Tiburon Municipal Code Ch. 29 Burglar Alarm Systems

(a) There are a substantial number of burglar alarms received by the Tiburon police department. It is the policy and practice of the Tiburon police department to respond to all alarms and prepare a report for each response. Most of these alarms are false and are the result of improper maintenance or use of an alarm system.

(b) False alarms needlessly divert limited police resources from genuine alarms and other emergencies. Police officers responding to false alarms are not available to perform other necessary police duties.

(c) The purpose of this chapter is to reduce the number of false alarms in order to conserve police personnel time and increase protection for all citizens of the town. This purpose is accomplished by providing minimum standards for installation and operation of alarm systems. This chapter also imposes the costs of responding to false alarms on the alarm user and imposes penalties for false alarms.

(d) In addition, this chapter requires alarm users to obtain an annual alarm permit. The purpose of this permit is to increase police effectiveness and promote public safety by allowing the police department to maintain current, accurate emergency information for all alarm systems in the Town of Tiburon.

(Ord. No. 416 N.S., § 2 (part))

For purposes of this chapter, the following words and phrases shall have the following meaning:

"Alarm agent" means any person employed by an alarm business whose duties include installing, maintaining, repairing, replacing or servicing an alarm system or responding to same.

"Alarm business" means any person operating for any consideration who is engaged in the installation, maintenance, alteration or servicing of alarm systems or who responds to such alarm systems.

"Alarm system" means an assembly of equipment and devices arranged to signal the presence of any condition upon premises within the Town of Tiburon to which the police department normally responds. The term "alarm system" shall include equipment which is designed to detect an emergency, or which is designed to be activated by a person to report an emergency. Alarm systems include, but are not limited to, local alarm systems and central station alarm systems. Alarm systems shall not include audible alarms affixed to automobiles.

"Alarm user" means any person who owns, leases, is the agent of the owner or lessee of, or otherwise is in possession or control of a premises on which an alarm system has been installed and operates.

"Audible alarm system" means an alarm system which is capable of being heard outdoors when it is activated.

"Automatic telephone dialing alarm system" means an alarm system which utilizes a device which automatically transmits a pre-recorded message over telephone lines to a number in the town's communication center.

"Central station alarm system" means an alarm system which transmits the alarm signal to a facilitywhere operators monitor the system and retransmit the signal to the town's communications center.

"Chief of police" means the chief of the Tiburon police department or the chief's designee.

"Direct connection alarm system" means an alarm system which transmits an alarm signal directly to the town communications center.

"Emergency" means the commission or attempted commission of any felony, unauthorized entry into premises or any act of violence.

"False alarm" means an alarm signal resulting in a response by the police department when an emergency does not exist. An alarm shall be presumed false if the responding officer(s) does not locate any evidence of an intrusion or of the commission of an unlawful act or emergency on the premises which might have caused the alarm to sound. Alarms caused by earthquakes, hurricanes, tornadoes, or other "violent" acts of nature, shall not be deemed false alarms.

"Local alarm system" means an alarm system which is operated by the user who is normally responsible for its operation. The alarm signal is annunciated only on the premises.

"Person" means an individual, partnership, unincorporated association or corporation.

"Premises" means any land and building located within the Town of Tiburon except land or buildings owned or leased by the federal government, state of California or any political subdivision of the state, including public services.

"Public nuisance" means an alarm system that is falsely activated more than eight times in a "three hundred sixty-five-day" period.

"Town communications center" means the Tiburon police department, the Southern Marin Communications Center or any other entity providing police dispatching services for the Tiburon police department

"Town manager" means the town manager of the Town of Tiburon or the manager's designee.

(Ord. No. 416 N.S., § 2 (part))

The provisions of this chapter shall be administered and enforced by the chief of police. The chief of police is authorized to make inspections of alarm systems and the premises where such systems are located to determine whether an alarm permit is required. The chief of police shall also have the authority to make and enforce such rules and regulations as are necessary to implement the provisions of this chapter.

(Ord. No. 416 N.S., § 2 (part))

(a) Every alarm agent or alarm business conducting business in the Town of Tiburon shall first register with the chief of police by providing proof that the person or business has: (1) a current, valid alarm operators license issued by the state of California, and (2) a current business license issued by the Town of Tiburon.

(b) Upon registering with the chief of police, every alarm agent or alarm business shall be provided with a copy of this chapter, any town council resolutions establishing fees or penalties authorized by this chapter and any rules and regulations adopted by the chief of police for the purpose of implementing this chapter.

