be fined $50 for the fourth and subsequent false alarms transmitted within any one calendar year. Such fine may be waived or suspended at the discretion of the enforcing authority if the cause of the false alarms is beyond the control of the alarm user and/or if said user demonstrates a cooperative effort to resolve a recurring problem of indeterminate cause; provided, however, that such waiver or suspension of fine shall not preclude suspensions provided in § 59-4D if such recurring false alarms continue to present a public nuisance.
This chapter shall not apply to alarm systems
owned or controlled by the Town of Wallingford, including the Board
of Education, the State of Connecticut or the United States of America.
