Morro Bay Municipal Code Ch. 9.22 Alarm Systems

No alarms other than those owned by the city shall terminate at the municipal police department station(s).

(Ord. 365 §§ 1 (part), 2 (part), 1989)

A. No person, corporation, business, commercial establishment, and residence being equipped with operational alarms shall misuse such alarm system.

1. Alarm misuse is defined as the intentional use of an alarm for a purpose for which it was not intended.

2. A violation of this section shall be an infraction with the following penalties:

a. First offense, a warning,

b. Second offense, a second offense within any twelve-month period of the first offense, a fine not exceeding one hundred dollars,

c. For each additional offense within any twelve-month period of the first two offenses, a fine not exceeding two hundred dollars.

B. No person, corporation, business, commercial establishment, or residence being equipped with operational alarms shall allow such alarms to malfunction causing false alarms. A violation of this section shall be an infraction with the following penalties:

1. For the first two false alarms resulting from operational error, a warning;

2. For the third false alarm resulting from operational error in any three-month period, a fine not exceeding one hundred dollars;

3. For any additional false alarms resulting from operational error in any three-month period, a fine not exceeding two hundred dollars;

4. For the first five false alarms resulting from equipment malfunction, a warning;

5. For the sixth false alarm resulting from equipment malfunction in any three-month period, a fine not exceeding one hundred dollars;

6. For any additional false alarms resulting from equipment malfunction in any three-month period, a fine not exceeding two hundred dollars.

C. No penalty shall be incurred for legitimate alarm annunciation or from those situations in which a false alarm occurs but its cause was beyond operational or equipment control as determined by the chief of police.

(Ord. 365 §§ 1 (part), 2 (part), 1989)

A. No person, corporation, business, commercial establishment, or residence shall use or cause to be used any telephone device or telephone attachment on any telephone trunkline of the city police department which reproduces any prerecorded message.

B. Any person, corporation, business, or commercial establishment or residence within the city who utilizes an alarm device, commonly known as a dialer, shall be subject to all of the applicable sanctions of this chapter.

(Ord. 365 §§ 3 (part), 4 (part), 1989: Ord. 199 § 1 (part), 1981)

No company or person selling, renting, leasing, installing, or otherwise providing alarm systems shall install any such alarm without providing twenty-four-hour service for that system.

A. For the purpose of this section, alarm system means any medical, security, robbery, or fire alarm device which is installed by a person or persons other than the alarm system user.

B. Service, for the purposes of this section, includes the ability to promptly repair a malfunctioning alarm system, and to provide periodic maintenance necessary to the alarm system's normal function.

C. In the event an audible security alarm sounds within the limits of the city and no person can be contacted to shut the alarm off within a thirty-minute period, then the vendor currently supplying terminal service at the police department shall be contacted to disable the alarm. All charges for such service shall accrue to that alarm user at a rate no greater than the vendor's standard service charge.

(Ord. 365 §§ 3 (part), 4 (part), 1989: Ord. 199 § 1 (part), 1981)

Any person who is convicted of a violation of any provision of this chapter is guilty of an infraction punishable as set forth in Title 1 of this code.

(Ord. 365 § 3 (part), 1989; Ord. 311 Exh. A (part), 1987: Ord. 199 § 1 (part), 1981)