(c) No alarm business shall sell, install or maintain any such system in the Town of Tiburon without providing continuous twenty-four hour service for such system.

(Ord. No. 416 N.S., § 2 (part))

(a) Alarm businesses shall notify the Tiburon police department each time the business sells or installs an alarm system within the Town of Tiburon. This notification shall be in writing, and shall be made within ten days of each such sale or installation or a change in any of the following required information:

(1) The name, address and telephone number of the alarm business or its alarm agent;

(2) The address where the alarm system has been installed, the name of the alarm users and their business addresses and telephone numbers, and residential address and telephone number;

(3) The name of at least one other person responsible to respond to the alarm site in the event the alarm is activated and his or her business address and telephone number, and residential address and telephone number;

(4) The type of alarm system installed and the emergency or unlawful act it is designed to detect.

(b) Alarm businesses shall notify the Tiburon police department each time the business activates an alarm system during the installation, repair or testing of such system if the activation results in an audible signal that can be heard outside of the building or premises, or the alarm, whether audible or silent, could otherwise result in the Tiburon police department responding to a false alarm.

(c) Alarm businesses shall notify their customers of all changes in the burglar alarm system ordinance.

(Ord. No. 416 N.S., § 2 (part))

(a) No alarm user shall install and/or operate an alarm system on any premises within the Town of Tiburon unless such person or business has been issued a permit pursuant to the provisions of this chapter.

(b) Applications for permits and renewals of permits shall be filed in writing with the chief of police, on a form provided by the chief of police, along with a nonrefundable application or renewal fee in the amount set by the town council by resolution.

(c) The alarm permit will be issued by the chief of police if all of the conditions set forth in section 29-7 are satisfied. Denial of a permit may be appealed pursuant to section 29-13.

(d) An alarm user permit shall be valid for one year from the date of issuance. During that time, the permit shall not be transferable and shall terminate when there is a change of alarm user, change of location or upon suspension.

(e) Upon reinstatement of a permit which has been suspended in accordance with this chapter, the same fee shall be required for reinstatement as would be required for an original permit.

(f) All governmental entities shall be exempt from fees for permits, but shall be subject to all other provisions of this chapter.

(g) The information contained on the application form and any subsequent inspection or investigation notes, reports or files pertaining to the alarm user shall be confidential and not open to public inspection. It is declared that this information is critical to the safety and security of the alarm user and law enforcement personnel and that the public interest served by not disclosing such information to the public clearly outweighs the public interest served by disclosing such information.

(h) The permit shall list the alarm business, alarm agent or other person responsible for operation and maintenance of the alarm and at least one other person who may be contacted in an emergency or to confirm an alarm.

(i) Upon issuance of an alarm permit or the renewal of a permit, the chief of police shall provide the alarm user with information regarding the provisions of this chapter and any applicable fees or penalties adopted by the Tiburon town council and in effect at that time.

(Ord. No. 416 N.S., § 2 (part))

(Ord. No. 604 N.S, § 1, 6-7-2023)

Every alarm user within the Town of Tiburon shall comply with the following conditions. The breach of any of these conditions shall be sufficient cause for suspension of the permit by the chief of police.

(a) It is unlawful to buy, sell, install or operate within the Town of Tiburon an audible alarm system which upon activating emits a sound similar to sirens in use on emergency vehicles or for civil defense purposes. For purposes of this section, any electronic sounding device that produces a variable pitch-tone shall be considered similar to an emergency vehicle siren. This section shall not apply to sirens mounted inside a building which cannot be heard from outside of the building.

(b) It is unlawful to install on the exterior or interior of a building an alarm system which, upon activation, emits a sound exceeding eighty-five decibels when measured from outside the premises. It is also unlawful to install on the interior of a building an alarm system which, upon activation, emits a sound exceeding ninety-five decibels.

(c) Every owner maintaining an audible alarm shall post a notice containing the name and telephone number of the alarm business, alarm agent or other person responsible for operation or maintenance of the alarm. This notice shall be posted near the alarm so that it is legible from the ground adjacent to the building.

(d) The alarm system must be equipped with an automatic shut-off device which shall silence the alarm and/or turn off all exterior pulsating lights, except alarm indicator lights, within fifteen minutes.

(e) It is the responsibility of the alarm user to ensure that all emergency information on the alarm permit is current. The chief of police shall be notified within thirty days of any changes in individuals responsible for the operation of the alarm system and/or a change in the alarm company.

