Port Hueneme Municipal Code Ch. 10 Alarm Regulations

The purpose of this Chapter is to promote the disciplined and proper use of alarm systems by the alarm users and to encourage alarm users and alarm businesses to maintain their alarm system's operational reliability in order to reduce or eliminate false alarm dispatch requests. This Chapter governs systems intended to summon police response, establishes a Municipal Alarm Administrator, requires permits, establishes fees, and sets conditions for suspension or loss of permit.

(Ord. 634 § 1 (part), 2000)

The following definitions shall apply unless the context clearly indicates or requires a different meaning.

"Alarm" means a sound, signal, or message generated by an alarm system and to which police are expected to respond.

"Alarm administrator" means the city employee designated by the Police Chief, City Manager or City Council to administer and determine alarm system permit applications, permits, and alarm dispatch requests.

"Alarm agent" means a person employed by an alarm business, whose duties include altering, installing, maintaining, moving, repairing, replacing, or servicing alarm systems.

"Alarm business" means a business that sells, leases, installs, moves, maintains, alters, services, or monitors alarm systems, not including a business that only sells alarm systems from a fixed location or that only manufactures alarm systems sold to retailers and not to the public.

"Alarm dispatch" means a visit by a Police Officer to an alarm site in response to an alarm dispatch request.

"Alarm dispatch request" means a notification to the Police that an alarm has been activated at an alarm site.

"Alarm site" means the structure or portion thereof served by an alarm system. In a multi-tenant structure, each alarm system shall be considered to serve a separate alarm site.

"Alarm system" means any mechanical or electrical device, not including a smoke detector, designed or used for the detection of unauthorized entry into a structure, the commission of an unlawful act within a structure, or the existence of a fire or medical emergency within a structure, that when activated emits a sound or transmits a signal or message to which police are expected to respond, whether or not monitored by an alarm business. An alarm system does not include:

(1) An alarm installed on a vehicle unless the vehicle is permanently located at a site.

(2) An alarm designed to alert only the inhabitants of a premises that does not have a sounding device that can be heard on the exterior of the alarm site.

"Alarm user" means an individual, corporation, partnership, association, organization or other entity, including a permittee owning, leasing or controlling an alarm site.

"Audible alarm" means an alarm system device that when activated emits an audible sound at or about the alarm site.

"Automatic dialing device" means a device that automatically sends over regular telephone lines, by direct connection or otherwise, a prerecorded voice message or coded signal indicating the existence of some type of emergency to which police are expected to respond.

"City" means the City of Port Hueneme.

"Conversion" means the transaction or process by which one (1) alarm business begins monitoring an alarm system previously monitored by another alarm business or the site owner or inhabitants.

"False alarm dispatch" means an alarm dispatch in which the responding Police Officer, having completed a timely investigation of the alarm site, finds no evidence of a situation requiring a response by a Police Officer or, except for an alarm based on fire or medical emergency, finds that the alarm site contains one or more unsecured exterior doors or windows, including an alarm dispatch caused by a power outage, but not including an alarm dispatch caused by an act of God or an extraordinary condition not reasonably with the control of the alarm business or alarm user.

"Hearing Officer" means a person appointed by the City Manager or City Council to hear and decide matters arising under this Article.

"Holdup alarm" means a silent or audible signal generated by the manual activation of a device intended to signal a robbery in progress.

"Keypad" means a device that allows control of an alarm system by the manual entering of a coded sequence of numbers or letters.

"Monitoring" means the process by which an alarm business receives signals from alarm systems and relays an alarm dispatch request to the police.

"One Plus Code" means an alarm system code that adds one (1) to the last digit to the normal arm/disarm code.

"Permit" means an alarm permit issued by the City.

"Permittee" means a person holding a valid alarm system permit issued pursuant to this chapter.

"Person" means any natural person, and any legal entity, except the City.

"Police Chief" means the duly appointed and acting Police Chief of the City or his or her authorized representative.

"Silent alarm" means an alarm system device that is connected to a telephone line and that when activated automatically transmits a message or signal to an alarm business, indicating the need for an emergency response to the alarm site.

"Unsecured" means not equipped with a lock, bar or other device that is attached to or in contact with the door or window, that is in the fixed or locked position, and that prevents the door or window from being opened from the exterior of the alarm site without breaking the door or window.

