CHAPTER 5.36
ALARM SYSTEMS
Section
5.36.030 Alarm system registration
5.36.040 Alarm agent registration
5.36.050 Alarm business registration certificate
5.36.060 Alarm business license
5.36.070 False alarm regulations
5.36.080 Audible alarm system regulations
5.36.090 Alarms terminating at Police Department - fees
5.36.100 Automatic calling devices
5.36.110 Violation deemed infraction - penalty
5.36.010 PURPOSE.
Numerous false alarms have created a danger to public safety and a burden on law enforcement services in the City. It is the purpose of this chapter to regulate false and nuisance alarm use within the City limits.
(Ord. 525, § 1, passed -- 1979)
5.36.020 DEFINITIONS.
For the purpose of this chapter, the following definitions shall apply unless the context clearly indicates or requires a different meaning.
ALARM AGENT. Any person who is hired by an alarm business as an agent or employee to sell, lease, maintain, service, repair, alter, replace, remove, or install any response alarm system in or on any building, place or premises.
ALARM BUSINESS. Any business which is engaged in the selling, leasing, maintaining, servicing, repairing, altering, replacing, moving, or installing any response alarm system in any building, place, or premises.
ALARM SYSTEM. Means:
1. Any device designed for the detection of an unauthorized entry on or into any building, place or premise, or for the alerting of others of the existence of an emergency situation, or of the commission of an unlawful act, which when activated emits a sound or transmits a signal or message, and which directly or indirectly initiates or causes a response by the police; or
2. Any device designed for the detection of fire or smoke in any building which initiates a signal or message, and which directly or indirectly initiates or causes a response by the Fire Department.
ALARM USER. Any person who operates or uses or causes or allows to be operated or used, any alarm system in any building, place or premises.
AUDIBLE ALARM. The type of alarm system which, when activated, emits an audible sound outside of the structure in which it is located.
FALSE ALARM. An alarm or signal activated through alarm user negligence or error for reasons not of an emergency nature, or when activated due to malfunction of any segment of the alarm system, and which results in a response by City police, Fire Department or emergency units where an emergency situation does not exist. FALSE ALARM shall also include NUISANCE ALARM, as defined below.
NUISANCE ALARM. An unwanted activation of a smoke alarm in response to a stimulus that is not the result of a potentially hazardous fire. During a nuisance alarm, the smoke alarm sensor operates, and it is usually a true indication of the present state of the sensor. Even though the smoke alarm is alarming to a non-hazardous source, the smoke alarm is detecting particles that may not be visible to the occupant and, therefore, the occupant may perceive the alarm activation as inconvenient, annoying, or vexatious. External nuisance sources include cooking particles, steam, dust, insects, tobacco smoke, air circulated from heating equipment, and candle combustion products. Both types of smoke alarm detection technologies, ionization and photoelectric, can be vulnerable to external nuisance sources.
(Ord. 525, § 2, passed -- 1979; Am. Ord. 870, § 10, passed 8-25-2008; Am. Ord. 900, § 9, passed 12-12-2011)
5.36.030 ALARM SYSTEM REGISTRATION.
A. No alarm user shall activate any new alarm system installed after the effective date of the ordinance codified in this chapter, in any incorporated area of the City, without registering that alarm system with the Chief of Police at least 24 hours before the system is activated. Alarm systems installed in emergency situations for temporary use not to exceed 30 days may be registered at any time prior to activation.
B. The alarm user who registers the alarm system shall provide the following information to the Chief of Police in writing:
1. The name, address, and telephone number of the alarm user;
2. The name, address, and telephone number of the alarm business installing the alarm, if any;
3. A description of the premises or area protected by the alarm system including the location of doors, windows, and areas protected by the alarm system within the premises;
4. A list of phone numbers and addresses of all people responsible for security of the premises, who have authorized access to the premises and to the alarm system controls; and
5. The name, address, and telephone number of the place of business where the alarm terminates, if not at the Police Department.
C. The alarm user shall notify the Chief of Police in writing within ten (10) days of any changes in registration information.
D. Users of alarm systems installed prior to the enactment of the ordinance codified in this chapter which are not registered with the Chief of Police, shall have thirty (30) days in which to register their alarm systems after notification of the registration requirements by the Chief of Police.
E. Failure of any alarm user to register any alarm system as set forth in this section shall be grounds for nonresponse by the Police Department, Fire Department, or other emergency unit of the City to any signal from that alarm system, until the alarm system is registered if, in the opinion of the watch commander then on duty, available police, fire, or other emergency units are not available to respond to an unregistered alarm, taking into consideration their other duties existing at that time.
(Ord. 525, § 3, passed -- 1979)
5.36.040 ALARM AGENT REGISTRATION.
Any alarm agent, as defined in this chapter, shall register with the Chief of Police or Fire Chief prior to acting as an alarm agent. Registration shall be on a form provided by the Chief of Police or Fire Chief and shall contain the information as he or she shall require, for the purpose of confirming that alarm agent’s identity and qualifications conform with the requirements of Cal. Business and Professions Code § 7590 et seq. No fee shall be charged for the registration.