(f) Alarm users, alarm businesses or alarm agents, when requested by the Tiburon police department, shall have the alarm user, a representative of the alarm business or other responsible person respond to the scene of the alarm within one hour of the request to render necessary service. This service shall include, but is not limited to, opening the premises for building searches, resetting the alarm system(s) and securing the building as necessary.

(g) All components comprising an alarm system must be maintained in good repair to assure reliability of operation.

(h) The sensory mechanisms used in connection with all alarm systems shall be adjusted to suppress false alarms.

(i) All alarm systems shall be supplied with an uninterruptable backup power supply which will automatically assume the operation of the alarm system should normal electrical service be interrupted. The backup power supply shall be capable of at least four hours of operation. The transfer of power from the primary source to the backup source must occur in a manner which does not activate the alarm.

(j) Any building containing two or more separate and distinct living units or businesses which are equipped with alarms shall display in a conspicuous place, at or near the entrance to the building, a visual or audible device indicating which of the alarms has been activated.

(k) In the event that a group of alarm users are placed on a single incoming line, the system must be so designed as to reset itself within one minute so as to afford protection to the rest of the alarm users on the single line. It must also be so designed so as to activate a visual or audible alarm at the violated premises even after the system has reset, affording protection to the other users.

(l) Alarm users with existing alarm systems in use as of the effective date of this chapter shall have until January 1, 1996, to either bring their system into compliance with the requirements of this section, request an extension of time to comply or request an exemption from the requirements of this section. Requests for extensions of time or exemption shall be made in writing to the chief of police who may grant such requests upon finding that to do so would not frustrate the purposes of this chapter.

(Ord. No. 416 N.S., § 2 (part))

It is unlawful to buy, sell, install or operate any alarm system which, when activated, causes an alarm to be sent directly to the town communications center or Tiburon police department by an automatic dialing system, a direct connection alarm system, or any other means.

(Ord. No. 416 N.S., § 2 (part))

No alarm user shall operate or maintain an alarm system which emits false alarms.

(Ord. No. 416 N.S., § 2 (part))

(a) Alarm users with a valid, current alarm permit on file with the Tiburon police department shall be subject to false alarm fees and penalties beginning with the fourth false alarm occurring in a calendar year period. Alarm users shall not be charged for more than one false alarm penalty in any single calendar day unless the false alarms are directly caused by the user. The amount of the fees and penalties shall be established by the town council through adoption of a resolution.

(b) Alarm users without a valid, current alarm permit (including those with suspended permits) shall be subject to false alarm fees and penalties for each and every false alarm. Alarm users shall not be charged for more than one false alarm penalty in any twenty-four hour period unless the false alarms are directly caused by the user. The amount of the fees and penalties shall be established by the town council through adoption of a resolution.

(c) Alarm users without a valid permit shall have thirty days to obtain a permit after receiving notice of the false alarm penalty. If a permit is obtained within that time, fifty dollars shall be taken off the alarm fees and penalties.

(d) Failure to pay false alarm fees and penalties may be cause for suspension of the alarm permit.

(e) The chief of police may waive false alarm fees and penalties if an examination of the facts indicates the alarm system was activated under unusual or extraordinary circumstances. In addition, fees may be waived for up to thirty days to allow for adjustments to correct mechanical and/or operational problems for any new, improved or replaced alarm system. Requests for waiver shall be made in writing and shall be processed under the provisions of section 29-14.

(f) The amount of any false alarm fees and penalties imposed pursuant to the authority of this chapter shall be deemed a debt to the Town of Tiburon. An action may be commenced in the name of the town in a court of competent jurisdiction for the amount of any unpaid fees and penalties as well as any fees or charges required to file and pursue such civil action.

(g) The chief of police may, in the exercise of his discretion, direct that the police department shall not respond to a premises under the following circumstances: there have been repeated false alarms in one calendar day and the alarm user, business or other responsible person cannot come to the premises, correct the problem or turn off the alarm system. The alarm user shall be responsible for any fees or penalties incurred prior to the decision not to respond.

(Ord. No. 416 N.S., § 2 (part))

(a) The police department shall have no obligation to respond to an alarm system which has been deemed a public nuisance, as defined in section 29-2. Upon reaching completion of the above definition, upon meeting any or all of the below listed criteria, and upon notice as described below, the police department shall no longer respond to the alarm signal.