"Verify" means an attempt by an alarm business to contact the alarm site by telephone or other electronic means, whether or not contact is made with a person at the alarm site, before making an alarm dispatch request.

"211 Alarm" or "Takeover Alarm" means a silent alarm dispatch request generated by the manual activation of an alarm system device intended to signal that a robbery is in progress or that the alarm site is being taken over by intruders.

(Ord. 634 § 1 (part), 2000)

(a) No alarm user shall operate, or cause to be operated, an alarm system at its alarm site without a valid alarm permit issued by the City or its representative.

(b) The initial annual permit must be submitted to the City within fifteen (15) days after the alarm installation or alarm site conversion occurs. Renewals must be made on an annual basis (on a July 1 fiscal year). Initial permits as well as renewals are without cost to the applicant.

(c) Upon receipt of a completed application form, the City shall issue a permit to an applicant unless the applicant has:

(1) Failed to pay fine assessed under Section 3922;

(2) Had a permit for the alarm site suspended or revoked, and the violation causing the suspension or revocation has not been corrected.

(d) Each permit application must include the following information:

(1) The name, address and telephone numbers of the person who will be the permit holder and will be responsible for the proper maintenance and operation of the alarm system and for payment of any fines assessed under this Chapter;

(2) The classification of the alarm site as either residential, commercial or apartment;

(3) For each alarm system located at the alarm site, the purpose of the alarm system, i.e., burglary, robbery, duress or other;

(4) Signed certification from the alarm user and the alarm business stating:

(A) The date of installation, conversion, or takeover of the alarm system, whichever is applicable,

(B) The name, address, and phone number of the alarm business performing the alarm system installation, conversion or alarm system takeover and who is responsible for providing repair service to the alarm system,

(C) The name, address and phone number of the alarm business monitoring the alarm system if different from the installing alarm business,

(D) That a set of written operating instructions for the alarm system, including written guidelines on how to avoid false alarms, has been left with the applicant,

(E) That the alarm business has trained the applicant in proper use of the alarm system, including instructions on how to avoid false alarms.

(e) Any false statement of a material matter made by an applicant for the purpose of obtaining a permit shall be sufficient cause for refusal to issue a permit.

(f) A permit cannot be transferred to another person. An alarm user shall inform the City of any change that alters any information listed on the permit application within five (5) business days.

(g) All fines owned by the applicant must be paid before a permit may be issued or renewed.

(h) Subject to applicable law, information contained in permit applications shall be held in confidence by all employees or representatives of the City with access to such information.

(Ord. 634 § 1 (part), 2000)

(a) If an alarm system installed by an individual tenant in an apartment complex unit is monitored, the tenant must provide the name of a representative of the apartment owner or property manager who can grant access to the apartment to the alarm business that is providing monitoring service.

(b) A tenant of an apartment complex shall also obtain a permit from the City in accordance with Section 3912 before operating or causing the operation of the alarm system in the tenant's residential unit.

(c) For purpose of enforcing this chapter against an individual residential unit, the tenant is responsible for false alarm dispatches emitted from the alarm system in the tenant's residential unit.

(Ord. 634 § 1 (part), 2000)

(a) If the owner or property manager of an apartment complex provides alarm systems in each residential unit as an amenity, then the owner or property manager of the apartment complex shall obtain a permit from the City covering such residential units.

(b) For purposes of assessing fines and enforcing this Chapter, the permit holder for the apartment complex is responsible for payment of fines for false alarm dispatches emitted from the alarm system in residential units.

(c) The owner or property manager of an apartment complex shall obtain a separate permit for an alarm system operated in a nonresidential area of the apartment complex, including, but not limited to, common tenant areas and office, storage and equipment areas.

(Ord. 634 § 1 (part), 2000)

A permit shall be renewed effective July 1 each year by submitting an updated application to the City. The City shall notify each alarm user of the need to renew at least thirty (30) days prior to the expiration of their permit. It is the responsibility of the alarm user to submit an application prior to the permit expiration date. Failure to renew will be classified as use of a non-permitted alarm system and citations and penalties shall be assessed.

