Fontana Municipal Code Art. XVII Remote Wireless Access Systems for Controlled Access Gates at Gated…

The purpose of this article is to provide minimum standards for the installation and maintenance of remote wireless access systems to controlled access gates within the city. This article shall not repeal, abrogate, annul or in any way, impair or interfere with existing provisions of other laws or ordinances, or with restrictions placed upon property by covenant, deed, or other private agreement or with restrictive covenants running with the land to which the city is a party.

(Ord. No. 1551, § 1, 6-12-07)

For the purpose of this article, the definitions contained in this section shall govern the meanings of the following terms, words, phrases and their derivations:

Chief of police means the Chief Law Enforcement Officer of the City of Fontana or the chief law enforcement officer's authorized representative.

City means the City of Fontana, California.

Controlled access gate means any gate installed at a gated residential community that is intended to or limits public access to restricted or private areas by means of a self-locking or lockable device, whether mechanical or electronic.

Electrically operated gate means any gate that is operated by an electrical mechanism to facilitate pedestrian or vehicular ingress to or egress from a gated residential community or driveway, yard or parking lot therein.

Emergency access device means any locking mechanism, padlock, keyed lockset, "Knox Box," keyed electric switch, remote wireless access system, or other security apparatus that is approved by the chief of police, or his or her designee, which is intended to facilitate emergency ingress to or egress from any gated residential community, including any locked building or otherwise secured area on such property, by emergency response personnel or for purposes of lawful inspection, routine patrol, or other official purposes by police department or fire department personnel.

Emergency personnel means any person of an official capacity employed by the City of Fontana, or any public officer, police officer, or an emergency medical technician as defined in Division 2.5 (commencing with Section 1797) of the Health and Safety Code, including, but not limited to, any paramedic, firefighter, fire department employee, police department employee, code enforcement officer, animal control officer, ambulance driver, or any person acting under the lawful direction of any of the aforementioned authorized officials.

Fire chief means the chief officer of the fire department serving the jurisdiction or the chief officer's authorized representative.

Fire department means the Fire Department serving the City of Fontana.

Gate means any pedestrian gate, electrically-operated gate, utility or maintenance access gate, or other gate that is intended to, or is used to allow entry to secured or controlled access areas of any gated residential community, whether installed on the perimeter fence line or interior area.

Gated residential community means any residential property wherein the development perimeter is surrounded by a barrier restricting the entrance to nonresidents and entry to such property is controlled by an access gate. This definition includes apartment and condominium complexes, duplexes and multi-unit, single-family residence complexes, et cetera.

Key padlock means a security padlock.

Key switch means a security keyed electrical switch.

Key vault means a security metal vault that is used to store pass keys for use by emergency personnel.

Pass key means any key, magnetic key card, password, or combination code used to facilitate the unlocking and opening of any gate, lock, keyed switch, padlock, or electronically-controlled lock mechanism.

Pedestrian gate means any access gate that is intended to or used primarily for pedestrian ingress to or egress from a fenced property.

Police department means the Fontana Police Department.

R.E.A.C.T. system or rapid emergency access control transmitter system means a remote wireless based access control gate operation system, which is of a type, specification and vendor approved by the chief of police or his or her designee, which is intended to facilitate emergency ingress to or egress from any gated residential community by emergency response personnel or for purposes of lawful inspection, routine patrol, or other official purposes.

(Ord. No. 1551, § 1, 6-12-07)

(a) The property owner of an existing gated residential community, to which access is controlled by gate, shall equip and maintain every vehicle access gate on the property with a R.E.A.C.T. system within one year of the effective date of this article. The property owner of a proposed gated residential community, to which access is controlled by gate, and for which the city has not issued a building permit as of the effective date of this article, shall be required to equip and maintain every vehicle access gate on the property with a R.E.A.C.T. system as a condition of issuance of a building permit.

(b) All electrically-operated vehicular access gates at gated residential communities shall be equipped with both a R.E.A.C.T. system, and a key switch device or key vault device ("Knox Box").

(c) All controlled access pedestrian gates at gated residential communities must be equipped with a key vault device containing a pass key, or alternatively, a key switch device, if electrically-operated. Where a pedestrian gate is situated immediately adjacent to an electrically-operated vehicular access gate, which is equipped with a R.E.A.C.T. system as outlined above, that pedestrian gate is not required to be equipped with a separate emergency access device, unless directed by the chief of police or his or her designee.

(d) All perimeter utility or maintenance controlled access gates at gated residential communities shall be equipped with a key padlock or key vault device ("Knox Box").

(Ord. No. 1551, § 1, 6-12-07)

(a) Any person who violates the provisions of this article shall be guilty of either an infraction or a misdemeanor, as determined by the citing officer or prosecuting attorney. Any property owner, property manager or person in control of a gated residential community who receives written notice to comply with this article from the chief of police, or his or her designee, and fails to comply within 90 days shall be guilty of an infraction or a misdemeanor, as determined by the citing officer or prosecuting attorney. A violation of this article shall constitute a public nuisance and may be abated by the city. The property owner, property manager or person in control of a gated residential community shall be required to reimburse the city for the actual expenses incurred incident to the abatement of such nuisance. In addition, an administrative fine or penalty in the sum of $300.00 per violation, may be imposed upon any person or entity violating the provisions of this article. Each and every day, or portion thereof, on which a violation of this article continues shall constitute a separate violation.

(b) Nothing in this article shall prevent the city from initiating civil, criminal or other legal or equitable proceedings as an alternative or in addition to the proceedings set forth in the administrative fine and penalty provisions of the Fontana Municipal Code.

(Ord. No. 1551, § 1, 6-12-07)

(a) Any person who willfully tampers, vandalizes, injures, destroys, breaks down, pulls down, deactivates, interferes with the radio transmitter signal, or otherwise willfully compromises the intended operation of any emergency access device, including, but not limited to, any pass key, key padlock, key vault, key switch, or R.E.A.C.T. system, including, but not limited to, the transmitter, receiver, antenna, gate and gate operating mechanism, equipment enclosure, or electrical wiring is guilty of either an infraction or a misdemeanor, as determined by the citing officer or prosecuting attorney. For the purposes of this section it is not necessary that a tampering action results in actual physical damage to the emergency access device. Any person who willfully attempts to tamper or commits any act in furtherance of tampering to an aforementioned emergency access device is guilty of an infraction or a misdemeanor.

(b) Nothing in this section shall prevent the city from initiating civil, criminal or other legal or equitable proceedings as an alternative or in addition to the proceedings set forth in the administrative fine and penalty provisions of the Fontana Municipal Code.

(Ord. No. 1551, § 1, 6-12-07)