Chapter 5.52 — BURGLARY AND ROBBERY ALARM SYSTEMS

The immediate preservation of the public safety, health and, welfare required the adoption of this chapter. The public has purchased alarm systems which have malfunctioned, causing an increase in the false alarm reports which require an immediate response of emergency service units subjecting the general public to a dangerous situation.

(Ord. 497 § 1 (part), 1993)

For the purposes of this chapter, the following words and phrases shall have the meaning respectively ascribed to them by this section.

"Alarm agent" means any person who is employed by an alarm business operator, either directly or indirectly, who does not respond to activated alarms, but whose duties include any of the following: altering, installing, replacing, or moving on or in any building, structure or facility any alarm system.

"Alarm business" means the business of any person consisting of selling, installing, maintaining, servicing, altering, replacing or moving any alarm system or component parts thereof in or on any building, structure or facility, or responding to alarm systems.

"Alarm business operator" means any person who operates any business engaged in the sale and installation, maintenance, alteration or servicing of the alarm systems, or which responds to such alarm systems. Alarm business operator shall not include a business which merely sells from a fixed location or manufactures alarm systems, unless such business services, installs, monitors, or responds to alarm systems at protected premises.

"Alarm owner" means any person who has installed in any premise an alarm system. An alarm owner is normally the owner of the premise or the individual who has care and control over the protected premises. The alarm owner shall be responsible for the proper installation, maintenance and use of the alarm system.

"Alarm system" means any mechanical or electrical device designed to detect or enable a person to notify others of an unauthorized intrusion onto certain premises or the existence of an emergency on such premises, and which emits a sound or transmits a signal or message when activated. The following devices shall not constitute alarm systems within the meaning of this subsection:

Devices which do not register alarms that are audible, visible or perceptible outside the protected premises;

Devices which are not installed, operated or used for the purpose of reporting an emergency to the police;

Alarm devices affixed to motor vehicles; and

Alarm devices installed on a temporary basis by the police department.

"Answering service" means a telephone answering service providing among its services the receiving on a continuous basis through trained employees of emergency signals from alarm systems, and the subsequent immediate relaying of the messages by live voice to the communication center.

"Automatic dialing device" means an alarm system which automatically sends over regular telephone lines, by direct connection or otherwise, a prerecorded voice message indicating the existence of the emergency situation that the alarm system is designed to detect.

"Central station" means an office to which alarm systems are connected, where operators supervise the circuits.

"Direct line" means a telephone line leading directly from a central station to the communication center, where said line is used only to report emergency signals on a person-to-person basis.

"Emergency" means the commission or attempted commission of a robbery or burglary.

"False alarm" means the activation of an alarm system which results in a response by the police where an emergency does not exist. False alarms which the alarm owner can demonstrate were proximately caused by hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes or other violent acts of nature or circumstances over which the alarm owner has no control shall not be counted against an alarm owner for the purposes of false alarm charges.

"Interconnect" means to connect an alarm system to a telephone line, either directly or through a mechanical device that utilizes a standard telephone for the purpose of using the telephone line to transmit an emergency message upon the activation of the alarm system.

"Modified central system" means an office to which alarm systems are connected where operators supervise the circuits but where guards are not maintained to investigate alarm systems.

"Person" shall include natural persons without regard to number or gender, any partnership, corporation, and any other type of legal entity.

"Primary trunkline" means a telephone line leading directly into the communication center for the purpose of handling emergency calls on a person-to-person basis, and which is identified as such by a specific number included among the emergency numbers listed in the telephone directory issued by the telephone company, covering the service area within the police department's jurisdiction.

"Siren" means any audible noise similar to that sounded by an authorized emergency vehicle under the conditions set forth in Section 21055 of the California Vehicle Code.

"Special trunkline" means a telephone line leading into the communication center and having the primary purpose of handling emergency signals or messages originating through a central station, modified central station or answering service.

(Ord. 497 § 1 (part), 1993)

A.

Alarm Business.

No person shall engage in, carry on, conduct or operate an alarm business without a business license therefor and having paid the annual business license fee in the amount provided for by resolution. No business license, which is required by this section, shall be issued or renewed for any operator of an alarm business who does not possess a valid, unexpired and unrevoked alarm company operator's license issued by the Department of Consumer Affairs, State of California.

It shall be unlawful for an alarm business company to conduct an alarm business within the city without possessing a valid alarm company's license issued by the Department of Consumer Affairs.

B.

Alarm Agent and Responding Alarm Agent. No person shall act as alarm agent or responding alarm agent without having previously registered as an alarm agent or responding alarm agent with the Department of Consumer Affairs, State of California. Any person acting as an alarm agent or responding alarm agent must, prior to performing any duties of an alarm agent or responding alarm agent, show his registration cards, issued by the Department of Consumer Affairs, State of California, to the chief of police or his representative.