(Ord. 634 § 1 (part), 2000)

An alarm user shall:

(a) Maintain the premises and alarm system in a manner that will minimize or eliminate false alarm dispatches;

(b) Make every reasonable effort to respond or cause a representative to respond to the alarm system's location within one (1) hour when notified by the City to deactivate a malfunctioning alarm system, to provide access to the premises, or to provide security for the premises;

(c) Not cause a manual activation of an alarm for any reason other than an occurrence of an event that the alarm system was intended to report.

An alarm user shall adjust the mechanism or cause the mechanism to be adjusted so that an alarm signal audible on the exterior of an alarm site will sound for no longer than ten (10) minutes after being activated. Alarm systems shall include an automatic resetting device causing the alarm system to rearm. The sound cut-off shall not apply to fire alarms that sound indicating the functioning of an automatic fire sprinkler system.

(Ord. 634 § 1 (part), 2000)

(a) An alarm business performing monitoring services to subscribers shall:

(1) Report alarm signals by using telephone numbers designated by the City;

(2) Attempt to verify every alarm signal, except a duress or robbery alarm activation, before requesting a police response to an alarm signal;

(3) Communicate alarm dispatch requests in a manner and form determined by the City;

(4) Communicate verified cancellations of the alarm dispatch requests in a manner and form as determined by the City.

(b) The City shall:

(1) Designate a manner, form, and telephone numbers for the communication of alarm dispatch requests;

(2) Develop a procedure to accept verified cancellation of alarm dispatch requests.

(Ord. 634 § 1 (part), 2000)

After August 1, 2000, alarm businesses shall not program alarm systems so they are capable of sending One Plus Code duress alarms. Alarm businesses may continue to report One Plus Code Alarms received from alarm systems programmed with this feature prior to August 1, 2000. However, after August 1, 2000, when performing a takeover or conversion, an alarm business must remove the One Plus Code duress alarm capability.

(Ord. 634 § 1 (part), 2000)

An alarm user shall maintain at each alarm site a set of written operating instructions for each alarm system.

(Ord. 634 § 1 (part), 2000)

(a) The officer responding to an alarm dispatch request or the Police Communications Officer shall record such information as necessary to permit a representative of the City to maintain records, including, but not limited to, the following information:

(1) Identification of the permit number for the alarm site;

(2) Identification of the alarm site;

(3) Arrival time at the alarm site and dispatch received time;

(4) Date and time assignment completed;

(5) Weather conditions;

(6) Area and sub-area of premises involved;

(7) Name of alarm user's representative on premises, if any;

(8) Identification of the responsible alarm business;

(9) If the business is still in operation.

(b) The responding police officer shall indicate to police communications whether the dispatch was caused by a criminal offense, an attempted criminal offense, or was a false alarm dispatch.

(c) In the case of an assumed false alarm dispatch, the responding Police Officer shall leave notification at the alarm site that the Police Department has responded to a false alarm dispatch. The notice shall include the following information:

(1) The date and time of police response to the false alarm dispatch;

(2) The name and identification number of the responding Police Officer or Officers;

(3) A statement urging the alarm user to ensure that the alarm system is properly operated, inspected and serviced in order to avoid fines.

(d) Alarm businesses that perform monitoring services must maintain for a period of at least one (1) year following request for police dispatch to an alarm site, records relating to the dispatch. The City may request copies of such records for individually named alarm users. The records must include:

(1) Name, address, and phone number of the alarm user;

(2) The alarm system zones or points activated;

(3) The time that alarm dispatch request was made;

(4) Evidence that an attempt to verify was made to the alarm site prior to the alarm dispatch request.

(Ord. 634 § 1 (part), 2000)

If there is reason to believe that an alarm system is not being used or maintained in a manner that ensures proper operation and suppresses false alarms, the City may require a conference with an alarm user and the alarm business responsible for the repair of the alarm system to review the circumstances of each false alarm dispatch.

(Ord. 634 § 1 (part), 2000)

(a) An alarm user or the master permit holder for an apartment complex shall be subject to fines, warnings and suspension or revocation of permit depending on the number of false alarm dispatches emitted from an alarm system within a twelve (12) month period based upon the following schedule:

(1) False alarm dispatches:

(b) In addition, a person operating a non-permitted alarm system (whether revoked, suspended or never acquired) will be subject to a citation and assessment of a seventy-five dollar ($75.00) fine for each false alarm dispatch, in addition to any other fines. The City may waive this additional fine for a non-permitted alarm system if the alarm user completed a permit application within ten (10) days after such violation.

