ARTICLE IV. - ALARM SYSTEMS[4]
Footnotes:
--- (4) ---
Editor's note— The city's regulations regarding alarm systems were formerly contained in Art. IV, §§ 18-50—18-57, and were derived from Code 1961, §§ 37.1—37.6, and Ord. No. 583, §§ 1, 2, adopted Oct. 25, 1976. Section 1 of Ord. No. 711, adopted Oct. 11, 1983, enacted new provisions, contained in Arts. IV—VII, §§ 18-50—18-74. Prior to reenactment by § 1 of Ord. No. 828, adopted July 24, 1990, this article was entitled "Unmonitored Alarm Systems."
Sec. 18-50. - Installation.
All unmonitored alarm systems other than fire alarm systems sold, leased, contracted for or otherwise maintained and operated by any person within the city shall be installed in accordance with all applicable standards and requirements of the building codes and other applicable established standards as required by the city. All alarm systems shall be equipped with an uninterruptible power supply or installed in such a manner that the failure or interruption of normal electrical utility power shall not activate the alarm system. Such power supply shall be capable of at least four (4) hours of operation. The chief of police may inspect and/or approve all alarm systems installed within the city at his discretion during usual business hours.
(Ord. No. 711, § 1, 10-11-83; Ord. No. 828, § 1, 7-24-90)
Sec. 18-51. - Audible alarm standards for cessation of audible alarms.
(a)Every person maintaining an audible alarm shall post a notice containing the name and telephone numbers of the persons to be notified to render repair or service and secure the premises during any hour of the day or night which the alarm system is activated. Such notice shall be posted near the alarm in such a position as to be legible from the ground level adjacent to the building structure or other facility where the alarm system is located.(b)Any and all audible alarm systems shall be installed or activated to automatically cease transmitting the audible signal within ten (10) minutes.(c)Upon request of a city police officer, a user or his or her designated representative shall respond within one (1) hour to the premises whereon the alarm system is located.
(Ord. No. 711, § 1, 10-11-83; Ord. No. 828, § 1, 7-24-90)
Sec. 18-52. - Repair.
After any false alarm caused by a mechanical malfunction of the alarm system, the user shall cause the alarm system to be repaired so as to eliminate such malfunction before reactivating the alarm. A person shall not reactivate such alarm until such repairs have been made.
(Ord. No. 711, § 1, 10-11-83; Ord. No. 828, § 1, 7-24-90)
Sec. 18-53. - Alarm telephone devices.
It shall be unlawful for any person to use or cause to be used any electrical or mechanical device or attachment to a telephone that automatically reports a taped or otherwise recorded message to report a police or fire emergency to the police department without first obtaining permission from the chief of police.
- Any such device that has been approved by the police chief shall not terminate on police department emergency telephone lines but shall be connected to a separate telephone line monitored at the police department.
- All permittees who use an alarm telephone device to automatically report a police or fire emergency shall pay an annual fee as prescribed by resolution adopted by the city council for the cost of administering and monitoring the emergency response service.
(Ord. No. 711, § 1, 10-11-83; Ord. No. 828, § 1, 7-24-90)
Sec. 18-54. - Audible alarms similar to sirens prohibited.
It is unlawful to install on the exterior or interior of a building an intrusion detection device or alarm system which upon activation emits a sound exceeding eighty (80) decibels (when measured from outside the premises), which is similar to sirens in use on emergency vehicles or for civil defense purposes.
(Ord. No. 711, § 1, 10-11-83; Ord. No. 828, § 1, 7-24-90)
Sec. 18-55. - Alarm systems which constitute a hazard to responding public safety officers.
No person shall operate or permit an alarm system to be operated which, due to the nature of its construction, installation and/or location, constitutes an unreasonable hazard to life and limb of responding public safety officers, as determined by the chief of police.
(Ord. No. 711, § 1, 10-11-83; Ord. No. 828, § 1, 7-24-90)
Sec. 18-56. - Permit.
It shall be a misdemeanor for any alarm system to be installed, possessed, operated, used, serviced or maintained without a valid, unrevoked and unexpired permit therefor in accordance with the provisions of this chapter or for an alarm business or alarm agent to make operable, service, maintain or repair an alarm system for a user unless said user has obtained a valid, unrevoked and unexpired permit from the city.
(Ord. No. 711, § 1, 10-11-83; Ord. No. 828, § 1, 7-24-90)
Sec. 18-57. - Application; investigation and denial.
(a)Processing; Grounds for Denial. An application for a permit shall be processed in a timely manner. The permit may be denied by the chief of police on the following grounds:
- The alarm system is deficient in that it does not comply with standard rules and regulations adopted pursuant to this chapter and/or results in excessive false alarms as defined by said rules and regulations; or
- The applicant, his or her employee or agent has knowingly made any false misleading or fraudulent statement of a material fact in the application for a permit, or in any report or record required to be filed with any city agency; or
- That the applicant has had a similar type permit previously revoked for good cause within the past year unless the applicant can show a material change in circumstances since the date of revocation; permits shall be issued to the user; or
- The violation of any of the provisions of this chapter.
(b)Procedure. The chief of police shall inform the applicant in writing of the denial stating the reasons for such denial.
(Ord. No. 711, § 1, 10-11-83; Ord. No. 828, § 1, 7-24-90)
Sec. 18-58. - Duration of permit.
Permits issued pursuant to this article shall be renewed annually after issuance. Applications for renewals of permits shall be processed in the same manner as applications for the initial permit. Initial issuance of a permit or transfer of a permit shall be valid until the annual renewal period, which shall be January 1 of each subsequent year.
(Ord. No. 711, § 1, 10-11-83; Ord. No. 828, § 1, 7-24-90)
Secs. 18-59, 18-60. - Reserved.
Editor's note— Section 18-59, relating to the applicability of the chapter to users on the effective date of the chapter, and § 18-60, relating to the posting of permits, both derived from § 1 of Ord. No. 711, adopted Oct. 11, 1983, were repealed by § 1 of Ord. No. 828, adopted July 24, 1990.
Sec. 18-61. - Notice of repair.
The alarm business, alarm agent, user or permittee shall notify the police dispatcher of the city prior to any service, test, repair, maintenance adjustment or installation which might activate a false alarm on a particular alarm system. No subsequent recording of a "false alarm" for the purpose of charging for a police response shall occur if the police dispatcher has been appropriately notified of the repair period.
(Ord. No. 711, § 1, 10-11-83; Ord. No. 828, § 1, 7-24-90)
Sec. 18-62. - Notice of false alarm.
Users of any alarm system who set off a false alarm shall inform the police dispatcher of the error as soon as the user has knowledge of such false alarm. The permittee may avoid charges for a false alarm if the police dispatcher is notified prior to the actual dispatching of police units.
(Ord. No. 711, § 1, 10-11-83; Ord. No. 828, § 1, 7-24-90)
Sec. 18-63. - Notice of change.
Whenever any change occurs relating to the written information required by this chapter, the applicant or permittee shall give written notice thereof to the department within ten (10) days after such change or at any hearing conducted under this chapter, if such hearing is conducted before the notice has been given. The applicant or permittee is solely responsible for the correctness of the information submitted to the police department.
(Ord. No. 711, § 1, 10-11-83; Ord. No. 828, § 1, 7-24-90)