(Ord. 525, § 8, passed -- 1979)
5.36.050 ALARM BUSINESS REGISTRATION CERTIFICATE.
An alarm business owner or manager shall obtain an alarm business registration certificate from the Chief of Police or Fire Chief. The certificate shall be on a form provided by the Chief of Police or Fire Chief and shall contain the information as he or she shall require for the purpose of confirming that the alarm company holds the licenses and permits required by the Cal. Business and Professions Code. No fee shall be charged for this registration.
(Ord. 525, § 10, passed -- 1979)
5.36.060 ALARM BUSINESS LICENSE.
The Director of Finance shall not issue a business license for any alarm business, as described in subsection B of § 5.36.020, who does not possess a current and valid City alarm business registration certificate issued by the Chief of Police or Fire Chief.
(Ord. 873, § 8, passed 8-25-2008)
5.36.070 FALSE ALARM REGULATIONS.
A. Public safety and safety of peace officers and firefighters require that any alarm system causing false alarms be corrected immediately. In the case of fire and smoke alarms, the Fire Chief shall make the determination whether or not response shall be terminated and shall have the same duties, responsibilities and discretion as the Chief of Police would have with regard to other alarms as set forth in this chapter.
B. The maximum allowable number of false alarms reported by any alarm system shall be five (5) per calendar year.
C. After the second false alarm response in any calendar year, the Chief of Police shall notify the alarm system user of the violation and the consequences of the action by the Chief of Police as set forth in this chapter. The notification by the Chief of Police may require written proof be furnished the Chief of Police within ten (10) calendar days by the alarm user that the problem causing the false alarms has been corrected. The notification by the Chief of Police shall advise the alarm user in writing of the fee schedule for false alarms.
D. Failure to provide proof of correction within the ten (10)-day period provided for in subsection C of this section may be grounds, at the discretion of the Chief of Police, for nonresponse to a signal from the alarm system until proof of correction is received from the alarm user.
E. After a third false alarm in any calendar year, the alarm user shall pay the City a false alarm fee in an amount as established from time to time by resolution of the City Council. After a fourth false alarm in any calendar year, the alarm user shall pay the City an additional false alarm fee. After a fifth false alarm in any calendar year, the alarm user shall pay the City a third false alarm fee.
F. After the fifth false alarm response to an alarm system in any calendar year, the Chief of Police and/or the City Manager will notify the alarm user in writing to show cause why the subject alarm should not be disconnected. The Chief of Police and/or the City Manager shall make the determination whether or not the subject alarm user’s service shall be terminated.
G. If service to an alarm user is terminated, the alarm user will be notified of the fact in writing at the alarm user’s last known address as shown by the City’s records prior to termination of response by the City.
H. In any case where response to an alarm system is terminated, a former alarm system user may apply to the Chief of Police for reinstatement of service (response to an alarm system) upon posting a cash or corporate surety bond with the City Clerk in an amount as established from time to time by resolution of the City Council.
(Ord. 525, § 4, passed -- 1979; Am. Ord. 620, passed -- 1984; Am. Ord. 871, § 15, passed 8-25-2008)
5.36.080 AUDIBLE ALARM SYSTEM REGULATIONS.
A. No person shall install an audible alarm system without a mechanical, electronic, or other device which will shut off the audible sound of the alarm system after a period of not more than 30 minutes.
B. Any audible alarm system installed prior to enactment of the ordinance codified in this chapter shall be modified to include automatic shutoff of the audible sound of the alarm as described in this section, within 30 days after the alarm user is notified to do so by the Chief of Police or Fire Chief.
(Ord. 525, § 5, passed -- 1979)
5.36.090 ALARMS TERMINATING AT POLICE DEPARTMENT - FEES.
Any alarm system with termination or notification equipment installed in the Police Department or Fire Department where that equipment is monitored by City personnel shall be subject to an annual fee as established from time to time by resolution of the City Council for such service. This fee will be payable in January of each calendar year, beginning in January of 1980. Failure to pay this fee will result in disconnection of service after notification by the Chief of Police or Fire Chief and a ten (10) day grace period to pay the delinquent fee.
(Ord. 871, § 16, passed 8-25-2008)
5.36.100 AUTOMATIC CALLING DEVICES.
No person shall by means of any mechanical device call and deliver a recorded message to any telephone number which terminates at the Fort Bragg Police Department or Fort Bragg Fire Department. A person shall be deemed guilty of a separate offense for each call made in violation of this section.
(Ord. 525, § 7, passed -- 1979)
5.36.110 VIOLATION DEEMED INFRACTION - PENALTY.
A. Violations of this chapter are declared to be infractions, and upon conviction thereof shall be punishable as provided in Chapter 1.12.
B. The Chief of Police and his or her subordinate police sergeants and officers shall be responsible for the issuance of citations for violations of this chapter of the municipal code.
(Ord. 525, § 11, passed -- 1979; Am. Ord. 874, § 10, passed 8-25-2008)