(1) The violation of any of the provisions of the permit agreement;

(2) When an alarm system actuates excessive false alarms and, thereby, constitutes a nuisance as defined herein;

(3) When the applicant or permittee, or his employee or agent, has knowingly made any false, misleading or fraudulent statement of a material fact in the application for a permit or in any report or record required to be filed with any town agency;

(4) When the alarm user fails to pay fees or penalties within sixty days;

(5) When police respond to a false alarm within thirty days after a revocation of response has been reinstated.

(b) Response to a location shall not be revoked due to nonacquisition of an alarm permit.

(c) If an alarm location's status is on a "response cancellation" status at the end of a calendar year, for purposes of calculating total responses for relating to cancellation, the total number of responses shall not revert to zero and will be cumulative.

(d) The owner and/or licensee of an alarm system which constitutes a public nuisance as defined in this chapter shall be notified by the chief of police, or his designee, that the police department is under no obligation to respond to the premises of an alarm which constitutes a public nuisance. The chief of police, in the case of such revocation, shall serve the permittee with a written order of revocation which shall state the reasons for such revocation. The order shall be deposited in the United States mail as soon as possible after such alarm has been constituted as a public nuisance or personally served. The order shall be effective immediately, if personally served, or forty-eight hours after the same has been deposited in the course of transmission in the United States Postal Service.

(e) Not withstanding the effectiveness of an order of revocation, the permittee may continue the use of any alarm system requiring a permit until the appeal process has been exhausted, unless the chief of police, or his designee, determines that the continued operation of such alarm system interferes with the safe and efficient operation of the public safety department involved. The owner of an audible alarm system shall be required to immediately deactivate the audible portion of the system, upon notification that the system is a public nuisance.

(Ord. No. 416 N.S., § 2 (part))

(a) Upon evidence that any of the permit conditions set forth in section 29-7 has been violated or that false alarm fees and penalties have not been paid, the chief of police may suspend an alarm permit. The suspension shall become effective fifteen days after written notice of the suspension is mailed by the chief of police to the alarm user and alarm business listed on the permit unless an appeal is filed pursuant to section 29-14.

(b) The suspension shall be lifted once evidence is presented to the chief of police establishing that the violations have been corrected and the alarm fees and penalties have been paid.

(Ord. No. 416 N.S., § 2 (part))

Response to an alarm location shall be reactivated under the following conditions:

(a) Acceptance of proof by the alarm user or alarm company of correction of the problem which activated the alarm; and

(b) Acceptance of proof by the chief of police; and,

(c) Payment of past due penalties.

(Ord. No. 416 N.S., § 2 (part))

An alarm user whose application for a permit has been denied, has had their permit suspended or police response revoked or has been denied a waiver of fees or penalties by the chief of police may appeal that decision.

(a) The initial appeal shall be to the chief of police. A letter of appeal must be filed with the chief of police within fifteen days of the mailing of the letter of notification of the proposed action. While the appeal is pending, the action proposed by the chief of police shall not be implemented. This initial appeal shall be informal and no written decision need be prepared. Failure to file a timely appeal shall constitute a waiver of the alarm user's right to appeal provided however, that the chief of police may in his discretion waive the fifteen day limit if good cause is shown or there is cause to believe that it might encourage substantial cooperation from the alarm user.

(b) If the alarm user is dissatisfied with the decision of the chief of police, they may file a letter of appeal to the town manager. The town manager shall set a time and place for a hearing which shall be no more than fifteen days after the manager's receipt of the letter of appeal. Failure to file a timely letter of appeal to the manager shall be a waiver of the alarm user's right to a hearing.

(c) At the time and place set for the hearing upon the appeal, the town manager shall hear evidence from the appellant and/or any other interested party. The burden of proof shall be upon the appellant to show that there was no substantial evidence to support the chief of police's action.

(d) Within five days after the conclusion of the hearing, the town manager shall render a decision on the appeal. The decision shall be final. Notice of the decision shall be mailed to the appellant within three days of the decision. If the appeal is denied and involves a suspension of a permit, the notice shall inform the alarm user of the exact date that the suspension shall commence, which shall in no event be sooner than five days after notice of the decision has been mailed.

(Ord. No. 416 N.S., § 2 (part))

Any person or business violating any provision of this chapter shall be guilty of an infraction. Upon conviction on an infraction, a person shall be subject to payment of a fine, not to exceed the limits set forth in Government Code section 36900. After the third conviction for a violation of this chapter within any twelve month period any subsequent violation within a twelve month period may be punished as a misdemeanor.

(Ord. No. 416 N.S., § 2 (part))