(c) Alarm dispatch requests caused by actual criminal offense or with evidence of a criminal attempt shall not be counted as a false alarm dispatch.

(d) A person, alarm user, or alarm business commits an offense if he or she violates, by commission or omission, any provision of this Chapter that imposes upon him, her or it a duty or responsibility and is subject to a fine as provided in this Chapter.

(e) Fines may be dismissed or revoked at the discretion of the Police Chief upon satisfactory attendance at a false alarm school either conducted or approved by the City.

(f) The City may reinstate a suspended permit upon receipt of acceptable evidence that the cause has been addressed and appropriate corrective action has been taken.

(Ord. 634 § 1 (part), 2000)

(a) An alarm user may appeal assessment of a fine to the Hearing Officer by filing a written request for a hearing setting forth the reasons for the appeal within ten (10) days after receipt of the fine. The filing of a request for an appeal hearing with the City stays the assessment of the fine until the Hearing Officer makes a final decision.

(b) The City shall conduct a formal hearing and consider the evidence by any interested person or persons. The Hearing Officer shall make a decision on the basis of the preponderance of evidence presented at the hearing including, but not limited to, evidence that a false alarm dispatch was caused by a defective part that has been repaired or replaced or that an alarm dispatch was caused by a criminal offense. The Hearing Officer must render a decision within thirty (30) days after the request for an appeal hearing is filed. The Hearing Officer shall affirm, reverse, or modify the assessment of the fine. The decision of the Hearing Officer is final as to administrative remedies within the City.

(Ord. 634 § 1 (part), 2000)

The Alarm Administrator may suspend or revoke an alarm permit if it is determined that:

(a) There is a false statement of material matter in the application for a permit;

(b) The permittee has failed to make timely payment of a fine assessed under Section 3922;

(c) The permittee has failed to repair the alarm system to the reasonable satisfaction of the Police Chief or his designee within fifteen (15) days after notice from the City.

(Ord. 634 § 1 (part), 2000)

(a) If the Alarm Administrator denies the issuance or renewal of a permit, or suspends or revokes a permit, he or she shall send written notice of the action and a statement of the right to an appeal, by certified mail, return receipt requested, to both the applicant or alarm user and the alarm business.

(b) The applicant or alarm user may appeal the decision of the Alarm Administrator to the Hearing Officer by filing a written request for a review setting forth the reasons for the appeal within twenty (20) days after receipt of the notice from the Alarm Administrator. An alarm business may submit the request for review on behalf of an alarm user.

(c) Filing a request for appeal shall stay the action of the Alarm Administrator suspending or revoking a permit until the Hearing Officer has completed his or her review. If a request for appeal is not made within the twenty (20) day period, the action of the Alarm Administrator is final.

(d) The Hearing Officer shall conduct a formal hearing and consider the evidence by any interested person or persons. The Hearing Officer shall make his or her decision on the basis of a preponderance of the evidence presented at the hearing including, but not limited to, certification that the alarm user has been retained, and/or that a defective part has been otherwise determined and corrected. The Hearing Officer must render a written decision within thirty (30) days after the request for an appeal hearing is filed. The Hearing Officer shall affirm, reverse, or modify the action of the Alarm Administrator. The decision of the Hearing Officer is final as to administrative remedies with the City.

(Ord. 634 § 1 (part), 2000)

A person whose alarm permit has been revoked may be issued a new permit if the alarm user or alarm business does the following:

(a) Submits an updated application and pays a twenty-five dollar ($25.00) permit fee for a residential alarm or for a business alarm and a seventy-five dollar ($75.00) fine;

(b) Pays or otherwise resolves all citations and fines;

(c) Submits a certification from an alarm business that complies with the requirements of this Chapter, stating that the alarm system has been inspected and repaired, as necessary, by the alarm business.

(Ord. 634 § 1 (part), 2000)

The fees, fines and penalties imposed by this Chapter shall be deemed a civil debt owed to the City by the alarm user or alarm business. If legal action is brought by the City or its assignee against the alarm user or alarm business to enforce collection of such fees, fines or penalties, any judgment rendered in favor of the City shall include costs of suit incurred by the City or its assignee, including reasonable attorney's fees.

(Ord. 634 § 1 (part), 2000)