Colton Municipal Code Ch. 9.30 Alarm Systems

For the purposes of this chapter, certain words and phrases Used herein are defined as follows:

A. "Alarm Agent" means any Person who is employed by an Alarm Business, either directly or indirectly, whose duties include any of the Following: selling, replacing, moving, installing or monitoring on any Building, place or Premises any Alarm System.

B. "Alarm Business" means any Person engaged in selling, leasing, maintaining, servicing, repairing, altering, replacing, moving, installing, or monitoring any Alarm System or causing to be sold, maintained, serviced, repaired, altered, replaced, moved, installed or monitored an Alarm System in or on any Building, place or Premises.

C. "Alarm System" means any device designed for the detection of an unauthorized entry on Premises or for alerting others of the Commission of an unlawful Act, or both, and, when actuated emits a sound or transmits a signal or message.

D. "Audible Alarm" means a device designed for the detection of an unauthorized entry on Premises and which, when actuated, generates a sound audible at and outside the Premises.

E. "False Alarm" means an alarm signal which, under ordinary circumstances, will necessitate or cause response by the Police Department where an Emergency situation does not exist.

F. "Proprietor Alarm" means an alarm which is not serviced by an Alarm Business.

G. "Silent Alarm" means that type of Alarm System which, when activated, sounds a bell or buzzer or turns on a light at a predesignated place other than the location where the alarm has been installed.

H. "Subscriber" means a Person contracting with an Alarm Business for the leasing, servicing or maintaining of an Alarm System.

(Ord. 1549 (part), 1978)

The provisions of this chapter Shall not be applicable to:

A. Audible Alarms affixed to automobiles;

B. Fire or Smoke sensor Alarm Systems or detectors when such systems are not Used as, or in lieu of, Intrusion detection devices or Alarm Systems;

C. Emergency medical crisis alarms when such systems are not Used as, or in lieu of, Intrusion detection devices or Alarm Systems.

(Ord. 1549 (part), 1978)

The provisions of this chapter Shall be administered and enforced by the City Manager. He and his Designees are authorized to make inspections of Alarm Systems, and of the Premises whereon such systems are located. He and his Designees Shall have the power to enforce such rules and regulations and standards as May be applicable pursuant to this chapter or other Ordinance or Law.

(Ord. 1549 (part), 1978)

A. No Person Shall install or maintain any Audible Alarm or other Alarm System which upon actuation emits a sound similar to sirens in Use on Emergency Vehicles or for civil defense purposes.

B. No Person who, as Owner or Business manager or real estate agent or as other responsible Employee or agent, maintains an Audible Alarm which does not contain a means to effect an automatic turnoff of the alarm within ten minutes after it is first activated, and which alarm is not serviced on a twenty-four-hour basis by an Alarm Business, Shall fail, refuse or neglect to notify the Police Department of:

1. His name and the telephone number at which he May be reached at any time of the Day or Night; and

2. The name and telephone number of an alternate Responsible Person who May be reached to turn off the alarm at all times that the Person listed in Subdivision 1 of this subsection is absent or otherwise unavailable.

The Alarm Business or the above-listed Person, as appropriate, Shall be responsible for deactivating any alarm within thirty minutes of notification that such alarm has been activated or is ringing.

C. The ringing of any alarm for a period of time in excess of thirty minutes after such notification or reasonable efforts of notification has been made is a Public Nuisance which May be made the subject of a prosecution.

(Ord. 1549 (part), 1978)

A. No Person Shall maintain, Use or possess an operative Alarm System, proprietor, or Audible Alarm which is faulty in that it signals or sounds an excessive number of False Alarms.

