HomeMy WebLinkAboutO-1267ORDINANCE NO. 1267
BURGLAR ALARM ORDINANCE
AN ORDINANCE TO PROMOTE THE PUBLIC SAFETY, HEALTH AND
WELFARE OF THE CITY OF FAIRHOPE, ALABAMA, BY ADOPTING A
BURGLAR ALARM ORDINANCE AND REPEAL ORDINANCE NO. 685 —
REGULATION OF BURGLAR ALARM SYSTEMS.
BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FAIRHOPE,
ALABAMA, as follows:
SECTION 1. PURPOSE
(A) The purpose of this Ordinance is to encourage Alarm Users and alarm
companies to properly use and maintain the operational effectiveness of Alarm Systems
in order to improve the reliability of Alarm Systems and reduce or eliminate False
Alarms.
(B) This Ordinance governs Alarm Systems intended to summon law enforcement
response, and requires registration, establishes fees, provides for penalties for
violations, establishes a system of administration, and sets conditions for suspension of
police response or revocation of registration.
SECTION 2. DEFINITIONS
In this Ordinance the following terms and phrases shall have the following meanings:
(A) Alarm Installation Company means a Person in the business of selling,
providing, maintaining, servicing, repairing, altering, replacing, moving or installing an
Alarm System in an Alarm Site.
(B) Alarm Dispatch Request means a notification to the Fairhope Police
Department that an alarm, either manual or automatic, has been activated at a
particular Alarm Site.
(C) Alarm Registration (or Permits) means authorization granted by the Chief of
Police to an Alarm User to operate an Alarm System.
(D) Alarm Site means a single fixed premises or location served by an Alarm
System or Systems. Each unit, if served by a separate Alarm System in a multi -unit
building or complex, shall be considered a separate Alarm Site.
(E) Alarm System means a device or series of devices, including, but not limited to,
hardwired systems and systems interconnected with a radio frequency method such as
cellular or private radio signals, which emit or transmit a remote or local audible, visual
or electronic signal indicating an alarm condition and intended to summon law
enforcement response, including Local Alarm Systems. Alarm System does not include
an alarm installed in a vehicle or on someone's Person unless the vehicle or the personal
alarm is permanently located at a site.
(F) Alarm User means any Person, who (which) has contracted for Monitoring,
repair, installation or maintenance service from an Alarm Installation Company or
Monitoring Company for an Alarm System, or who (which) owns or operates an
Alarm System which is not monitored, maintained or repaired under contract.
(G) Arming Station means a device that allows control of an Alarm System.
(H) Automatic Voice Dialer means any electrical, electronic, mechanical, or other
device capable of being programmed to send a prerecorded voice message, when
activated, over a telephone line, radio or other communication system, to a law
enforcement, public safety or emergency services agency requesting dispatch.
(I) Cancellation means the process where response is terminated when a
Monitoring Company (designated by the Alarm User) for the Alarm Site notifies the
Police Department that there is not an existing situation at the Alarm Site requiring law
enforcement response after an Alarm Dispatch Request.
(J) Conversion means the transaction or process by which one Alarm Installation
Company or Monitoring Company begins the servicing and/or Monitoring of a
previously unmonitored Alarm System or an Alarm System previously serviced and/or
monitored by another alarm company.
(K) Duress Alarm means a silent Alarm System signal generated by the entry of a
designated code into an Arming Station in order to signal that the Alarm User is being
forced to turn off the system and requires law enforcement response.
(L) False Alarm means an Alarm Dispatch Request to the Fairhope Police
Department, when the responding officer finds no evidence of a criminal offense or
attempted criminal offense after having completed a timely investigation of the
Alarm Site.
(M) Holdup Alarm means a silent alarm signal generated by the manual
activation of a device intended to signal a robbery in progress.
(N) Law Enforcement Authority means the City of Fairhope Police
Department.
(0) License means a license issued by the City of Fairhope to an Alarm
Installation Company and Monitoring Company to sell, install, monitor, repair, or
replace Alarm Systems.
(P) Local Alarm System means any Alarm System, which is not monitored, that
annunciates an alarm only at the Alarm Site.
