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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1704 - Alarm Systems & Alarm AgentsORDINANCE NO. 1704 • AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF NEWPORT BEACH AMENDING CHAPTER 5.49 OF THE NEWPORT BEACH MUNICIPAL CODE TO REQUIRE PERMITS FOR ALARM SYSTEMS, REGISTRATION OF ALARM AGENTS AND MAKING OTHER CHANGES The City Council of the City of Newport Beach DOES ORDAIN as follows: SECTION 1. Chapter 5.49 of the Newport Beach Municipal Code is amended in its entirety to read as follows: "CHAPTER 5.49 BURGLARY - ROBBERY - FIRE ALARM SYSTEMS SECTION: 5.49.010 Definitions 5.49.020 Registration of Alarm Agents 5.49.030 Permit for Alarm System Required 5.49.040 Application for Permit 5.49.050 Application for Alarm Permit - Investigation • 5.49.060 5.49.070 Suspension and Revocation of Permits Appeal to Appeals Board 5.49.080 Appeals to City Council 5.49.090 False Alarm - Prevention Payment 5.49.100 Alarm System Standards and Regulations 5.49.110 Alarm Requirements 5.49.120 Automatic Shut Off Requirements - Audible Alarms 5.49.130 Delay Device Requirements 5.49.140 Power Supply 5.49.150 Testing Alarm 5.49.160 Prohibitions 5.49.170 Direct Dial Telephone Devices 5.49.180 Fees 5.49.190 Limitation on Liability 5.49.200 Criminal Penalties 5.49.210 Application of Chapter 5.49.010 DEFINITIONS: For the purpose of this Chapter certain words and phrases shall be construed herein as set forth in this section unless it is apparent from the context that a different meaning is intended. Alarm Agent means any person employed by an alarm business whose duties include the altering, installing, maintain- ing, moving, repairing, replacing, selling, servicing, respond- IC lip ing to [excluding public safety officers], or causing others to respond to an alarm system, in or on any building, structure or facility. • Alarm Business means the business carried on by any individual, partnership, corporation or other entity of selling, leasing, maintaining, servicing, repairing, altering, replacing, moving, or installing any alarm system or causing to be sold, leased, maintained, serviced, repaired, altered, replaced, moved or installed any alarm system in or on any building, structure or facility. Alarm System means any mechanical or electrical device which is designed or used for the detection of fire, intrusion into a building, structure or facility or for alerting others of an event within a facility, or both, which event causes a local audible alarm or transmission of a signal or message. Alarm systems include, but are not limited to, direct dial telephone devices, audible alarms, and proprietor alarms. Devices which • are not designed or used to evoke a police or fire response, or used to register alarms that are intended to be audible, visible or perceptible outside of the protected building, structure, or facility are not included within this definition, nor are auxiliary devices installed by a telephone company to protect its systems which might be damaged or disrupted by the use of an alarm system. Appellant means a person who perfects an appeal pursuant to this chapter. Applicant means a person, firm or corporation, who files an application for a permit as provided in this chapter. Audible Alarm means a device designed for the detection of fire or of an intrusion on premises, which generates an audible • sound on the premises when it is actuated. City means the City of Newport Beach. Day means a calendar day. Proprietor Alarm means an alarm which is not regularly -2- • serviced by an alarm business. Person means a person, firm, corporation, association, partnership, individual, organization or company. False Alarm means the activation of an alarm system through mechanical failure, accidental tripping, misoperation, malfunction, misuse, or the neglect of the owner or lessee of an alarm system, or of his employees or agents. Upon failure of the police department or fire department to find any evidence of intrusion, fire, or other need or cause for activating an alarm system, a conclusive presumption of false alarm will be made. False alarm shall not include alarms caused by earthquakes, violent winds, malfunction of telephone line circuits, or external causes beyond the control of the owner or lessee of the alarm system. 5.49.020. REGISTRATION OF ALARM AGENTS: No person shall engage in, conduct or operate as an alarm agent without registering his name and filing a copy of his state indentifica- tion card with the Chief of Police. No fee or application shall be required for such registration. 5.49.030. PERMIT FOR ALARM SYSTEM REQUIRED: No person shall possess, install, or use an alarm system without first applying for and receiving an alarm permit in accordance with the provisions of this chapter. 5.49.040. APPLICATION FOR PERMIT. Applications for an Alarm Permit shall be filed with the Finance Director on forms provided by the City and the applicant shall at that time pay the appropriate fee established by Resolution of the City Council. The application shall be signed and verified by the applicant and shall contain such information as may be deemed necessary by the City Manager. Permits provided for in this chapter shall be issued by the Finance Director and shall be non - transferable. 