B. Any Alarm System, proprietor, or Audible Alarm Shall be presumed to be in Violation of this section whenever there are any one of the Following numbers of False Alarms whether activated through possessor's negligence, equipment malfunction or for any other reason under the ability to control of the possessor, whether such causes are sole or in combination:

1. More than two within any thirty-Day period; or

2. More than four within any ninety-Day period; or

3. More than six within any one-hundred-eighty-Day period; or

4. More than eight within any one-Year period.

(Ord. 1549 (part), 1978)

A. Whenever the Police Department has responded to a False Alarm which is in excess of any of the tolerable numbers according to the criteria set forth in subsection B of Section 9.30.050, and whenever the Police Department has responded to any alarm sound, signal or message emitted or transmitted from or by an Alarm System, Proprietor Alarm or Audible Alarm, the Police Chief Shall compute the costs directly and indirectly incurred by his Department and any other Department of the City. This cost will be based upon one hour for each Employee responding to such False Alarm for any hour or fraction of one hour. Cost will be computed by using the Current "E" Step of a Police Officer's hourly wage of the Police Department, or other City Department Employee, responding to such False Alarm. The Chief of Police Shall promptly transmit a report of such costs to the City Manager, together with an appropriate report relating the facts and circumstances concerning the incident to which the report of costs relates.

B. The City Manager Shall review the reports and unless he determines that exigencies of the facts and circumstances show the incident to be excusable or that for any other reason it would not be in the public interest to pursue this reimbursement procedure, he Shall cause billings, for the total costs as reported by the Police Chief, or for such lesser portion thereof, as he determines is reasonable in view of the surrounding circumstances, to be mailed or transmitted to all of the Following or as many thereof appropriately as shown to be involved in connection with the particular incident and with the Alarm System thereby involved:

1. The Owner of the Alarm System;

2. Any Person, firm or corporation occupying the Premises where the Alarm System is located;

3. The Alarm Business responsible for maintaining or servicing the Alarm System, if the alarm signal responded to was activated through equipment malfunction or failure of the Alarm Business to adequately maintain or service the Alarm System;

4. Any other Person, firm or corporation shown to have activated the False Alarm (is such was the case) intentionally, carelessly or by negligent Act or omission.

C. Upon billings being mailed or transmitted per subsection B of this section, each Person, firm and/or corporation so billed Shall become indebted and liable, severally and jointly, for payment to the City of the entire amount due, and additionally for such further legal costs as May be incurred by the City, including a reasonable Attorney's Fee to be set by the Court, in the event the total amount billed is not paid and it becomes necessary for the City to resort to legal action in order to collect. In the event any billing is not paid within a reasonable time, an action or actions May be brought for collection of any amounts due pursuant hereto, in any Court of competent jurisdiction.

(Ord. 1549 (part), 1978)

It Shall be the responsibility of an Alarm Business, and no such Person Shall fail, refuse or neglect to instruct each Subscriber, and (if a different Person) the Occupant of the Premises wherein an Alarm System is installed, in the proper Use and operation of such device or alarm, whether silent or audible including specifically all necessary instruction in turning off the alarms, and that intentionally activating an alarm in the absence of an Emergency is a criminal offense under Section 148.3 of the California Penal Code.

(Ord. 1549 (part), 1978)

No Alarm System Shall be installed which when activated causes an alarm or signal to be sent directly to the Colton Police Department or any Facility thereof, unless and until Written Permission therefor is received from the Police Chief. The Chief is authorized to limit the number of such devices terminating into the Police Department if he determines that any such device or devices would interfere with the normal functions of the Police Department.

(Ord. 1549 (part), 1978)

No Person other than an authorized agent of the Police Department Shall Use, maintain, operate, or attempt to Use or operate, or cause to be Used or operated any Alarm System or other device or combination of devices that is arranged, adjusted or programmed so that it will upon activation, either mechanically, electronically or by other automatic means, initiate, call and deliver a recorded message to any telephone number assigned to the City, its Police Department or to any radio frequency Used thereby.

(Ord. 1549 (part), 1978)

Alarm Agents Shall register their names and file a Copy of their State Identification Card with the Chief of Police of the City. No Fee Shall be charged; therefore, no Person Shall act as an Alarm Agent in the City without first so registering.

(Ord. 1549 (part), 1978)