(Ord. 497 § 1 (part), 1993)

A.

Alarm System Requirements.

No alarm system shall be installed or connected on or after the date this chapter becomes effective which emits the sound of a siren similar to those installed in emergency vehicles as described in Section 21055 of the California Vehicle Code. It shall be the responsibility of the alarm owner to change the siren device if, after examination by a police representative, it is found to emit a siren conflicting with emergency vehicle usage as described in Section 21055 of the California Vehicle Code.

Any alarm system which emits the sound of a siren conflicting with emergency vehicles and which was installed and in operation prior to the effective date of this chapter shall have that part of the alarm system which emits the conflicting sound changed to comply with Section 21055 of the California Vehicle Code and the automatic shut-off requirements of subsection B of this section pertaining to audible alarm systems, within ninety days from the date the ordinance codified in this chapter becomes effective.

B.

Audible Alarm System Requirements. Any alarm system which is installed or connected on or after the date this chapter becomes effective and which, when activated, generates an audible sound on the premises, shall have as part of the system an automatic shut-off that will deactivate the audible portion of the system within fifteen minutes after it is first activated.

If the alarm system has an automatic cutoff with a rearming phase the rearming phase must be able to distinguish between an open and closed circuit, and if the circuit is broken, the system shall not rearm.

C.

Automatic Dialing Device Regulations.

No automatic dialing device shall be interconnected to a primary trunkline of the communications center or police department after the effective date of the ordinance codified in this chapter.

Within sixty days after the effective date of the ordinance codified in this chapter, all automatic dialing devices interconnected to a primary trunkline shall be disconnected therefrom. The owner or lessee of such device shall be responsible for having the device disconnected within a sixty-day time period.

Persons owning or leasing an automatic dialing device may have the device interconnected to a telephone line transmitting directly to:

a.

A central station;

b.

A modified central station; or

c.

An answering service.

The relaying of messages to the communications center by a modified central station or an answering service shall be over regular telephone lines.

No automatic dialing device may be interconnected to the telephone company operator.

D.

New alarm installations by city-licensed alarm owners will have a grace period of forty-five days after the date a system becomes operational before false alarm response charges will be imposed on the alarm owner.

E.

Notices.

After the police department has recorded two false alarms in any quarter of any calendar year, generated by any alarm owner, the alarm owner and the alarm company maintaining the alarm system shall be notified either by personal delivery or first class mail that police response to any further false alarms will result in a charge for each such response.

The response to subsequent false alarms by any alarm owner after said owner has been once warned/advised by letter or citation shall result in a charge for each such response.

The fee for police response as provided herein shall be set by resolution of the city council as amended from time to time.

F.

Response Required. When an alarm system has been activated, the alarm owner shall respond to the location within thirty minutes of being requested to do so by a representative of the communications center and/or city police department. If the alarm owner does not intend to respond to the location he must advise the representative of the communications center and/or city police department of this intention.

G.

Power Supply. All alarm systems shall be equipped with a backup power supply in such at manner that the failure or interruption of normal electrical utility power shall not activate the alarm system. This power supply must be capable of at least four hours of operation.

H.

Notification Card Required. All premises having an alarm system shall file and keep current an emergency notification card with the alarm installer or the city police department. Such notification card shall contain the name, address and telephone number of the person who will respond to the alarm, or render service or repairs to the alarm system during any hour of the day or night.

I.

Notice of Name of Servicer or Occupant. Every audible alarm system shall have a sign or notice posted on or near the audible device with the name and telephone number of the person or company responsible for the maintenance of the system. The notice shall be posted in such a position as to be readable from the ground level outside and adjacent to the building. All silent alarm systems shall have a notice on the premises which provides the same information.

(Ord. 497 § 1 (part), 1993)

The information furnished and secured pursuant to this chapter shall be confidential in character, shall not be subject to public inspection, and shall be kept so that the contents thereof shall not be known except to persons charged with the administration of the chapter; it is hereby declared that the public interest served by not making the information public clearly outweighs the public interest served by disclosure of the information.

(Ord. 497 § 1 (part), 1993)

Any person or business subject to provisions of this chapter shall have a period of sixty days after the effective date of the ordinance codified in this chapter to comply with the provisions of this chapter.

(Ord. 497 § 1 (part), 1993)

Any person who violates any of the provisions of this chapter is guilty of an infraction punishable under Chapter 1.12 of this Code. Each separate day or any portion thereof during which any violation occurs or continues is a separate offense.

(Ord. 497 § 1 (part), 1993; Ord. No. 791, § 1, 9-26-2017)