5.49.050. APPLICATION FOR ALARM PERMIT - INVESTIGA- TION: Upon receiving an application from any person for an alarm -3- tL • permit, the City Manager shall cause an investigation to be made of the system to be installed to determine if the system complies with the requirements of this chapter. If the proposed system complies with this chapter, the Finance Director shall cause a Permit to be issued. An alarm permittee may be allowed a direct connection to the Newport Beach Police Department Alarm System, provided facilities are available for direct connection. Each alarm permit holder whose system directly connects with the Newport Beach Police Department shall pay to the City on or before July 1 of each year, a fee set forth by resolution of the City Council. This section shall not be construed to permit telephonic alarm systems which are regulated pursuant to Chapter 5.48 of this Code. 5.49.060 SUSPENSION AND REVOCATION OF PERMITS: If at any time it shall come to the attention of the Chief of Police that the holder of a permit issued under this chapter has violated any provisions of this chapter, rules, or regulations made pursuant to this chapter, including, but not limited to, false alarms which exceed the numbers permitted pursuant to Section 5.49.090 of this chapter or has refused to pay the false alarm prevention payment as provided in said section, the Chief of Police may suspend the permit. If an alarm permit is suspended, as provided hereunder, it shall be deemed suspended and not used for ten (10) days after the notice of suspension is deposited in the United States Post Office by registered mail, or personally served upon the permittee. Upon failure of the permittee to cause the system to be repaired or to be properly used and operated within said ten (10) day period, to pay the delinquent false alarm prevention payment, or to perfect an appeal to the Appeals Board, the permit shall be revoked at the expiration of said ten (10) day period and the alarm system may not thereafter be used until a new permit is issued. _n- 5.49.070. APPEAL TO APPEALS BOARD: There is hereby created an Appeals Board within the Police Department of the City of Newport Beach. The members of the Board shall be appointed ,• by the Chief of Police and shall be three (3) in number. In the event a permit is suspended as provided in Section 5.49.060 of this chapter, the permittee may perfect an appeal to the Appeals Board by filing a Notice of Appeal with the Clerk of the Board setting forth the facts and circumstances regarding the appeal. Said Notice of Appeal shall be filed not later than ten (10) days after service of Notice of Suspension as provided in Section 5.49.060 of this chapter. The Appeals Board shall consider the appeal not less than five (5) days from the date on which the appeal is made and not later than fifteen (15) days from the date on which such appeal is filed with the Clerk of the Board, The Board shall hear all relevant evidence and shall determine the merits of the appeal. The Board may affirm, overrule or modify the decision of the .0 Chief of Police. 5.49.080. APPEALS TO CITY COUNCIL: If an appellant is aggrieved by any action of the Appeals Board, the appellant may appeal to the City Council by filing with the City Clerk a statement addressed to the City Council setting forth the facts and circumstances regarding the action of the Appeals Board. The City Clerk shall notify the appellant in writing of the time and place set for hearing of the appeal. The City Council at its next regular meeting held not less than five (5) days from the date of which such appeal has been filed with the City Clerk shall hear the appellant, the Chief of Police and all relevant evidence and shall determine the merits of the appeal. The City Council may affirm, overrule or modify the decision of the Appeals Board, and its decision shall be final. • The right to appeal to the City Council,from an action of the Appeals Board shall terminate upon the expiration of -5- .. fifteen (15) days following the deposit of a registered letter in the United States Post Office or personal service of said letter, advising the appellant of the action of the Appeals Board and the right of appeal to the City Council. 5.49.090. FALSE ALARM - PREVENTION PAYMENT: When emergency messages, signals, or notices are received by the Police Department that evidence a failure to obtain a permit or comply with any other requirement under this Ordinance, the Chief of Police is authorized to demand that the owner or lessee of the alarm system initiating such message, signal or notice, or his representative disconnect the alarm system until it is made to comply with said requirements. Any person who maintains or has an alarm connected to the police alarm system or fire alarm system which has caused any signal, message, or alarm to be transmitted to the Fire Department or Police Department, either by direct telephone or other direct communication, or by communication from an alarm agent, or an alarm business, or by a person responding to an audible alarm, and which is proven to be a false alarm, shall pay a false alarm prevention payment to the City of Newport Beach as follows: (a) The period commencing with the date of installation and for six months thereafter - the first through third false alarms - there shall be no charge. (b) For the fourth and subsequent alarms - in the above period - the service charge shall be $25.00 per false alarm. (c) For any second or subsequent false alarm during a six month period following the initial six month period following installation, and for each six month period thereafter - the service charge shall be $25.00 per false alarm. An alarm.permit may be suspended or revoked as provided in Section 5.49.060, in addition to the payment of the prevention payment as provided in this section. 