(Q) Monitoring means the process by which a Monitoring Company receives
signals from an Alarm System and relays an Alarm Dispatch Request to the
Municipality for the purpose of summoning law enforcement to the Alarm Site.
(R) Monitoring Company means a Person in the business of providing Monitoring
services.
(S) Panic Alarm means an audible Alarm System signal generated by the manual
activation of a device intended to signal a life threatening or emergency situation
requiring law enforcement response.
(T) Person means an individual, corporation, partnership, association,
organization or similar entity.
(U) Responder means an individual capable of reaching the Alarm Site within
[15] minutes and having access to the Alarm Site, the code to the Alarm System and
the authority to approve repairs to the Alarm System.
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(V) Takeover means the transaction or process by which an Alarm User takes over
control of an existing Alarm System, which was previously controlled by another
Alarm User.
(W) Verify means an attempt by the Monitoring Company, or its representative, to
contact the Alarm Site by telephonic or other electronic means, whether or not actual
contact with a Person is made, to determine whether an alarm signal is valid before
requesting law enforcement dispatch, in an attempt to avoid an unnecessary Alarm
Dispatch Request.
(X) Zones mean division of devices into which an Alarm System is divided to
indicate the general location from which an Alarm System signal is transmitted.
SECTION 3. REGISTRATION REQUIRED; APPLICATION; FEE;
TRANSFERABILITY; FALSE STATEMENTS
(A) No Alarm User shall operate, or cause to be operated, an Alarm System at
its Alarm Site without a valid Alarm Registration. A separate Alarm Registration
is required for each Alarm Site.
(B) The fee for an Alarm Registration or an Alarm Registration renewal is set
forth below and shall be paid by the Alarm User. No refund of a registration or
registration renewal fee will be made. The initial Alarm Registration fee must be
submitted to the Chief of Police within five (5) days after the Alarm System
installation or Alarm System Takeover.
Registration Fees — ($25.00)
Renewal Fees — ($25.00)
(C) Upon receipt of a completed Alarm Registration application form and the
Alarm Registration fee, the Chief of Police shall register the applicant unless the
applicant has:
(1) failed to pay a fine assessed under Section 7; or
(2) had an alarm registration for the Alarm Site suspended or revoked,
and the violation causing the suspension or revocation has not been
corrected.
(D) Each Alarm Registration application must include the following information:
(1) the name, complete address (including apt/suite number), and telephone
numbers of the Person who will be the registration holder and be
responsible for the proper maintenance and operation of the Alarm
System and payment of fees assessed under this article;
(2) the classification of the Alarm Site as either residential (includes
apartment, condo, mobile home, etc.) or commercial;
(3) for each Alarm System located at the Alarm Site, the classification
of the Alarm System (i.e. burglary, Holdup, Duress, Panic Alarms
or other) and for each classification whether such alarm is audible
or silent;
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(4) mailing address, if different from the address of the Alarm Site;
(5) any dangerous or special conditions present at the Alarm Site;
(6) names and telephone numbers of at least two individuals who are able
and have agreed to: (a) receive notification of an Alarm System
activation at any time; (b) respond to the Alarm Site within [15] minutes
at any time; and (c) upon request can grant access to the Alarm Site and
deactivate the Alarm System if necessary;
(7) type of business conducted at a commercial Alarm Site;
(8) the name, address, and telephone number of the Alarm Installation
Company or companies performing the Alarm System installation,
Conversion or Takeover and of the Alarm Installation Company
responsible for providing repair service to the Alarm System;
a. the name, address, and telephone number of the Monitoring
Company if different from the Alarm Installation
Company;
b. that a set of written operating instructions for the Alarm
System, including written guidelines on how to avoid False
Alarms, have been left with the applicant by the Alarm
Installation Company; and
C. that the Alarm Installation Company has trained the applicant in
proper use of the Alarm System, including instructions on how
to avoid False Alarms.
(9) that law enforcement response may be influenced by factors including, but
not limited to the availability of police units, priority of calls, weather
conditions, traffic conditions, emergency conditions, staffing levels, etc.
