Date: Fri 04-Aug-1995

Publication: Bee

Author: KAAREN

Quick Words:

xxx-alarm-ordinance-Rochman

Full Text:

False Alarm Ordinance Put On Hold

B Y K AAREN V ALENTA

A proposal to change the town's ordinance on false alarms has been put on hold

indefinitely while officials try new procedures aimed at solving the problem.

Pierre Rochman, chairman of the Legislative Council's ordinance committee,

said a new procedure was initiated by First Selectman Bob Cascella several

months ago so that when a permit is issued by the town's building department

for an alarm system, a copy of the information is automatically sent to the

police department.

"This automatically gets new alarm systems registered," Mr Rochman said.

He said officials also met with the town attorney and decided that it would be

much less costly to try to recoup unpaid fines by going through small claims

court rather than using the attorney.

"When a property owner has substantial unpaid fines and is told that the case

will be going to court, you'd be surprised at how many show up at our door

with a check for the unpaid fines," Mr Rochman said.

Several years ago the police department had proposed that the town ordinance

be revised and new procedures be instituted because of the growing problem of

false alarms. Just how to change the ordinance is a question that has been

bounced back and forth between the ordinance committee and the police

department ever since.

Mr Rochman said no action will be taken to change the ordinance until it can

be determined how well the new procedures are working.

Similarly, he said the ordinance committee still is studying the question of

what to do about buried home heating oil tanks, many of which have been in the

ground for more than 20 years and could spring leaks. Leaking oil tanks can

cause environmental damage which can be extremely costly for a property owner

to clean up.

"Most builders now are putting oil tanks inside of new houses rather than

burying them in the ground," Mr Rochman said.

"Some towns in Connecticut say that after X amount of years, the tank must

come out. That can cause a hardship for property owners," Mr Rochman said.

"Some towns require monitoring but there have been cases in which the pressure

testing itself causes the tank to blow."

If the town mandates a solution, it has to be able to enforce the mandate, he

noted.

Selectman Jim Smith, who is chairman of the Newtown Health District, said

health district officials are working on proposed changes to existing code

regulations regarding home heating oil tanks.