5.49.100. ALARM SYSTEM STANDARDS AND REGULATIONS: All alarm systems and appurtenant equipment installed within the City shall meet or exceed the highest standards of the industry and those standards which may hereafter be established by the City of Newport Beach. Fire alarm systems shall be approved by the State Fire Marshall when said systems are of a type subject to Fire Marshall approval. The City reserves the right to inspect all systems installed within the City. 5.49.110. ALARM REQUIREMENTS: The alarm permittee shall supply on his application for permit the names, addresses and phone numbers of the selling or installing alarm company or if the permittee is not under a service contract with an alarm business, at least two persons to call in event of an emergency. In the event the names, addresses and phone numbers change, the permittee shall supply the changes within twenty (20) days of the change. 5.49.120. AUTOMATIC SHUT OFF REQUIREMENTS - AUDIBLE ALARMS: All audible alarm systems, excluding the fire alarms which sound indicating the functioning of an automatic fire sprinkler system, shall include a device which will limit the generation of the audible sound of the system to not longer than thirty minutes after activation when the alarm system is protecting a residential structure and sixty minutes when the alarm system is protecting a commercial structure. Said systems, however, shall include an automatic resetting device which shall cause the subject system to be re -armed upon automatic shut off. 5.49.130. DELAY DEVICE REQUIREMENTS: All burglary detection alarm systems that directly transmit a signal to the police facility shall include a device which will provide a minimum of a thirty second delay of the original transmission -7- and activate a signal immediately in such a manner as to be perceptible to a person lawfully entering, leaving or occupying the premises. Such a device is intended to provide an oppor- tunity for the person having lawful control of the alarm system to terminate its operation after activation but prior to the transmission of a false alarm. 5.49.140. POWER SUPPLY: An alarm system shall be supplied with an uninterruptible power supply in such a manner that the failure or interruption of the normal utility electric service will not activate the alarm system. The back -up power supply must be capable of at least four hours of operation. 5.49.150. TESTING ALARM: Permittees shall notify the Newport Beach Police Department Emergency Equipment Dis- patcher prior to any service, test, repair, maintenance, adjust- ment, alterations or installations of systems which would normally result in a police response, which might activate a false alarm. Any alarm activated where such prior notice has been given shall not constitute a false alarm. 5.49.160. PROHIBITIONS: It shall be unlawful to install or use an alarm system which upon activation emits a sound similar to sirens in use on emergency vehicles or for civil defense purposes. 5.49.170. DIRECT DIAL TELEPHONE DEVICES: Any person who maintains or operates a telephone alarm system which is intended to automatically transmit a signal, message or warning to any City of Newport Beach Police Department or Fire Depart- ment telephone lines shall comply with the provisions of this chapter as well as the provisions of Chapter 5.48 of this Code. 5.49.180. FEES: Fees prescribed heretofore in this Ordinance shall be in addition to any other lawful fees imposed by the City of Newport Beach for doing or conducting business je within the City of Newport Beach. �� 0 5.49.190. LIMITATION ON LIABILITY: The City of Newport Beach is under no obligation or duty to any permittee or any other person by reason of any provision of this chapter, or the exercise of any privilege by any permittee hereunder, including, but not limited to, any defects in a police or fire alarm system, any delay in transmission of an alarm message to any emergency unit or damage caused by delay in responding to any alarm by any City officer, employee or agent. 5.49.200. CRIMINAL PENALTIES: Any person who violates any provision of this chapter shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and upon conviction thereof shall be punished by a fine of Five Hundred Dollars ($500.00) or imprisonment in the County Jail not exceeding six (6) months, or by both. Each such person shall be guilty of a separate offense for each and every day during any portion of which any violation of any provision of this chapter is committed, continued or permitted by such person. 5.49.210. APPLICATION OF CHAPTER: Any person who, on the effective date of this Ordinance, possesses, has installed or uses an alarm system which requires a permit under this chapter, shall apply for and receive a permit, as provided in this chapter, within six (6) weeks after the effective date of this ordinance." SECTION 2. This Ordinance shall be published once in the official newspaper of the City of Newport Beach, and the same shall be effective thirty (30) days after the date of its adoption. This Ordinance was introduced at a regular meeting of the City Council of the City of Newport Beach held on the 10th day of January , 1977 , and was adopted on the 24th day of January , 1977 , by the following vote, to CERTIFIED AS THE ORIGINAL wit: CERTIFIED AS TO PUBLICATION J" 2 7 1977 - yD�ATTE ...................._.......... ._.... ATTEST: CITY CLERK OF THE CITY OF NE RT BEACH i 'City Clerk W AYES, COUNCILMEN: Dostal, Barrett, Kuehn McInnis. Rogers, Ryckoff, Williams NOES, COUNCILMEN: None ABSENT COUNCILMEN:None ' Mayor