(E) Any false statement of a material fact made by an applicant for the purpose of
obtaining an Alarm Registration shall be sufficient cause for refusal to issue a
registration.
(F) An Alarm Registration cannot be transferred to another Person or Alarm Site.
An Alarm User shall inform the Chief of Police of any change that alters any of
the information listed on the Alarm Registration application within five (5)
business days of such change.
(G) All fees owed by an applicant must be paid before an Alarm Registration
may be issued or renewed.
SECTION 4. ALARM REGISTRATION DURATION AND RENEWAL
An Alarm Registration shall expire 1 year from the date of issuance, and must
be renewed annually by submitting an updated application and a registration renewal
fee to the Chief of Police. The Chief of Police shall notify each Alarm User of the need
to renew thirty (30) days prior to the expiration of the registration. It is the responsibility
of the Alarm User to submit an application prior to the registration expiration date.
Failure to renew will be classified as use of a non -registered Alarm System and citations
and penalties shall be assessed without waiver. A [$25.00] late fee may be assessed if
the renewal is more than thirty (30) days late.
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SECTION 5. DUTIES OF THE ALARM USER
(A) An Alarm User shall:
(1) maintain the Alarm Site and the Alarm System in a manner that will
minimize or eliminate False Alarms;
(2) make every reasonable effort to have a Responder to the Alarm
System's location within [15] minutes when requested by the law
enforcement agency in order to:
(a) deactivate an Alarm System;
(b) provide access to the Alarm Site; and/or
(c) provide alternative security for the Alarm Site.
(3) not activate an Alarm System for any reason other than an occurrence of an event
that the Alarm System was intended to report.
(B) An Alarm User shall adjust the mechanism or cause the mechanism to be
adjusted so that an alarm signal audible on the exterior of an Alarm Site will
sound for no longer than ten (10) minutes after being activated.
(C) An Alarm User shall have a Licensed Alarm Installation Company inspect the
Alarm System after two (2) False Alarms in a one (1) year period. The Chief of
Police may waive a required inspection if it determines that a False Alarm(s)
could not have been related to a defect or malfunction in the Alarm System.
After four (4) False Alarms within a one (1) year period, the Alarm User must
have a Licensed Alarm Installation Company modify the Alarm System to be
more false alarm resistant or provide additional user training as appropriate. [See
Appendix A for Installers False Alarm Prevention Checklist]
(D) An Alarm User shall not use Automatic Voice Dialers.
(E) An Alarm User shall maintain at each Alarm Site, a set of written operating
instructions for each Alarm System.
SECTION 6. DUTIES OF ALARM INSTALLATION COMPANY
AND MONITORING COMPANY
The Alarm Installation Company shall provide written and oral instructions to
each of its Alarm Users in the proper use and operation of their Alarm Systems.
Such instructions will specifically include all instructions necessary to turn the
Alarm System on and off and to avoid False Alarms.
A. Ninety (90) days after enactment of this Ordinance, and conditioned upon
reasonable availability, the Alarm Installation Companies shall, on new
installations, use only alarm control panel(s) which meet SIA Control Panel
Standard CP-01.
B. An alarm company shall not use Automatic Voice Dialers.
C. After completion of the installation of an Alarm System, an Alarm Installation
Company employee shall review with the Alarm User the Customer False
Alarm Prevention Checklist (Appendix B) or an equivalent checklist
approved by the Chief of Police.
D. The Monitoring Company shall not make an Alarm Dispatch Request of the
Fairhope Police Department in response to a burglar alarm signal, excluding
Panic, Duress and Holdup signals, during the first seven (7) days following an
Alarm System installation. The Chief of Police may grant an Alarm User's
request for an exemption from this waiting period based upon a determination
that special circumstances substantiate the need for the exemption.
E. A Monitoring Company shall:
(1) report alarm signals by using telephone numbers designated
by the Chief of Police;
(2) Attempt to verify every alarm signal, except a Duress or Holdup
Alarm activation before requesting a law enforcement response
to an Alarm System signal;
(3) communicate Alarm Dispatch Requests to the municipality in a
manner and form determined by the Chief of Police;
(4) communicate Cancellations to the municipality in a manner and form
determined by the Chief of Police;
(5) ensure that all Alarm Users of Alarm Systems equipped with a Duress, Holdup
or Panic Alarm is given adequate training as to the proper use of the Duress,
Holdup or Panic Alarm;
(6) communicate any available information (north, south, front, back, floor, etc.)
about the location on all alarm signals related to the Alarm Dispatch Request;
(7) communicate type of alarm activation (silent or audible, interior or perimeter);
(8) after an Alarm Dispatch Request, promptly advise the law enforcement
agency if the Monitoring Company knows that the Alarm User or the
Responder is on the way to the Alarm Site;
A. attempt to contact the Alarm User or Responder within 24 hours via mail,
fax, telephone or other electronic means when an Alarm Dispatch Request is
made; and
B. upon the effective date of this Ordinance, Monitoring Companies must maintain
for a period of at least one (1) year from the date of the Alarm Dispatch Request,
records relating to Alarm Dispatch Requests. Records must include the name,
address and telephone number of the Alarm User, the Alarm System Zone(s)
activated, the time of Alarm Dispatch Request and evidence of an attempt to
Verify. The Chief of Police may request copies of such records for individually
named Alarm Users. If the request is made within sixty (60) days of an Alarm
Dispatch Request, the Monitoring Company shall furnish requested records
within three (3) business days of receiving the request. If the records are
requested between sixty (60) days to one (1) year after an Alarm Dispatch
Request, the Monitoring Company shall furnish the requested records within
thirty (30) days of receiving the request.
(F) An Alarm Installation Company and/or Monitoring Company that purchases
Alarm System accounts from another Person shall notify the Chief of Police of
such purchase and provide details as may be reasonably requested by the Chief
of Police.
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SECTION 7 LICENSE OR LICENSING
All Alarm Installation Companies and Monitoring Companies shall maintain a Business
License issued by the City of Fairhope
SECTION 8. DUTIES AND AUTHORITY OF THE CHIEF OF POLICE
(A) The Chief of Police shall:
(1) designate a manner, form and telephone numbers for the
communication of Alarm Dispatch Requests; and
(2) establish a procedure to accept Cancellation of Alarm Dispatch Requests.
(B)
(C) The Chief of Police shall establish a procedure to record such
information on Alarm Dispatch Requests necessary to permit the
Chief of Police to maintain records, including, but not limited to, the
information listed below.
(1) identification of the registration number for the Alarm Site;
(2) identification of the Alarm Site;
(3) date and time Alarm Dispatch Request was received,
including the name of the Monitoring Company and the
Monitoring operator name or number; date and time of
law enforcement officer arrival at the Alarm Site; Zone and
Zone description, if available;
(4) weather conditions;
(5) name of Alarm User's representative at Alarm Site, if any;
(6) identification of the responsible Alarm Installation Company or
Monitoring Company;
(7) whether law enforcement officer was unable to locate the
address of the Alarm Site; and
(8) cause of alarm signal, if known.
(C) The Chief of Police shall establish a procedure for the notification to the Alarm
User of a False Alarm. The notice shall include the following information:
(1) the date and time of law enforcement response to the False
Alarm;
(2)
the identification number of the responding law enforcement
(3) officer; and a statement urging the Alarm User to ensure that the
Alarm System is properly operated, inspected, and serviced in
order to avoid False Alarms and resulting fines.
(D) The Chief of Police may require a conference with
an Alarm User and the Alarm Installation Company and/or Monitoring
Company responsible for the repair or monitoring of the Alarm System to
review the circumstances of a False Alarm.
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(E) The Chief of Police may make a copy of this Ordinance and/or an Ordinance
summary sheet available to the Alarm User.
SECTION 9. FINES
(A) An Alarm User shall be subject to fines, depending on the number of False
Alarms within a 12-month period based upon the following schedule:
(1) False Alarm Fines # of False Alarms Fines
1
$0
2
$25.00
3
$50.00
4
$75.00
5 or more
$100.00
(B) In addition, any Person operating a non -registered Alarm System will be
subject to a fine of $100.00 for each False Alarm in addition to any other
fines. The Chief of Police may waive this additional fine for a non -registered
system if the Alarm User submits an application for Alarm Registration within
ten (10) days after of notification of such violation.
(C) If Cancellation occurs prior to law enforcement arriving at the scene, this is not
a False Alarm for the purpose of fines, and no fines will be assessed.
(D) The Alarm Installation Company shall be assessed a fine of $100.00 if the
officer responding to the False Alarm determines that an on -site employee of
the Alarm Installation Company directly caused the False Alarm. In this
situation, the False Alarm will not be counted against the Alarm User.
(E) The Monitoring Company shall be issued a fine of $100.00 for each failure to
Verify Alarm System signals as specified in Section 6(E)(2).
(F) The Alarm Installation Company shall be issued a fine of $200.00 if the Chief
of Police determines that an Alarm Installation Company employee knowingly
made a false statement concerning the inspection of an Alarm Site or the
performance of an Alarm System.
(G) Notice of the right of Appeal under this ordinance will be included with any
fines.
SECTION 10. NOTIFICATION
The Chief of Police will notify the Alarm User and the Alarm Installation Company or
Monitoring Company in writing after alarm response has been suspended, except to
Duress, Holdup and Panic Alarms. This notice of suspension will also include the
amount of the fine for each False Alarm and a description of the appeals procedure
available to the Alarm User and the Alarm Installation Company or Monitoring
Company.
SECTION 11. SUSPENSION OF RESPONSE
(A) The Chief of Police may suspend law enforcement response to
an Alarm Site by revoking the Alarm Registration if it is determined that:
(1) the Alarm User has [5] or more False Alarms in a twelve (12) month period
excluding Duress, Holdup or Panic Alarms;
(2) there is a statement of a material fact known to be false in the application
for a registration;
(3) the Alarm User has failed to make timely payment of a fine assessed under
Section 9 or fee assessed under Section 3; or
(B) A Person commits an offense if he/she operates an Alarm System
during the period in which his alarm registration is revoked and is subject to
enforcement and penalties set in Sections 9. A Monitoring Company commits an
offense if it continues Alarm Dispatch Requests to an Alarm Site after notification by
the Chief of Police that the registration has been revoked and is subject to enforcement
and penalties.
(C) Unless there is separate indication that there is a crime in progress, the
Law Enforcement Authority will refuse law enforcement response to an Alarm Dispatch
Request at an Alarm Site for which the Alarm Registration is revoked.
(D) If the Alarm Registration is reinstated pursuant to Section 11, the
Chief of Police may again suspend law enforcement response to the Alarm Site by
again revoking the Alarm Registration if it is determined that [2] False Alarms have
occurred within [30] days after the reinstatement date.
SECTION 12. APPEALS
(A) If the Chief of Police assesses a fine or denies the issuance, renewal or
reinstatement of an Alarm Registration, the Chief of Police shall send written
notice of the action and a statement of the right to an appeal to either the affected
applicant or Alarm User and the Alarm Installation Company and/or
Monitoring Company.
(B) The Alarm User, Alarm Installation Company or Monitoring Company may
appeal an assessment of a fine or the revocation of an Alarm Registration to the
Chief of Police by setting forth in writing the reasons for the appeal within
fifteen (15) business days after receipt of the fine or notice of revocation.
(C) The Alarm User or the Alarm Installation Company or Monitoring Company
may appeal the decision of the Chief of Police to the Fairhope City Council as
follows:
(1) The applicant, Alarm User, Alarm Installation Company or the
Monitoring Company may file a written request for a review by
paying an appeal fee of [1/2 of the assessed fines] and setting forth the
reasons for the appeal within twenty (20) business days after the date
of notification of the decision from the Chief of Police. Appeal fees
will be returned to the appealing Alarm User, Alarm Installation
Company or Monitoring Company if the appeal is upheld.
(2) The City Council shall conduct a formal hearing within thirty (30) days
of the receipt of the request and consider the evidence by any interested
Person(s). The City Council shall make its decision on the basis of the
preponderance of evidence presented at the hearing. The City Council
must render a decision within fifteen (15) days after the date of the
hearing. The City Council shall affirm or reverse the decision of the
Chief of Police.
(D) Filing of a request for appeal shall stay the action by the Chief of Police
revoking an Alarm Registration or requiring payment of a fine, until the City
Council has completed its review. If a request for appeal is not made within
the twenty (20) business day period, the action of the Chief of Police is final.
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(E) Chief of Police or City Council may adjust the count of False Alarms based
on:
(1) Evidence that a False Alarm was caused by an Act of God;
(2) Evidence that a False Alarm was caused by action of the
telephone company;
(3) Evidence that a False Alarm was caused by a power
outage lasting longer than four hours;
(4) Evidence that the Alarm Dispatch Request was not a False
Alarm;
(5.) Evidence that the law enforcement officer response was not
completed in a timely fashion; and/or
(6) In determining the number of False Alarms, multiple alarms
occurring in any twelve (12) hour period shall be counted as one
False Alarm; to allow the Alarm User time to take corrective
action unless the False Alarms are directly caused by the Alarm
User.
(F) With respect to fines of an Alarm Installation Company or Monitoring
Company the Chief of Police or City Council may take into consideration
whether the alarm company had engaged in a consistent pattern of violations.
SECTION 13. REINSTATEMENT
(A) A Person whose Alarm Registration has been revoked may, at the discretion
of the Chief of Police or the City Council, have the Alarm Registration
reinstated by the Chief of Police or the City Council if the Person:
(1) submits a new application and pays a $50.00 reinstatement fee;
(2) pays, or otherwise resolves, all outstanding citations and fines; and
(3) submits a certification from an Alarm Installation Company, stating
that the Alarm System has been inspected and repaired (if necessary)
by the Alarm Installation Company;
(B) In addition, the Chief of Police may require one or more of the following as a
condition to reinstatement:
(1) proof that an employee of the Alarm Installation Company or
Monitoring Company caused the False Alarm;
(2) upgrade the alarm control panel to meet SIA Control Panel Standard
CP-O 1;
(3) confirmation that all motion detectors are "dual technology" type;
(4) confirmation that the Alarm System requires two independent zones to
trigger before transmitting an alarm signal to the Monitoring Company;
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(5) confirmation that the Alarm System requires two independent
detectors to trigger before transmitting an alarm signal to the
Monitoring Company;
(6) certification that the Monitoring Company will not make an Alarm
Dispatch Request unless the need for law enforcement is confirmed by
a listen -in device;
(7) certification that the Monitoring Company will not request an Alarm
Dispatch unless the need for law enforcement is confirmed by a camera
device; or
(8) certification that the Monitoring Company will not make an Alarm
Dispatch Request unless the need for law enforcement is confirmed by
a Person at the Alarm Site.
SECTION 14. CONFIDENTIALITY
In the interest of public safety, all information contained in and gathered through
the Alarm Registration applications and applications for appeals shall be held in
confidence by all employees or representatives of the municipality and by any
third -party administrator or employees of a third -party administrator with access
to such information.
SECTION 15. GOVERNMENT IMMUNITY
Alarm Registration is not intended to, nor will it, create a contract, duty or obligation,
either expressed or implied, of response. Any and all liability and consequential damage
resulting from the failure to respond to a notification is hereby disclaimed and
governmental immunity as provided by law is retained. By applying for an Alarm
Registration, the Alarm User acknowledges that law enforcement response may be
influenced by factors such as: the availability of police units, priority of calls, weather
conditions, traffic conditions, emergency conditions, staffing levels and prior response
history.
SECTION 16. SEVERABILITY
The provisions of this Ordinance are severable. If a court determines that a word,
phrase, clause, sentence, paragraph, subsection, section, or other provision is invalid
or that the application of any part of the provision to any Person or circumstance is
invalid, the remaining provisions and the application of those provisions to other
Persons or circumstances are not affected by that decision.
Ordinances in conflict herewith are hereby repealed to the extent of such conflict.
This ordinance shall take effect upon its due adoption and publication as provided by
law.
ADOPTED THIS THE 261h DXY OF September , 2005.
V,- Ks
Mayor
Attest:
Geniece W. Johnso , i Clerk/Treasurer
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